hadron composite build system for C++/JavaScript Node-API modules

This is the core of the hadron build system for dual-environment Node.js/Browser C++/JavaScript Node-API modules.

It consists of:

• This modified meson core that includes:
  • A node-api module that greatly simplifies building dual-environment (native code in Node.js and WASM in the browser) C and C++ projects
  • Improved CMake compatibility with:
    • Support for conan CMake config files
    • Support for $CONFIG generator expressions
    • Support for install_data(FILES ...)
    • Several bugfixes related to handling the target dependencies
• xpm as build orchestrator and build tools software package manager
• conan as C/C++ package manager
• xPacks as standalone build tools packages

It is meant to be the preferred build system for SWIG JSE-generated projects.

Comparison vs node-gyp

Description	node-gyp	hadron = meson + conan + xpm
Overview	The official Node.js and Node.js native addon build system from the Node.js core team, inherited and adapted from the early days of V8 / Chromium	A new experimental build system from the SWIG JSE author that follows the meson design principles
Status	Very mature	Very young project
Platforms with native builds	All platforms supported by Node.js	Linux, Windows and macOS
WASM builds	Hackish, see swig-napi-example-project and [email protected] for solutions	Out of the box
Node.js APIs	All APIs, including the now obsolete raw V8 and NAN and the current Node-API	Only Node-API
Integration with other builds systems for external dependencies	Very hackish, see [email protected] for solutions, the only good solution is to recreate the build system of all dependencies around node-gyp	Out of the box support for meson, CMake and autotools
conan integration	Very hackish, see [email protected]	Out of the box
Build configurations through npm install CLI options	Yes	Yes
Distributing prebuilt binaries	Yes, multiple options, including @mapbox/node-pre-gyp, prebuild-install and prebuildify	Only prebuild-install at the moment
Requirements for the target host when installing from source	Node.js, Python and a working C++17 build environment	Only Node.js when using xpack-dev-tools, a working C++17 build environment otherwise
Makefile language	Obscure and obsolete (gyp)	Modern and supported (meson)

When choosing a build system, if your project:

• targets only Node.js/native and has no dependencies

  → stay on node-gyp

• meant to be distributed only as binaries compiled in a controlled environment

  → stay on node-gyp

• has a dual-environment native/WASM setup

  → node-gyp will work for you, but hadron has some advantages

• has dependencies with different build systems (meson, CMake, autotools)

  → hadron is the much better choice

• uses conan

  → hadron is the much better choice

• everything else at once - or must support compilation on all end-users' machines without any assumptions about the installed software

  → hadron is the only choice

Installation

The modified meson core is a xPack:

npm install xpm
npx xpm install @mmomtchev/meson-xpack

Tutorial

• Project setup
• Create meson.build
• Setup the build actions
• Build for the first time
• Add WASM
• Add async support
• Add a CMake-based subproject
• Add build options
• Add conan
• Add prebuilt binaries and npm install scripts
• Advanced node-api options
• Advanced xpm, meson and conan options

The best way to start a new hadron project is by cloning the SWIG Node-API Example Project (hadron) - it is a full project template that includes every basic feature and uses SWIG to generate the code.

This tutorial will guide you step by step through all the features, giving you a better understanding of each element.

Project setup

Write some C/C++ code and use SWIG to generate Node-API compatible bindings or manually write the glue code yourself - this part is beyond the scope of this tutorial.

Initialize a new npm project, install xpm and initialize the xpm extension:

npm init
npm install xpm
npx xpm init

If using C++, install node-addon-api:

(omit all --save-dev if you plan to be able to build on the end-user's machine when installing)

npm install --save-dev node-addon-api

Install the meson and ninja xPacks:

xpm install @mmomtchev/meson-xpack @xpack-dev-tools/ninja-build

Create meson.build

project(
  'My Project',
  ['cpp'],
  default_options: [
    # Not mandatory, but this is the default when using node-gyp
    # (in meson, the default is buildtype=debug)
    'buildtype=release',
    # Highly recommended if you are shipping binaries for Windows
    # and want to avoid your users the Windows DLL hell and random crashes
    'b_vscrt=static_from_buildtype'
  ]
)

# Simply include the module, this step will also parse all
# npm_config_ options into meson options
napi = import('node-api')

# Use napi.extension_module() instead of
# shared_module() with the same arguments
addon = napi.extension_module(
  # The name of the addon
  'my_addon',
  # The sources
  [ 'src/my_source.cc' ]
)

Setup the build actions

Add to package.json which should already have an empty xpack.actions element:

{
  ...
  "xpack": {
    "actions": {
      "prepare": "meson setup build .",
      "build": "meson compile -C build -v"
    }
  }
  ...
}

Build for the first time

npx xpm run prepare
npx xpm run build

Your new addon should be waiting for you in build/my_addon.node.

