Programming Reference:Build System (obsolete) - Revision history

Nluczak: Updated for qt 5.15.2 and Visual Studio 2019

2021-02-24T21:57:59Z

Updated for qt 5.15.2 and Visual Studio 2019

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:57, 24 February 2021
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	#Ensure that your compiler and IDE are installed on the computer. This means that Visual Studio is installed if you intend to use Visual Studio, or that MinGW and QtCreator are installed if you intend to use QtCreator as your IDE and MinGW as your compiler.		#Ensure that your compiler and IDE are installed on the computer. This means that Visual Studio is installed if you intend to use Visual Studio, or that MinGW and QtCreator are installed if you intend to use QtCreator as your IDE and MinGW as your compiler.
	#Download and install a recent version of cmake (Version 3.14.5 at the time of this writing) from https://www.cmake.org/ - '''Add to path for all users.'''		#Download and install a recent version of cmake (Version 3.14.5 at the time of this writing) from https://www.cmake.org/ - '''Add to path for all users.'''
			#Download and install Qt based on your Visual Studio version, and system's architecture. For example, if you wanted to build BCI2000 as a 32 bit architecture on Visual Studio 2019, make sure that you choose the most recent Qt version which supports a 32 bit architecture and Visual Studio 2019; at the time of writing this, that would be Qt 5.15.2: MSVC 2019 32 bit. The same goes for if you want to compile BCI2000 for a 64 bit system, go to your most recent Qt version, and choose MSVC 2019 64 bit.
	#Create a build directory inside or outside your BCI2000 source tree, open a Windows shell inside the build directory (e.g., "BCI2000_build64"), and run "cmake-gui path/to/bci2000/build/directory".		#Create a build directory inside or outside your BCI2000 source tree, open a Windows shell inside the build directory (e.g., "BCI2000_build64"), and run "cmake-gui path/to/bci2000/build/directory".
	#In the cmake GUI, click "configure", and select the compiler of your choice.		#In the cmake GUI, click "configure", and select the compiler of your choice.
	~~#Wait while cmake examines your computer, finds Qt and your compiler, and generates applicable project files for your system.~~
	#If you are using Visual Studio 2015, and cmake fails to find your compiler, then you may need to copy the files rc.exe and rcdll.dll from one of your Program Files (x86)/WindowsKits bin folders to Program Files (x86)/Microsoft Visual Studio 14.0/VC/bin.		#If you are using Visual Studio 2015, and cmake fails to find your compiler, then you may need to copy the files rc.exe and rcdll.dll from one of your Program Files (x86)/WindowsKits bin folders to Program Files (x86)/Microsoft Visual Studio 14.0/VC/bin.
	#~~CMake will report a number of warnings regarding Qt not being available. If~~ you have Qt installed on your machine, you can now set the CMake variable Qt5_DIR to your Qt installation's lib/cmake/Qt5 directory, and click "configure" again.		#Now that you have Qt installed on your machine, you can now set the CMake variable Qt5_DIR to your Qt installation's lib/cmake/Qt5 directory, and click "configure" again.
	#Finally, in the cmake GUI, click "generate" to generate a project or solution file.		#Finally, in the cmake GUI, click "generate" to generate a project or solution file.
	#Open the generated project/solution (for Visual Studio, this is called "BCI2000.sln") in the IDE of your choice. Or, if you are using MinGW make, run the make command from the command prompt using the Makefile in the top-level "build" directory. Refer to your IDE's help for IDE-specific instructions on how to build an application.		#Open the generated project/solution (for Visual Studio, this is called "BCI2000.sln") in the IDE of your choice. Or, if you are using MinGW make, run the make command from the command prompt using the Makefile in the top-level "build" directory. Refer to your IDE's help for IDE-specific instructions on how to build an application.

