[webkit-dev] Build system complexity

[Maciej Stachowiak]

On Aug 12, 2010, at 2:53 AM, Jeremy Orlow wrote:

> Are there currently any plans for simplifying the situation regarding build systems?  I haven't seen any threads for a while, which I assume means no.
> 
> Is there any low hanging fruit out there?  Since many of the build systems are little more than lists of files, it really seems like we should be able to do some sort of consolidation.  Or reduce the process down to updating one file and then running a script that updates/generates the rest.  Currently, I cringe every time I find out I need to add a new file.
> 
> In addition, has anyone ever looked at simplifying the mac port's xcode project?  It's _by far_ the heaviest burden on the project given that you pretty much need to use xcode (which is mac only...no other port requires this), exported linker symbols are in a separate file, extra effort to expose a new file in WTF to WebCore, extra effort to expose a new file in WebCore to WebKit, etc.  Has anyone recently looked at how the mac build could be simplified--especially from the perspective of contributors whose main development platform isn't a mac?

I think we should switch over to export control specified in the headers and not use .exp files any more. WebKit2.framework builds on all its target platforms with no external export control file. The hardest case for this is probably WebCore, though, and I'm not sure how practical it is to do incrementally.

Regards,
Maciej