Cross-Building Strategies in the Age of C++ Package Managers - Lecture

Explore cross-building strategies for C++ projects in the era of package managers through this CppCon 2022 conference talk. Delve into the challenges of building applications for embedded devices and ARM processors, and learn how to leverage modern C++ package managers like Conan and vcpkg to simplify cross-compilation workflows. Discover practical strategies for handling dependencies, compilers, and system libraries across different platforms. Gain insights into optimizing build processes for Raspberry Pi, NVIDIA Jetson, and ARM-based macOS and Windows systems. Follow along with a practical demonstration of cross-building an existing application using familiar tooling, and understand how these techniques can save time and streamline development for various target architectures.

Intro
ARM ubiquity
Why cross build?
Getting started
Cross-building terminology
Building dependencies: the compiler (cont'd)
Strategy: Leverage the package manager to specify the compiler
Building ZLIB, macOS example
Strategy 2: Package your compiler toolchain up
Executable dependencies
Strategy: requirements for build-time executables
Library and executable combos
Strategy: same requirement in both contexts
Strategy: split packages for executable and library
"Sysroot" and system libraries on Linux
"Sysroot" on embedded Linux - caveats
Strategy: package the root filesystem
Ready to build our own code!
Closing remarks