[webkit-dev] Moving WTF out of JavaScriptCore (revisited)

[Adam Barth]

On Wed, Nov 2, 2011 at 4:09 PM, Mark Rowe <mrowe at apple.com> wrote:
> On 2011-11-02, at 13:23, Adam Barth wrote:
>> As discussed previously, I think it would benefit the project to move
>> WTF out of JavaScriptCore:
>>
>> https://lists.webkit.org/pipermail/webkit-dev/2010-December/015427.html
>> https://lists.webkit.org/pipermail/webkit-dev/2011-February/015940.html
>>
>> Previously, we've been unable to do this because of Apple's internal
>> build process.  In thinking about this problem again recently, I
>> wonder if the following would work:
>>
>> 1) Move JavaScriptCore.xcodeproj from
>> Source/JavaScriptCore/JavaScriptCore.xcodeproj to
>> Source/JavaScriptCore.xcodeproj.
>> 2) Change how Apple submits JavaScriptCore to the internal build
>> process to submit Source as the code for "JavaScriptCore" instead of
>> Source/JavaScriptCore.
>> 3) Move Source/JavaScriptCore/WTF to Source/WTF.
>>
>> Mark, do you have a sense for whether this plan is feasible?  If not,
>> is there another approach that would work better?
>>
>> (If my understanding is correct, we could also apply this approach to
>> the other xcodeproj files, which would let us get rid of
>> ForwardingHeaders and move Source/WebCore/platform to
>> Source/Platform.)
>
> There are a few related goals here that I'm aware of:
> a) Separate WTF out of JavaScriptCore since it doesn't logically belong there, but was simply a convenient home for it.
> b) Separate WebCore/platform out of WebCore to help avoid layering violations.
> c) Rework the Mac build process so that we can eliminate forwarding headers and remove the duplication of .xcconfig files.

Yes.  These are the goals.

> The process for addressing a) and b) will be similar:
> 1) Move the relevant code from its current location to the new location.
> 2) Create a new Xcode project that builds the desired output in the appropriate fashion. Update other build systems as is applicable.
> 3) Apple starts including the new project in our build process.
>
> I don't see any benefit or need to move existing Xcode projects as part of this process.  Can you expand on why you included this in your proposal?

Based on our previous discussions, I was unsure how difficult (3) was
on your end.  If we can make (a) and (b) happen in the near term
without moving xcodeproj files around, that would make me a happy
camper.

> I'm not entirely clear on what we'll need to do to tackle c). My current feeling is that it will mainly involve reshuffling of Apple's build processes rather than any significant changes to WebKit.

Maybe we should aim to do (a) first, then (b), and then work on (c)
once we've figured out what needs to happen on Apple's end?

Thanks,
Adam