Re: [Caml-list] [ANN] Jbuilder 1.0+beta1

[Jeremie Dimino <jdimino@janestreet.com>]

I just  released a beta2 with better rules for finding the workspace
root [1]. In beta1, jbuilder would often choose the home directory as
root, causing it to scan the whole home directory.

Following is the full changelog:

- Simplified the rules for finding the root of the workspace as the
  old ones were often picking up the home directory. New rules are:
  + look for a =jbuild-workspace= file in parent directories
  + look for a =jbuild-workspace*= file in parent directories
  + use the current directory

- Fixed the expansion of =${ROOT}= in actions

- Install =quick-start.org= in the documentation directory

- Add a few more things in the log file to help debugging

[1] https://github.com/janestreet/jbuilder/blob/master/doc/manual.org#finding-the-root

On Wed, Mar 8, 2017 at 5:53 PM, Jeremie Dimino <jdimino@janestreet.com> wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I'm pleased to annouce the 1.0+beta1 release of Jbuilder.
>
> Jbuilder is a build system targetting OCaml projects and opam. It uses
> the same model as what is used at Jane Street: users write simple
> "jbuild" files to describe their libraries and executables and
> Jbuilder takes care of the rest. You don't need to know much about
> OCaml compilation to use Jbuilder.
>
> Jbuilder comes with a manual [1] and a quick start guide [2] showing
> common patterns.
>
> Jbuilder can be installed via opam:
>
>     $ opam install jbuilder
>     $ less `opam config var doc`/jbuilder/manual.org
>
> Jbuilder is developed primarily on github [3] and contributions are
> welcome.
>
> Interesting features
> ====================
>
> I think it is worth mentioning the following features of Jbuilder,
> that should make the everyday life of an OCaml hacker easier:
>
> jbuilder exec <command>
> -----------------------
>
> This will run <command> in an environment where it has access to the
> binaries, libraries, manual pages, ... previously built and that are
> to be installed. This is convenient for testing things in the toplevel
> before installing them for instance.
>
> jbuilder external-lib-deps --missing <targets>
> ----------------------------------------------
>
> This will list all the external library dependencies required to build
> <targets>, so that you have to run only one "opam install" command
> instead of installing dependencies one by one until the build succeed.
>
> building against several versions of OCaml at once
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> This is useful for locally testing that a project builds against all
> supported versions of OCaml:
>
>     $ cat > jbuild-workspace <<EOF
>     (context ((switch 4.02.3)))
>     (context ((switch 4.03.0)))
>     (context ((switch 4.04.0)))
>     (context ((switch 4.05.0+beta2)))
>     (context ((switch 4.06.0+trunk)))
>     EOF
>     $ jbuilder build @install @runtest
>
> I find it convenient to add a jbuild-workspace.dev file at the root of
> a project with the following rule in the Makefile:
>
>     all-supported-ocaml-versions:
>         jbuilder build @install @runtest --workspace jbuild-workspace.dev
>
> building multiple projects at once
> ----------------------------------
>
> This is great for working on several related projects:
>
>     $ opam source base
>     [...]
>     $ opam source stdio
>     [...]
>     $ jbuild build @install
>
> This method has been successfully tested to build the ~100 Jane Street
> packages at once.
>
> Changes
> =======
>
> Here is the full set of changes since the first alpha release:
>
> - Added a manual
>
> - Support incremental compilation
>
> - Switched the CLI to cmdliner and added a =build= command
>   (#5, Rudi Grinberg)
>
> - Added a few commands:
>   + =runtest=
>   + =install=
>   + =uninstall=
>   + =installed-libraries=
>   + =exec=: execute a command in an environment similar to what you
>     would get after =jbuilder install=
>
> - Removed the =build-package= command in favor of a =--only-packages=
>   option that is common to all commands
>
> - Automatically generate =.merlin= files
>   (#2, Richard Davison)
>
> - Improve the output of jbuilder, in particular don't mangle the
>   output of commands when using =-j N= with =N > 1=
>
> - Generate a log in =_build/log=
>
> - Versioned the jbuild format and added a first stable version.
>   You should now put =(jbuilder_version 1)= in a =jbuild= file at the
>   root of your project to ensure forward compatibility
>
> - Switch from =ppx_driver= to =ocaml-migrate-parsetree.driver=. In
>   order to use ppx rewriters with Jbuilder, they need to use
>   =ocaml-migrate-parsetree.driver=
>
> - Added support for aliases
>   (#7, Rudi Grinberg)
>
> - Added support for compiling against multiple opam switch
>   simultaneously by writing a =jbuild-worspace= file
>
> - Added support for OCaml 4.02.3
>
> - Added support for architectures that don't have natdynlink
>
> - Search the root according to the rules described in the manual
>   instead of always using the current directory
>
> - extended the action language to support common actions without using
>   a shell:
>   + =(with-stdout-to <file> <DSL>)=
>   + =(copy <src> <dst>)=
>   ...
>
> - Removed all implicit uses of bash or the system shell. Now one has
>   to write explicitely =(bash "...")= or =(system "...")=
>
> - Generate meaningful versions in =META= files
>
> - Strengthen the scope of a package. Jbuilder knows about package
>   =foo= only in the sub-tree starting from where =foo.opam= lives
>
> Notes
> =====
>
> Jbuilder was released in opam today, and since then I got reports that
> it often chooses the wrong "root". The rules for finding the root of
> the current workspace will have to be changed for the 1.0 release. In
> the meantime, you can force the compilation root by writing a
> jbuild-workspace containing "(context default)" where you want the
> root to be.
>
>
> [1] https://github.com/janestreet/jbuilder/blob/master/doc/manual.org
> [2] https://github.com/janestreet/jbuilder/blob/master/doc/quick-start.org
> [3] https://github.com/janestreet/jbuilder
>
> --
> Jeremie Dimino



-- 
Jeremie