Nluczak at 21:50, 24 February 2021

2021-02-24T21:50:28Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:50, 24 February 2021
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	*'''Supported IDEs'''		*'''Supported IDEs'''
	**Qt Creator		**Qt Creator
	**Visual Studio 2015, 2017,2019		**Visual Studio 2015, 2017, 2019

	== How To Build Using CMake ==		== How To Build Using CMake ==

Nluczak at 21:50, 24 February 2021

2021-02-24T21:50:11Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:50, 24 February 2021
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	Early versions of BCI2000 (2.x and earlier) were dependent on the visual components library (VCL) by Borland and could only be built using the Borland compiler. Since version 3.0, Qt has replaced the VCL because it is not only compiler-independent, but also platform-independent.		Early versions of BCI2000 (2.x and earlier) were dependent on the visual components library (VCL) by Borland and could only be built using the Borland compiler. Since version 3.0, Qt has replaced the VCL because it is not only compiler-independent, but also platform-independent.

	To support many platforms and compilers, BCI2000 is using CMake ~~http~~://www.cmake.org to generate Makefiles, project files, and Visual Studio solutions. CMake can be thought of as a meta-makefile; it examines your build environment and sets up a Visual Studio project, a Code::Blocks project, or a Unix Makefile which is custom tailored to your environment. Due to the wide variation in possible build environments, BCI2000 can not come with a fixed Visual Studio solution file, or a fixed Eclipse project file (such fixed solutions would always end up costing users a lot of effort). Thus, the number of platforms BCI2000 supports is mainly limited by the number of platforms and compilers for which CMake has generators.		To support many platforms and compilers, BCI2000 is using CMake https://www.cmake.org to generate Makefiles, project files, and Visual Studio solutions. CMake can be thought of as a meta-makefile; it examines your build environment and sets up a Visual Studio project, a Code::Blocks project, or a Unix Makefile which is custom tailored to your environment. Due to the wide variation in possible build environments, BCI2000 can not come with a fixed Visual Studio solution file, or a fixed Eclipse project file (such fixed solutions would always end up costing users a lot of effort). Thus, the number of platforms BCI2000 supports is mainly limited by the number of platforms and compilers for which CMake has generators.

	== Supported Environments ==		== Supported Environments ==
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	**Support for Unix-like systems (macOS, Linux) is currently limited to building mex files		**Support for Unix-like systems (macOS, Linux) is currently limited to building mex files
	*'''Supported Compilers'''		*'''Supported Compilers'''
	**Visual Studio 2012 (express if disabling MFC-based projects)		**Visual Studio 2015, 2017, 2019 full and community editions
	**Visual Studio 2015, 2017 full and community editions
	**MinGW is currently unsupported		**MinGW is currently unsupported
	*'''Supported IDEs'''		*'''Supported IDEs'''
	**Qt Creator		**Qt Creator
	**Visual Studio ~~2012,~~ 2015, 2017		**Visual Studio 2015, 2017,2019

