NInine_k·Mar 6, 2018
(For a mostly-Python shop, I'd consider using [Search domain github.com] https://github.com/waf-project/waf or scons.org)
In Bazel Fawltywaf-project
waf
HISTORICAL RECORD2015–2018
waf-project / waf · Not publicly available
waf
Discover this repository through its Hacker News conversations.
5Distinct people
5Mentions
0Explicit recommenders
What to know before exploring
What it is
A public description has not been verified.
Where it is used
No documented product use has been verified yet.
What people are saying
No recommendation phrase was found in the indexed comments.
No classified warning is attached to this page. Read the discussions before treating silence as approval.
Also in these discussions
No other repository is repeatedly linked in the same discussions.
This week on Hacker News
Nov 7–Nov 14 UTC · Direct repository links and separately labeled related project stories. Indexed through 11/14/2026, 3:56:07 PM UTC.
No direct repository links were found in the indexed HN discussions over the past seven days. Older discussions are available below.
Mentions over time
HN mentions by month5 dated mentions
Observed mentions: 2015-10-01 18:48:21 UTC to 2018-03-06 16:05:53 UTC.
Counts come from the repository’s dated source evidence. Index cutoff: 2026-11-02 08:16:59 UTC.
View mention counts and date ranges
| Period | Start (UTC) | End (exclusive, UTC) | Mentions | Submissions | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 2015 | 2015-10-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2015-11-01 00:00:00 UTC | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Nov 2015 | 2015-11-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2015-12-01 00:00:00 UTC | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dec 2015 | 2015-12-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2016-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Jan 2016 | 2016-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2016-02-01 00:00:00 UTC | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Feb 2016 | 2016-02-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2016-03-01 00:00:00 UTC | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2016 | 2016-03-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2016-04-01 00:00:00 UTC | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Apr 2016 | 2016-04-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2016-05-01 00:00:00 UTC | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| May 2016 | 2016-05-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2016-06-01 00:00:00 UTC | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jun 2016 | 2016-06-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2016-07-01 00:00:00 UTC | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jul 2016 | 2016-07-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2016-08-01 00:00:00 UTC | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Aug 2016 | 2016-08-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2016-09-01 00:00:00 UTC | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2016 | 2016-09-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2016-10-01 00:00:00 UTC | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 2016 | 2016-10-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2016-11-01 00:00:00 UTC | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 2016 | 2016-11-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2016-12-01 00:00:00 UTC | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dec 2016 | 2016-12-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2017-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jan 2017 | 2017-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2017-02-01 00:00:00 UTC | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Feb 2017 | 2017-02-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2017-03-01 00:00:00 UTC | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Mar 2017 | 2017-03-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2017-04-01 00:00:00 UTC | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Apr 2017 | 2017-04-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2017-05-01 00:00:00 UTC | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| May 2017 | 2017-05-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2017-06-01 00:00:00 UTC | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jun 2017 | 2017-06-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2017-07-01 00:00:00 UTC | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jul 2017 | 2017-07-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2017-08-01 00:00:00 UTC | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Aug 2017 | 2017-08-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2017-09-01 00:00:00 UTC | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2017 | 2017-09-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2017-10-01 00:00:00 UTC | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 2017 | 2017-10-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2017-11-01 00:00:00 UTC | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 2017 | 2017-11-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2017-12-01 00:00:00 UTC | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dec 2017 | 2017-12-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2018-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jan 2018 | 2018-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2018-02-01 00:00:00 UTC | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Feb 2018 | 2018-02-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2018-03-01 00:00:00 UTC | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2018 | 2018-03-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2018-04-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2 | 0 | 2 |
What Hacker News says
5 sourcesWhen it comes to a build system with Python-like syntax, I prefer Waf (https://github.com/waf-project/waf) to the rest of the competing solutions. It's written in Python, provides excellent support for many build scenarios, but can be extended with Python scripts without any restrictions, and has minimal dependencies (literally, you can supply Waf packed binary with your project and it'll work on all major platforms that have Python).
In Please – A Cross-Language Build System> * Setting up a proper build system is tedious, especially if you're targeting multiple platforms.
There is a tool called waf (https://github.com/waf-project/waf) which is getting way too little love, but is really the perfect build system for C and C++ projects:
from glob import glob
def options(ctx):
ctx.load('compiler_cxx')
def configure(ctx):
ctx.load('compiler_cxx')
def build(ctx):
ctx.program(source = glob('src/*.cpp'), target = 'your-program')
That build script will work with all major compilers (Visual Studio, gcc, clang, mingw) out of the box.
In In Defense of C++Could anyone speak to why you would use Autotools today in a new project rather than gyp [0] (created by the Chrome team because Autotools sucks) or waf [1]? How many people really have a requirement to support more than just Windows, OS X, and Linux? I can understand not wanting to rip out a working Autotools implementation of a legacy project, but it's greenfield use should decline to zero.
[0] https://gyp.gsrc.io/
[1] https://github.com/waf-project/waf
In Autotools Mythbusterwaf [1] is very close to what you describe.
It's all Python. It's built so you can include one Python file in your source tree and install nothing but Python.
A relatively small core handles dependency tracking and shuffling flags from the user to tasks. I can't believe how fast it is, considering it is reading the files and computing hashes.
While user scripts have access to all of Python, you can limit yourself and write rules in a high level build rule style that's only slightly more Pythonic than Bazel, et al. Basically it's bld.program(source=['main.c'], use=['foo']) or bld(features='c cprogram', source=['main.c'], use=['foo']) instead of cc_binary(srcs=['main.c'], deps=[':foo']).
Adding rules can be done in various ways, including genrule-style shell commands, registering a task class by file extension, and a very flexible system of
Read the rest
registering methods to hook into the "features" attribute.
With surprisingly little work, you can layer your own build language on top of the core modules. Demos are provided that parse makefiles or generate rules by searching the source directory with no user script [2].
Relative to the OP's concerns, a configure step is required and can search the system, call pkg-config, write config.h, etc. Arbitrary command line options can be added by shared tools and user scripts. Install, dist, and distclean are all there.
[1] - https://waf.io/
[2] - https://github.com/waf-project/waf/tree/master/build_system_...