Continuous integration and deployment (CI/CD) are essential processes in modern software development. They help ensure that the code is continuously tested, integrated, and deployed to production in a timely and efficient manner. In this blog post, we will explore how to set up CI/CD for C++ projects using popular build systems like CMake and Make.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. Setting up Continuous Integration
   • C++ Build System: CMake
   • C++ Build System: Make
3. Setting up Continuous Deployment
4. Conclusion

Introduction

CI/CD helps ensure that changes to the codebase are continuously validated and deployed. It promotes automated testing, code reviews, and deployment, which leads to higher code quality and faster time-to-market.

For C++ projects, there are various build systems available, such as CMake, Make, and Boost.Build. These build systems provide a structured way to compile, build, and package the C++ code. They can be integrated into CI/CD pipelines to automate the build and deployment process.

Setting up Continuous Integration

Setting up CI for a C++ project involves configuring a CI server, such as Jenkins, Travis CI, or GitLab CI, to monitor the project repository for changes and execute relevant tests and builds.

C++ Build System: CMake

CMake is a popular build system for C++ projects. It provides a simple and platform-independent way to define the build process. To integrate CMake into a CI/CD pipeline, follow these steps:

1. Install CMake on the CI server.
2. Configure the CI server to execute the following commands:
   • Create a build directory: mkdir build && cd build
   • Generate the build files: cmake ..
   • Build the project: cmake --build .
   • Run tests: ctest .
   • Package the project: cpack .

These commands will configure and build the project, run tests, and create a deployable package.

C++ Build System: Make

Make is another commonly used build system for C++ projects. It uses Makefiles to specify the build process. To integrate Make into a CI/CD pipeline, follow these steps:

1. Install Make on the CI server.
2. Configure the CI server to execute the following commands:
   • Build the project: make
   • Run tests: make test
   • Package the project: make package

Make will use the Makefile to perform these actions.

Setting up Continuous Deployment

Continuous deployment involves automating the process of deploying the built artifacts to production environments. For C++ projects, this could include deploying binaries, libraries, or containers.

To set up continuous deployment, you can use deployment tools like Ansible, Docker, or scripts that handle the deployment process. The CI/CD pipeline can be configured to trigger the deployment process after successfully building and testing the code.

Conclusion

CI/CD is essential for ensuring the quality and timely deployment of C++ projects. By integrating popular build systems like CMake and Make into CI/CD pipelines, developers can automate the build and deployment process, resulting in faster feedback loops and more reliable software releases.

By making CI/CD an integral part of the development workflow, C++ projects can benefit from increased productivity, improved code quality, and faster time-to-market.

#tags: #CI/CD #C++