	== How To Build Using CMake ==		== How To Build Using CMake ==
	#Ensure that your compiler and IDE are installed on the computer. This means that Visual Studio is installed if you intend to use Visual Studio, or that MinGW and QtCreator are installed if you intend to use QtCreator as your IDE and MinGW as your compiler.		#Ensure that your compiler and IDE are installed on the computer. This means that Visual Studio is installed if you intend to use Visual Studio, or that MinGW and QtCreator are installed if you intend to use QtCreator as your IDE and MinGW as your compiler.
	#Download and install a recent version of cmake (Version 3.11.0 at the time of this writing) from ~~http~~://www.cmake.org/ - '''Add to path for all users.'''		#Download and install a recent version of cmake (Version 3.14.5 at the time of this writing) from https://www.cmake.org/ - '''Add to path for all users.'''
	#Create a build directory inside or outside your BCI2000 source tree, open a Windows shell inside the build directory (e.g., "BCI2000_build64"), and run "cmake-gui path/to/bci2000/build/directory".		#Create a build directory inside or outside your BCI2000 source tree, open a Windows shell inside the build directory (e.g., "BCI2000_build64"), and run "cmake-gui path/to/bci2000/build/directory".
	#In the cmake GUI, click "configure", and select the compiler of your choice.		#In the cmake GUI, click "configure", and select the compiler of your choice.
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	#Finally, in the cmake GUI, click "generate" to generate a project or solution file.		#Finally, in the cmake GUI, click "generate" to generate a project or solution file.
	#Open the generated project/solution (for Visual Studio, this is called "BCI2000.sln") in the IDE of your choice. Or, if you are using MinGW make, run the make command from the command prompt using the Makefile in the top-level "build" directory. Refer to your IDE's help for IDE-specific instructions on how to build an application.		#Open the generated project/solution (for Visual Studio, this is called "BCI2000.sln") in the IDE of your choice. Or, if you are using MinGW make, run the make command from the command prompt using the Makefile in the top-level "build" directory. Refer to your IDE's help for IDE-specific instructions on how to build an application.
	# Even though CMake must always be run from one top-level place (the "build" directory), and will spend several seconds generating a Makefile or project file for the whole BCI2000 tree at once, this does not mean that you have to '''compile''' all of BCI2000 at once. In the next step, if you're using MinGW-make on the command-line, you could for example type "make Operator" or "make SignalGenerator" to build only selected modules (again, you should be in the top-level "build" directory when you do this). Visual IDEs usually have their own equivalent of this: for example, in Visual Studio ~~2008~~, you can right-click on a particular module and select "Build".		# Even though CMake must always be run from one top-level place (the "build" directory), and will spend several seconds generating a Makefile or project file for the whole BCI2000 tree at once, this does not mean that you have to '''compile''' all of BCI2000 at once. In the next step, if you're using MinGW-make on the command-line, you could for example type "make Operator" or "make SignalGenerator" to build only selected modules (again, you should be in the top-level "build" directory when you do this). Visual IDEs usually have their own equivalent of this: for example, in Visual Studio 2019, you can right-click on a particular module and select "Build".
	# If you build the targets "NewBCI2000Module" and "NewBCI2000Filter", this will create two new binary executables with these names. They will be found in the top-level "build" directory (and, in common with CMake and make, they should be launched only from this location). Launch NewBCI2000Module to create a new project in order to compile your own custom module. Launch NewBCI2000Filter to create a new filter and add it to a project you have already created. In either case, you may need to re-run CMake (step 3) in order to ensure these changes are reflected in the project file.		# If you build the targets "NewBCI2000Module" and "NewBCI2000Filter", this will create two new binary executables with these names. They will be found in the top-level "build" directory (and, in common with CMake and make, they should be launched only from this location). Launch NewBCI2000Module to create a new project in order to compile your own custom module. Launch NewBCI2000Filter to create a new filter and add it to a project you have already created. In either case, you may need to re-run CMake (step 3) in order to ensure these changes are reflected in the project file.

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	Now that BCI2000 is open to a number of platforms, and compilers, support may not exist for every possible compiler/platform available. Certain compilers do not optimize code as well as others, and this behavior may lead to poor system latencies during BCI2000 experiments. The supported compilers have been rigorously tested and confirmed to be adequate for compiling the BCI2000 sources. If you wish to use a different compiler,		Now that BCI2000 is open to a number of platforms, and compilers, support may not exist for every possible compiler/platform available. Certain compilers do not optimize code as well as others, and this behavior may lead to poor system latencies during BCI2000 experiments. The supported compilers have been rigorously tested and confirmed to be adequate for compiling the BCI2000 sources. If you wish to use a different compiler,
	be sure to run tools/BCI2000Certification in order to confirm your setup. CMake is a powerful tool, but in the end, ability to compile the sources is completely up to the IDE/compiler choice. If your IDE/compiler choice is not listed above, it is strongly urged that you to consider using one which is supported. If you run into problems using an unsupported IDE/compiler combination, you can try to find help at the BBS - ~~http~~://www.bci2000.org/phpbb/index.php. BCI2000 should compile as effortlessly as possible on supported platforms.		be sure to run tools/BCI2000Certification in order to confirm your setup. CMake is a powerful tool, but in the end, ability to compile the sources is completely up to the IDE/compiler choice. If your IDE/compiler choice is not listed above, it is strongly urged that you to consider using one which is supported. If you run into problems using an unsupported IDE/compiler combination, you can try to find help at the BBS - https://www.bci2000.org/phpbb/index.php. BCI2000 should compile as effortlessly as possible on supported platforms.

