mesonbuild/meson

Add a mechanism to add prefix/suffixes to configuration files

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#1,492 opened on Mar 22, 2017

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enhancementhelp wanted

Description

Right now, with configure_file() if the input: kwarg is not set, we just dump the entire configuration. This has the advantage of not having to maintain a duplicate list of defines (one in meson.build, another in config.h.in) and is less error-prone.

However, this leaves a gap: sometimes the config.h is mostly generated, but has a few static defines in it. We should implement a way to also add these to the generated config.h. There are two ways to implement this:

  1. Add prefix: and suffix: kwargs to configure_file()

  2. Add a new token type #meson_dump_configuration (or similar) that can be put in config.h.meson that will dump the configuration_data() object in that place

The latter has the advantage of being more flexible, and the former has the advantage of having all the defines in one place (in meson.build).

Contributor guide

Tech stack
python
Domain
build system
Issue type
feature
DifficultyEstimated implementation difficulty for a new contributor, from 1 for very small changes to 5 for expert-level work.
3
Estimated timeA rough time range for an experienced contributor to investigate, implement, test, and prepare a pull request.
3-5 days
Activity statusHow available the issue appears right now: fresh, active, stale, blocked, or waiting on maintainer input.
stale
ClarityHow clearly the issue explains the expected change, acceptance criteria, and next step.
clear
Prerequisites
Familiarity with Meson build systemPython experience
Newbie friendlinessA 1-100 score estimating how approachable this issue is for first-time contributors.
25
Research direction
The issue proposes two approaches: adding `prefix:` and `suffix:` kwargs to `configure file()`, or introducing a `#meson dump configuration` token in config files. To implement, study the existing `configure file()` implementation in `mesonbuild/interpreter.py` and the `configuration data()` object. No linked PRs exist, so work should start from scratch. The maintainers have not clarified preference, so the contributor should choose based on flexibility and codebase consistency.