Add WASM

In order to build to WASM, emscripten must be installed and activated in the environment.

Create a meson cross-file, the bare minimum is:

[binaries]
c = 'emcc'
cpp = 'em++'
ar = 'emar'
strip = 'emstrip'

[host_machine]
system = 'emscripten'
cpu_family = 'wasm32'
cpu = 'wasm32'
endian = 'little'

Then, the project package.json will have to be modified to include build configurations:

{
  ...
  "actions": {
    "build": "meson compile -C build -v"
  },
  "buildConfigurations": {
    "native": {
      "actions": {
        "prepare": "meson setup build ."
      }
    },
    "wasm": {
      "actions": {
        "prepare": "meson setup build . --cross-file emscripten-wasm32.ini"
      }
    }
  }
  ...
}

The build step is common to both configurations, but from now on, when calling prepare, the configuration will have to be specified:

npx xpm run prepare --config wasm
npx xpm run build

Finally, install emnapi, add c as language in project() in meson.build, and launch your first WASM build:

(omit all --save-dev if you plan to be able to build on the end-user's machine when installing)

npm install --save-dev emnapi
npm install @emnapi/runtime

Add async support

If building to WASM with async support, multi-threading must be explicitly enabled:

thread_dep = dependency('threads')
addon = napi.extension_module(
  'my_addon',
  [ 'src/my_source.cc' ],
  dependencies: [ thread_dep ]
  )

In this case the resulting WASM will require COOP/COEP when loaded in a browser.

Node.js always has async support and including the thread dependency is a no-op when building to native.

Add a CMake-based subproject

meson has native support for CMake-based subprojects through its cmake module:

cmake = import('cmake')
cmake_opts = cmake.subproject_options()
cmake_opts.add_cmake_defines([
  # You can pass your CMake options here, CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE is automatic
  # from the meson build type
  {'BUILD_SHARED_LIBS': false},
  {'BUILD_UTILITIES': not meson.is_cross_build()},
  # Always pass this for a Node.js addon
  {'CMAKE_POSITION_INDEPENDENT_CODE': true}
])
# This will retrieve the CMakeLibrary::CMakeTarget target
my_cmake_library = cmake.subproject('CMakeLibrary', options: cmake_opts)
my_cmake_dep = my_cmake_library.dependency('CMakeTarget')
# Link with CMakeLibrary::CMakeTarget
addon = napi.extension_module(
  'my_addon',
  [ 'src/my_source.cc' ],
  dependencies: [ my_cmake_dep ]
  )

You will also need to install the CMake xPack:

npx xpm install @xpack-dev-tools/cmake

CMake + WASM

You will need to pass the emscripten CMake toolchain to meson in the cross file.

emscripten-wasm32.ini:

[properties]
cmake_toolchain_file = '/<path_to_emsdk>/upstream/emscripten/cmake/Modules/Platform/Emscripten.cmake'

Add build options

If the project includes conditional compilation options, these can be transformed to meson build options.

Create a meson.options file:

option('async', type : 'boolean', value : true)

This meson option, true by default, can be activated by using -Dasync=false. It will also be set by the import('node-api') statement if npm_config_enable_async or npm_config_disable_async are found in the environment. This means that your user could type:

npm install your-module --disable-async

and this option will get passed to the meson build automatically where its value can be retrieved by using:

if get_option('async')
   ...
endif

Add conan

hadron supports conan out of the box. Simply add the conan xPack:

npx xpm install @mmomtchev/conan-xpack

Then create your conanfile.txt and add a conan step in the xpm build.

conanfile.txt with zlib:

[requires]
zlib/[>=1.2.0]

[generators]
# This is the conan + meson interaction
# as described in their own documentation
MesonToolchain
PkgConfigDeps

[tool_requires]
# Because of Windows
pkgconf/2.1.0

Add the conan prepare step to the build:

{
  ...
  "properties": {
    "commandConanBuildEnv": {
      "win32": "build\\conanbuild.bat && ",
      "linux": ". build/conanbuild.sh && ",
      "darwin": ". build/conanbuild.sh && "
    }
  },
  "actions": {
    "build": "{{ properties.commandConanBuildEnv[os.platform] }} meson compile -C build -v",
    "prepare": [
      "conan install . -of build",
      "{{ properties.commandConanBuildEnv[os.platform] }} meson setup build . --native-file build{{ path.sep }}conan_meson_native.ini"
    ]
  }
  ...
}