	==See also==		==See also==

Mellinger: Mellinger moved page Programming Reference:Build System to Programming Reference:Build System (obsolete)

2020-07-10T18:59:10Z

Mellinger moved page Programming Reference:Build System to Programming Reference:Build System (obsolete)

← Older revision		Revision as of 18:59, 10 July 2020
(No difference)

Mellinger: /* Supported Environments */

2018-05-28T14:40:30Z

Supported Environments

← Older revision		Revision as of 14:40, 28 May 2018
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	**Visual Studio 2012 (express if disabling MFC-based projects)		**Visual Studio 2012 (express if disabling MFC-based projects)
	**Visual Studio 2015, 2017 full and community editions		**Visual Studio 2015, 2017 full and community editions
	**MinGW is currently ~~untested~~		**MinGW is currently unsupported
	*'''Supported IDEs'''		*'''Supported IDEs'''
	**Qt Creator		**Qt Creator

Mellinger: /* Supported Environments */

2018-05-28T13:13:30Z

Supported Environments

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:13, 28 May 2018
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	**32 and 64-bit Windows systems		**32 and 64-bit Windows systems
	**Windows 7, 8, 10 (Vista not recommended)		**Windows 7, 8, 10 (Vista not recommended)
	**Support for Unix-like systems (macOS, Linux) is currently ~~broken~~		**Support for Unix-like systems (macOS, Linux) is currently limited to building mex files
	*'''Supported Compilers'''		*'''Supported Compilers'''
	**Visual Studio 2012 (express if disabling MFC-based projects)		**Visual Studio 2012 (express if disabling MFC-based projects)

Mellinger: /* Windows platforms tested successfully so far */

2018-05-22T13:30:34Z

Windows platforms tested successfully so far

@@ Line 40: / Line 40: @@
 Now that BCI2000 is open to a number of platforms, and compilers, support may not exist for every possible compiler/platform available. Certain compilers do not optimize code as well as others, and this behavior may lead to poor system latencies during BCI2000 experiments. The supported compilers have been rigorously tested and confirmed to be adequate for compiling the BCI2000 sources.  If you wish to use a different compiler,
 be sure to run tools/BCI2000Certification in order to confirm your setup.  CMake is a powerful tool, but in the end, ability to compile the sources is completely up to the IDE/compiler choice.  If your IDE/compiler choice is not listed above, it is strongly urged that you to consider using one which is supported.  If you run into problems using an unsupported IDE/compiler combination, you can try to find help at the BBS - http://www.bci2000.org/phpbb/index.php.  BCI2000 should compile as effortlessly as possible on supported platforms.
 ==See also==

