FAIRE

A lightweight, easy-to-use build system for C projects.

Warning

This is not a production-ready application. Use at your own risk.

Overview

FAIRE is a simple build system that provides an intuitive syntax for defining build rules, dependencies, and variables to automate your build process.

Syntax

Variables

Variables allow you to define reusable values:

$variable_name <- "value"

Rules

Rules define how to build targets:

target_name : dependency1 dependency2 => 
    command1,
    command2;

Or for rules without dependencies:

target_name :=> 
    command1,
    command2;

Phony Rules

Phony rules (not representing actual files) are prefixed with @:

@clean :=>
    rm -rf bin;

Examples

Basic FAIRE file

$cc <- "clang"
$compflags <- "-Wpedantic -Wall -Wextra -Werror -std=gnu11 -Iinclude"
$buildfiles <- "src/main.c src/utils.c src/lexer.c src/debug.c src/parser.c src/eval.c"

# Regular file target (not phony)
bin/faire : $buildfiles =>
    mkdir -p bin,
    $cc $buildfiles -o bin/faire $compflags;

# Debug Build
@debug :=> 
    mkdir -p bin,
    $cc -ggdb $buildfiles -o bin/faire $compflags;

# Release Build
@release :=> 
    mkdir -p bin,
    $cc -O3 $buildfiles -o bin/faire$compflags;

# Optimized for size
@small :=>
    mkdir -p bin,
    $cc -Os $buildfiles -o bin/faire$compflags;

# Clean Up
@clean :=> 
    rm -rf bin;

Command Line Usage

faire [OPTIONS] TARGET

Options:
  -d           Dry run the specified Rule
  -h           Display help message and exit

Arguments:
  TARGET       Name of the target to build

Key Features

• Variables: Define once, use everywhere
• Dependencies: Specify what targets depend on
• Phony Targets: Mark targets that don't produce files
• Dependency Checking: Only rebuild what's necessary

Project Status

FAIRE is currently in development and may not have all the features of more established build systems.