There are a few new xpm elements here:

• we are using command arrays that allow to run multiple commands per action
• we are using the built-in LiquidJS templating engine that allows to expand variables from the properties section
• we are using path separators that vary by OS with the path.sep constant
• and we are using a special command that varies by OS as selected by the built-in os.platform constant

Finally, to link with this new dependency, import it in your meson.build and add it to the module:

zlib_dep = dependency('zlib', method: 'pkg-config')
addon = napi.extension_module(
  'my_addon',
  [ 'src/my_source.cc' ],
  dependencies: [ zlib_dep ]
  )

conan + WASM

When using conan and WASM, you have two options:

• get emsdk from conan, in which case conan will do everything for you, but you will be stuck with their version:

  conanfile.txt:

  [tool_requires]
  emsdk/3.1.50
  

• install emsdk yourself

In both cases you will need a conan build profile: emscripten-wasm32.profile:

[buildenv]
CC={{ os.getenv("EMCC") or "emcc" }}
CXX={{ os.getenv("EMCXX") or "em++" }}

[settings]
os=Emscripten
arch=wasm
compiler=clang
compiler.libcxx=libc++
compiler.version=17

conan will create your cross file for meson, and you won't need another WASM cross file.

This is how your WASM build action should look like:

"wasm": {
  "actions": {
    "prepare": [
      "conan install . -of build -pr:h=emscripten-wasm32.profile --build=missing",
      "{{ properties.commandConanBuildEnv[os.platform] }} meson setup build . --cross-file build{{ path.sep }}conan_meson_cross.ini"
    ]
  }
}

SWIG Node-API Example Project (hadron) uses the second option, it expects emsdk to be installed and activated in the environment.

conan + CMake (CMake subproject requires dependencies from conan )

You need to pass the conan-generated toolchain to the meson cmake module in a native or cross file:

conan.ini, to be passed to meson:

[properties]
cmake_toolchain_file = '@GLOBAL_BUILD_ROOT@' / 'conan_toolchain.cmake'

You should be aware that both meson and conan will pass their options to CMake - make sure that there are no conflicts. For example, emscripten cannot link monothreaded and multithreaded code, so do not make a monothreaded build on one side and a multithreaded build on the other side.

For the cmake module to pick the conan dependencies, conan should produce both PkgConfigDeps for meson and CMakeDeps to be consumed by the CMake project. As conan works best using the system default make (GNU make, MSBuild.exe or XCode) and meson always uses ninja, this requires some special configuration that is not possible in a conanfile.txt and must be in a conanfile.py.

magickwand.js is an example of a complex project that uses conan + meson + CMake + emscripten.

This is the relevant section of conanfile.py:

from conan.tools.cmake import CMakeToolchain, CMakeDeps
generators = [ 'MesonToolchain', 'CMakeDeps' ]

    def generate(self):
        tc = CMakeToolchain(self)
        tc.blocks.remove("generic_system")
        tc.generate()

This is a custom conan generator that omits part of the generated CMake toolchain, allowing hadron to use its own ninja from its own xPack, while conan uses its own defaults - GNU make, MSBuild.exe and XCode. It is also possible to configure conan to use ninja everywhere, but my experience is that there will be a much higher risk of broken recipes and conflicts between the ninja from conan and the ninja from the xPack.

conan + build options

Check magickwand.js for a conanfile.py that reads npm install options.

conan locking

It is recommended that real-world projects lock their dependencies - this is the conan equivalent of a package-lock.json - check SWIG Node-API Example Project (hadron) for an example for npx xpm lock --config native action that creates a conan lock file.

conan + CMake + WASM interaction (a hadron with everything, please)

Also when using conan + CMake + WASM, the emscripten toolchain should be part of the conan toolchain which will pass it to meson which will pass it to cmake, here is the conan profile to use:

[buildenv]
CC={{ os.getenv("EMCC") or "emcc" }}
CXX={{ os.getenv("EMCXX") or "em++" }}

[settings]
os=Emscripten
arch=wasm
compiler=clang
compiler.libcxx=libc++
compiler.version=17

# This section is needed for conan + CMake + WASM
[conf]
tools.cmake.cmaketoolchain:user_toolchain=['{{ os.getenv("EMSDK") }}/upstream/emscripten/cmake/Modules/Platform/Emscripten.cmake']

Add prebuilt binaries and npm install scripts

hadron is compatible with both the original prebuild-install package and my own @mmomtchev/prebuild-install which includes some very minor changes such as up to date dependencies, napi mode by default and a built-in build-wasm-from-source option. A prebuilt binary is simply a .tar.gz that is decompressed at the root of the package when it is installed through npm. Typically binaries are built in build/<config> and are installed in lib/binding or lib/binding/<platform>. A prebuilt archive will need to include only lib/binding. Implementing the install scripts is possible through LiquidJS conditional templates.

