Build Commands

Building a project is done by invoking the C3 compiler with the build or run command inside of the project structure. The compiler will search upwards in the file hierarchy until a project.json file is found.

You can also customise the project build config.

Compile Individual Files

By default the compiler is compiling stand-alone files to output an executable binary.

c3c compile <file1> <file2> <file3>

Run

When starting out, with C3 it’s natural to use compile-run to try things out. For larger projects, the built-in build system is recommended instead.

The compile-run command works same as compilation, but also immediately runs the resulting executable.

c3c compile-run <file1> <file2> <file3>

Common additional parameters

Additional parameters:

• --lib <path> add a library to search.
• --output <path> override the output directory.
• --path <path> execute as if standing at <path>

Init a new project

c3c init <project_name> [optional path]

Create a new project structure in the current directory.

Use the --template to select a template. The following are built in:

• exe - the default template, produces an executable.
• static-lib - template for producing a static library.
• dynamic-lib - template for producing a dynamic library.

It is also possible to give the path to a custom template.

Additional parameters:

• --template <path> indicate an alternative template to use.

For example c3c init hello_world creates the following structure:

• Directorybuild/

  • …
• Directorydocs/

  • …
• Directorylib/

  • …
• Directoryresources/

  • …
• Directoryscripts/

  • …
• Directorysrc/

  • main.c3
• Directorytest/

  • …
• LICENSE
• project.json
• README.md

Check the project configuration docs to learn more about configuring your project.

Test

c3c test

Will run any tests in the project in the "sources" directory defined in your project.json for example:

...
"sources": [ "src/**" ],
...

Tests are defined with a @test attribute, for example:

fn void! test_fn() @test
{
    assert(true == true, "true is definitely true");
}

Build

c3c build [target]

Build the project in the current path. It doesn’t matter where in the project structure you are.

The built-in templates define two targets: debug (which is the default) and release.

Clean

c3c clean

Build and Run

c3c run [target]

Build the target (if needed) and run the executable.

Clean and Run

c3c clean-run [target]

Clean, build and run the target.

Dist

c3c dist [target]

Not properly added yet

Clean, build and package the target for distribution. Will also run the target if it is a executable.

Docs

c3c docs [target]

Not added yet

Rebuilds the documentation.

Bench

c3c bench [target]

Runs benchmarks on a target.