Auto Update

Overview

• auto_build is a C++ utility that monitors .cpp files in a specified directory for changes. When a change is detected, it automatically runs the make command to rebuild the project. This tool is useful for developers who want to automate the build process during development, ensuring that their project is always up-to-date with the latest changes.
• There are two options when using the tool you can either use the General version that works on all machines including, UNIX, Linux, Mac, and Windows or you can use the Windows specific version that works only on Windows machines. That are running at least Windows 2000 Professional or in technical terms at least support Win32 API. Although for now there are not many differences in this version for now but provides you with a Windows style MessageBox that alerts you when your build fails.

How It Works

1. File Scanning: The program scans the specified directory and its subdirectories for .cpp files.
2. Record Modification Times: It records the last modification times of these files.
3. Monitoring Loop: It enters a loop where it periodically checks the modification times of the files.
4. Detect Changes: If a change is detected in any of the .cpp files, it prints the file path to the console and runs the make command to rebuild the project.

How to Use

1. Clone the Repository: Clone the repository containing the auto_build utility to your local machine.

   git clone https://github.com/Halleys123/CPP_Auto_Build
   cd auto_build

2. Compile the Program: Compile main.cpp using using g++ compiler, by using the given make file:

      make build

   • You can use above command if you want to build general version of the program.
   • As for Windows users you can use to build the Windows specific version of the program:

   make build BUILD=WIN

3. Run the Program: Execute the compiled binary, specifying the directory to monitor. By default, it monitors the current directory (./):

   ./build.exe

4. Modify Files: Make changes to any .cpp files in the monitored directory. The program will detect the changes and automatically run the make command.

Setting Flags

You can set various flags when running the program:

• Interval: Set the monitoring interval in milliseconds.

  ./auto_build --interval 200

• Enable Logging: Enable or disable logging.

  ./auto_build --log true

• Log File: Set the log file path.

  ./auto_build --log_file log.txt

• Default Interval: Set the default interval used by the program if the user interval is invalid.

  ./auto_build --default_interval 100

• Help: Display the help message.

  ./auto_build --help

Requirements

• C++17 or later: Ensure your compiler supports C++17 or later.
• Make Utility: A make utility must be installed on your system to build the project.

Notes

• Make Configuration: Ensure that the make command is properly configured to build your project. This typically involves having a Makefile in the root of your project directory.
• Monitoring Interval: The monitoring interval is set to 100 miliseconds. You can adjust this interval by using the -df <interval> flag, where <interval> is the desired interval in miliseconds.
• Logging: By default, logging is disabled. You can enable logging by using the -log true flag.

Example

Example

Here is an example of how to use auto_build:

1. Create your Project Folder: In the given command block, a file called main.cpp is generated.

   mkdir sample_project
   cd sample_project
   echo -e '#include <iostream>\nint main() { std::cout << "Hello, World!"; return 0; }' > main.cpp
   echo -e 'all:\n\tg++ -o main main.cpp' > Makefile

2. Compile and Run auto_build: Now you build the auto_build.cpp or auto_build_windows.cpp depending on your operating system.

   g++ -std=c++17 -o auto_build ../auto_build.cpp
   ./auto_build

3. Modify main.cpp:

   echo -e '#include <iostream>\nint main() { std::cout << "Hello, Auto Update!"; return 0; }' > main.cpp

   The auto_build program will detect the change and automatically run the make command to rebuild the project.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.

Updates

Update 1.1

Dated: 27:01:2025::02:34:56

Merits

• Now you can make run specific commands for a change in specific files. For example, if you want to run make dll_test command if your files say dll_test.cpp changes you can do that by adding a config.cfg file in the same directory as the auto_build executable. The config.cfg file should be in the following format:

  dll_test.cpp="make dll_test"

  This will run the make dll_test command if dll_test.cpp changes.

Demerits

• If using this feature you should try to keep all files names unique wether they are in different directories or not. As the program will only check the file name and not the path.

Update 1.2

Dated: 27:01:2025::02:52:32

Bugs Fixed

• Config.cfg will not invalidate on reading comments starting with hash '#'.
• The config.cfg file will no longer be invalidated when reading lines with special commands such as test.cpp,test1/cpp="make test" or test.cpp="make t", which previously caused invalidation.

Update 2.0 (Major Update)

Dated: 27:01:2025::03:01:45

• Overhauled the entire codebase to make it more modular and easier to maintain.