Example relevant section from package.json:

"xpack": {
  "properties": {
    "verbose": "{% if env.npm_config_loglevel %}--verbose{% endif %}",
    "scriptInstallNative": "npx prebuild-install -d {{ properties.verbose }} || ( npx xpm install && xpm run prepare --config native && xpm run build --config native )",
    "scriptInstallWASM": "npx prebuild-install --platform emscripten --arch wasm32 -d {{ properties.verbose }} || ( npx xpm install && xpm run prepare --config wasm && xpm run build --config wasm )"
  },
  "actions": {
    "npm-install": [
      "{% unless env.npm_config_skip_native_example %}{{ properties.scriptInstallNative }}{% endunless %}",
      "{% unless env.npm_config_skip_wasm_example %}{{ properties.scriptInstallWASM }}{% endunless %}"
    ]
  }
},
"binary": {
  "napi_versions": [ 6 ],
  "package_name": "{platform}-{arch}.tar.gz",
  "remote_path": "mmomtchev/hadron-swig-napi-example-project/releases/download/{tag_prefix}{version}/",
  "host": "https://github.com"
},
"scripts": {
  "install": "npx xpm run npm-install",
}

In this example, the npm-install xpm action can install prebuilt binaries. Both a native and a WASM version are installed in two separate steps. It won't do anything if --skip-native-example and/or --skip-wasm-example are passed - these options are useful for CI workflows that must build manually. If the user has specified npm install ... --verbose --foreground-scripts, then verbose mode is enabled. If --build-from-source and/or --build-wasm-from-source are passed, then prebuild-install will always rebuild instead of trying to download prebuilt binaries. The binary section contains the template to be used to construct the URL where the prebuilt package is located. Finally, everything is wired to run automatically when the user runs npm install.

Advanced node-api options

The module supports a number of Node-API specific options (these are the default values):

addon = napi.extension_module(
  'my_addon',
  [ 'src/my_source.cc' ],
  node_api_options: {
    'async_pool':       4,
    'es6':              true,
    'stack':            '2MB',
    'swig':             false,
    'environments':     [ 'node', 'web', 'webview', 'worker' ]
  })

• async_pool: (applies only to WASM) sets the maximum number of simultaneously running async operations, must not exceed the c_thread_count / cpp_thread_count meson options which set the number of emscripten worker threads
• es6: (applies only to WASM) determines if emscripten will produce a CJS or ES6 WASM loader
• stack: (applies only to WASM) the maximum stack size, WASM cannot grow its stack
• swig: disables a number of warnings on the four major supported compilers (gcc, clang, MSVC and emscripten) triggered by the generated C++ code by SWIG
• environments: (applies only to WASM) determines the list of supported environments by the emscripten WASM loader, in particular, omitting node will produce a loader that does not work in Node.js, but can be bundled cleanly and without any extra configuration with most bundlers such as webpack

Advanced xpm, meson and conan options

Your further source of information should be their respective manuals.

xpm and conan are used completely unmodified. The xPacks allow you to use them seamlessly on all operating systems and without destroying any existing Python, conan or meson installations. This means that if you need access to their CLI options, you have to launch them through xpm.

Add a new action in your package.json:

"actions": {
  "meson": "meson"
}

Then in order to modify the build configuration, launch:

npx xpm run meson -- configure build/

The meson core is modified from the original. It contains the new node-api module and a large number of improvements to the conan and CMake integration - something that does not work very well out of the box. Still, its manual remains completely valid.

Why fork meson

Alas, the current state of my affair has made working with conan and meson extremely difficult.

In both projects, they tried to play a psychosis game with my work (my PRs) by doing simultaneously seemingly random acts and then trying to send me to see a psychiatrist. Given the context of the current affair, this has made any real work extremely difficult.

At the moment, both software packages need to be installed from my own repositories.