Mellinger: /* Status on other OSes */

2018-05-22T13:30:15Z

Status on other OSes

@@ Line 61: / Line 61: @@
 |MinGW > 4||Win XP SP3||1||dynamic
 |}
 ==See also==

Mellinger: /* How To Test */

2018-05-22T13:28:09Z

How To Test

@@ Line 30: / Line 30: @@
 # Even though CMake must always be run from one top-level place (the "build" directory), and will spend several seconds generating a Makefile or project file for the whole BCI2000 tree at once, this does not mean that you have to '''compile''' all of BCI2000 at once.  In the next step, if you're using MinGW-make on the command-line, you could for example type "make Operator" or "make SignalGenerator"  to build only selected modules (again, you should be in the top-level "build" directory when you do this).  Visual IDEs usually have their own equivalent of this:  for example, in Visual Studio 2008, you can right-click on a particular module and select "Build".
 # If you build the targets "NewBCI2000Module"  and "NewBCI2000Filter", this will create two new binary executables with these names. They will be found in the top-level "build" directory (and, in common with CMake and make, they should be launched only from this location). Launch NewBCI2000Module to create a new project in order to compile your own custom module.  Launch NewBCI2000Filter to create a new filter and add it to a project you have already created.  In either case, you may need to re-run CMake (step 3) in order to ensure these changes are reflected in the project file.
 == Known Issues ==

Mellinger: /* Building against a Qt distribution outside the BCI2000 source tree */

2018-05-22T13:23:47Z

Building against a Qt distribution outside the BCI2000 source tree

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:23, 22 May 2018
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	# Even though CMake must always be run from one top-level place (the "build" directory), and will spend several seconds generating a Makefile or project file for the whole BCI2000 tree at once, this does not mean that you have to '''compile''' all of BCI2000 at once. In the next step, if you're using MinGW-make on the command-line, you could for example type "make Operator" or "make SignalGenerator" to build only selected modules (again, you should be in the top-level "build" directory when you do this). Visual IDEs usually have their own equivalent of this: for example, in Visual Studio 2008, you can right-click on a particular module and select "Build".		# Even though CMake must always be run from one top-level place (the "build" directory), and will spend several seconds generating a Makefile or project file for the whole BCI2000 tree at once, this does not mean that you have to '''compile''' all of BCI2000 at once. In the next step, if you're using MinGW-make on the command-line, you could for example type "make Operator" or "make SignalGenerator" to build only selected modules (again, you should be in the top-level "build" directory when you do this). Visual IDEs usually have their own equivalent of this: for example, in Visual Studio 2008, you can right-click on a particular module and select "Build".
	# If you build the targets "NewBCI2000Module" and "NewBCI2000Filter", this will create two new binary executables with these names. They will be found in the top-level "build" directory (and, in common with CMake and make, they should be launched only from this location). Launch NewBCI2000Module to create a new project in order to compile your own custom module. Launch NewBCI2000Filter to create a new filter and add it to a project you have already created. In either case, you may need to re-run CMake (step 3) in order to ensure these changes are reflected in the project file.		# If you build the targets "NewBCI2000Module" and "NewBCI2000Filter", this will create two new binary executables with these names. They will be found in the top-level "build" directory (and, in common with CMake and make, they should be launched only from this location). Launch NewBCI2000Module to create a new project in order to compile your own custom module. Launch NewBCI2000Filter to create a new filter and add it to a project you have already created. In either case, you may need to re-run CMake (step 3) in order to ensure these changes are reflected in the project file.

	~~== Building against a Qt distribution outside the BCI2000 source tree ==~~
	BCI2000 comes with a stripped-down, precompiled version of Qt, which is downloaded by CMake at configuration time. This is a static version of the Qt libraries, and allows to distribute the resulting executable without hindsight to DLL dependencies. The complex and annoying implications of such dependencies has been termed "DLL hell" for good reasons, so we strongly recommend linking against the BCI2000-specific Qt libraries for Windows builds.

	When running CMake, it determines the current compiler/OS combination, and tries to download an appropriate version of the BCI2000-specific Qt build. If no such build is available, it expects a local Qt installation to be available, and fails with an error message if this is not the case.

	If a BCI2000-specific Qt build is available for the current configuration, you will still have the option of using a locally installed version of Qt. This is a CMake option <tt>USE_EXTERNAL_QT</tt> appearing in the <tt>CMakeCache.txt</tt> file after CMake has been run for the first time. Such options may be changed using the CMake GUI, or a text editor. After changing the option, run CMake again to apply the change to the created project files.

	== How To Test ==		== How To Test ==