[webkit-dev] Please welcome GYP to the our dysfunctional build family

[Dimitri Glazkov]

Dear WebKiteurs,

In our persisting quest to be more like a common WebKit port, we have
added Chromium build files to the tree this afternoon. These files are
WebCore/WebCore.gypi and JavaScriptCore/JavaScriptCore.gypi and they
are the GYP include files. As you may know, we use GYP
(http://code.google.com/p/gyp) for generating MSVC, XCode, Scons, and
even Make projects for Chromium.

We are rather fond of GYP. Perhaps it is because it allows us to
maintain one set of project files for all three Chromium platforms;

or maybe because it lets us to do things like WebCore.gypi, where we
can just mindlessly add all project files to the list and then use
various neat GYP filtering facilities to narrow them down to sets that
are relevant for specific builds;

or maybe because it easifies creating cross-platform and
cross-build-system targets, actions, and rules;

or maybe because we just love saying "Gyp!"

I don't truthfully know.

What I do know is that starting now, we'd love for you to remember
WebCore.gypi and JavaScriptCore.gypi when you are adding or removing
files from WebCore or JavaScriptCore. Thanks to the power of GYP, you
don't have worry whether this file will be used by Chromium: the rule
is that if there's a project file change, it applies to the *.gypi
files. The format is very simple and intuitive, a simple Python/JSONey
list+dict.

Thank you for your attention, men and women of WebKit.

:DG<