From: Alan Gutierrez <alan-ruby-talk@...>
Date: 2005-10-01T00:40:08+09:00
Subject: Re: Rake, Rant, A-A-P

* Lionel Thiry <lthiryidontwantspams@skynetnospam.be> [2005-09-30 11:12]:
> alan@agtrz.com a �crit :
> >     I'd like to start working with C++ again. What's held me back is not
> >     wanting to mess around with configure + make again.
> > 
> >     I'm casting about for a new build tool that will work on different
> >     platforms, and I think this would be a good time to learn Ruby.
> > 
> >     I'm a confused about the difference between Rake and Rant. I'd like to
> >     build C++ primarily, so it would be nice if the build tool knew about
> >     various C++ tasks, wasn't totally Ruby oriented.

> >     A-A-P appeals to be because it has a concept of Recipes. A recipe for a
> >     GUI app would build bundles on OS X, and resource files on Win32. It
> >     doesn't appeal to me because it has a domain specific language.

> >     Specific questions:

> >         * What are the differences between Rant and Rake?
> 
> Rake and Rant are roughly the same. Differences appear mainly when
> considering more advanced features like the way they manage rules. Rake
> is considered mature and its core features won't change much in the
> future. Rant is not 1.0 yet and there are sometimes incompatible changes
> from version to version.

> IMO Rant has a far more complete toolset like for example a dependency
> analyser for C/C++. And its export feature is worth to be considered.

    Thanks. This is a good answer for me. I'm hearing that Rant is
    more of a general purpose build tool, while Rake is focused on
    Ruby packages.

> >         * How does Ruby compare to something like SCons or A-A-P?
> > 
> 
> This is a trap! ;) What do you ask exactly? A comparison between ruby
> and python? Or comparison between Rake/Rant and Scons/A-A-P?

    I know, it sounds like a troll doesn't it? The work "recipe" on
    the A-A-P web site lept out at me. That is a great concept.

    The site said A-A-P worked with Ruby, but I'm finding that it's
    really a Python joint.
   
    Don't want to learn a DSL, like Jam. Think it's better to have a
    language that has a life outside of builds.

> If it's the second question, then I'd answer I prefer Rake/Rant mainly
> because you use them with Ruby.

    I want to hack through some of the Advanced C++ series. The
    prospect of GNU configure + Make kept me away. Build systems
    for C++ are very tricky, and I don't much like IDEs.

    Since it's something of a lark, if I could do build
    configuration in Ruby, it would take away some of the tedium.

    Thinking Rant now. Cheers.

--
Alan Gutierrez - alan@engrm.com
    - http://engrm.com/blogometer/index.html
    - http://engrm.com/blogometer/rss.2.0.xml