A set of extensions to the open-source SCons build tool (www.scons.org)

Introduction

What is the Software Construction Toolkit?

• A toolkit for building applications.
• Open-source, so you can use it for building open-source products.
• Based on the open-source SCons build tool.
• Written in python; easily extended by writing tool modules.
• Documented.
• Tested.
• Your friend!

A sample of features:

• Build Windows, Linux, Mac desktop platforms with a single set of build files.
• Support for parallel (multi-processor) builds on all platforms.
• Support for distributed builds via distcc and Incredibuild.
• Generate Visual Studio solution and project files.

Why is the only tool in the toolkit a hammer?

• If you have a hammer, what other tools do you need?
• Once you start using it, everything looks like a nail - it's flexible enough you want to use it for all your build needs.
• Getting hammered is just as much fun for project builds as it is for developers.
• Because typing 'software_construction_toolkit.bat' would be too painful.

Why is this project separate from SCons? Why not just change SCons itself?

• SCons is a very flexible build tool. Where we can improve SCons while maintaining its flexibility, we're contributing changes directly back to SCons.
• Software Construction Toolkit provides a framework of additional builders and tools for SCons to make cross-platform development and testing easier. This framework does make some assumptions about the structure of a build - for example, that all libraries have distinct names. To preserve SCons's flexibility, we've kept the parts of the framework which rely on those assumptions in a separate project.

Documentation

Introduction to the Software Construction Toolkit

Glossary of all functions, variables, and methods added by the Software Construction Toolkit

Examples of common tasks

Developing Software Construction Toolkit:

• Writing and running tests