Getting Started with the xPack Binary Development Tools
Overview
xPack Binary Development Tools is a collection of standalone cross-platform binary tools, aimed at reproducible builds.
What are reproducible operations?
To be reproducible, an operation must remain stable over time and across different environments. In other words, if the same operation is repeated after some time, possibly on a different machine or platform, the resulting behaviour must be functionally equivalent.
The project home page groups the available tools as main tools and supplementary tools.
All projects are open source and are hosted in the GitHub Organization
xpack-dev-tools.
What are xpm packages? (xPacks)
xpm packages, abbreviated as xPacks, are versatile, language-neutral software packages. They have been successfully utilised in C/C++ projects.
What the heck are xpm packages (xPacks)? Please, do not introduce another package format!
Although the initial appearance may seem complex, utilising xpm packages is, in fact, straightforward. The design rationale is to automate frequent operations that occur during software development, such as the installation of dependencies, and to ensure reproducibility.
These packages are managed by xpm (the xPack Project Manager), a programme that complements the npm CLI (the popular JavaScript package manager), with new language-neutral features.
The xPacks Framework does NOT introduce a new package format; instead,
it uses the same format as npm packages, which is a collection of
files/folders and a package.json file with the package metadata.
xpm can install packages from the same repositories as npm, whether public or private.
The packages (usually regular archives, but also git repositories), are extracted into separate folders within the project.
Based on the content, there are two types of xpm packages:
- packages with source libraries (source xpm packages)
- packages with executables, usually platform-specific binary tools (binary xpm packages)
Source xpm packages are regular npm packages that include library source files, typically in C/C++, though there are no language restrictions.
Binary xpm packages are also regular npm packages, but with minimal
content, typically just the package.json file. Since these packages
provide executables for multiple platforms, some of which are quite
large, it is not practical to include all binaries within the npm
package itself. Instead, the package.json file contains references
(URLs) to platform-specific binary archives (e.g., .tar.gz for Unix or
.zip for Windows).
These archives are also expanded along with the package metadata.
Links/forwarders to
these executables are created in a .bin folder,
eliminating the need to add multiple folders to the PATH.
In summary, xpm packages can enhance and automate the installation process for source libraries and tools.
In summary, xpm packages can streamline and automate the installation process for source libraries and tools. Further details are available on the xpm Concepts page.
Features
All binaries are:
- Self-contained (include all required libraries).
- File-system relocatable (can be installed in any location).
- Built on slightly older systems (to ensure compatibility with both old and new systems).
Compatibility with older systems
Given that most operating systems maintain significant compatibility with older versions, building an application on an older system ensures that the same binary can run on newer versions. Conversely, building an application on a newer system may utilize library features that are not available in older versions, making backward compatibility less feasible.
Similarly to flatpacks or snap, but significantly simpler, xpm packages include all dependent shared libraries within the distributed archives, making the binaries independent of any similar libraries installed on the system. This ensures they can run on any system without needing specific libraries to be installed.
Also the builds are configured so that the binaries do not depend on being installed in specific folders, and can be installed in any location, including in user folders.
Benefits
The main advantages of using the xPack Binary Development Tools are:
- A convenient, uniform and portable install/uninstall/upgrade procedure; the same procedure is used for all major platforms (x64 Windows, x64 macOS, arm64 macOS, x64 GNU/Linux, arm64 GNU/Linux, arm GNU/Linux).
- Multiple versions of the same package can be installed at the same time on the same system.
- No need to worry about dependent libraries, they are all included.
- Not affected by system updates that might change the versions of the dependent libraries.
- Significantly lighter and easier to use than Docker images that provide similar functionality and are GNU/Linux centric.
- Projects can be tied to specific tools versions; this provides a good reproducibility, especially useful in CI/CD environments.
Install
The executables and other related files can be installed automatically with xpm or manually by downloading the platform specific archives.
The details for installing the various xPack Binary Development Tools on different platforms are provided in the Install Guide on each project's website.
License
Unless otherwise stated, the original content is released under the terms of the MIT License, with all rights reserved by Liviu Ionescu.
The binary distributions include several open-source components;
the corresponding licenses are available in each archive in the
distro-info/licenses folder.
Credits
Special thanks to MacStadium, for providing the Apple Silicon development infrastructure as part of their generous Free and Open Source Software program.
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