Create and build a C++ project

This tutorial creates a C++ project, examines the generated build description, and builds it with two compilers.

Generate the project

Install BESA in your Python environment and run:

besa cpp generate --path ~/software/example --name example
cd ~/software/example/main

The generator creates the default main checkout directory, copies the C++ template, substitutes the project name, writes the declarative besa.toml project model, and installs the current BESA CMake backend under cmake/besa. Use --directory when a different checkout-directory name is desired. Add --nvim-ycm when local Neovim and YouCompleteMe configuration should also be provisioned; those two local files are gitignored.

Build with GCC

cmake --workflow --preset gcc --fresh

The default feature set in besa.toml contains build-source and toolchain-cpp. The CMake bootstrap begins with LANGUAGES NONE; besa_model_realize() loads the model and BESA resolves those features before enabling CXX and processing the source prefix.

Build with Clang

cmake --workflow --preset clang --fresh

The build description is unchanged. Only the preset selects a different compiler.

Disable a default feature

Features passed through PROJECT_FEATURES are overrides. Prefix a feature with ~ to disable a default:

cmake -S . -B build/no-source \
  -DPROJECT_FEATURES='~build-source;~toolchain-cpp'

A feature may appear only once in the override list. foo;~foo, foo;foo, and ~foo;~foo are all configuration errors.

Install the project

cmake --install build/gcc --prefix ~/opt/example

BESA generates and installs exampleConfig.cmake, exampleConfigVersion.cmake, and exported targets. The installed package does not depend on the vendored BESA module.