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Feabhas Docker Host base C/C++ Training Project

Contents

Prerequisites

You will need the following software to use this project:

Getting Started

Download this Docker Host git repo to your local machine using either git or unpacking the ZIP archive.

If possible you should store the repo on your local hard drive and avoid using network attached storage as the editing and build process is disk I/O intensive.

Avoid placing the folder in an area that is mirrored using OneDrive, Google Drive or similar for the same reasons.

Your cloned folder will be called docker-host by default but you can rename this folder if you wish. This is your workspace folder that you would normally open using Visual Studio Code (see later).

Obtaining the course exercises

Inside your docker-target workspace subfolder called scripts there is a configure.py script that can be used to copy the course exercises into your workspace.

You can run this script at any time from your host environment or, once you've opened the project workspace, from a terminal window in VS Code using the command:

$ python3 configure.py

The script will supply a list of suitable courses for you to choose from and these exercises will be download from the appropriate Feabhas GitHub repo.

You will now have a sub-folder with a name of the form <COURSE>_exercises. where <COURSE> is the unique code for your course (such as cpp11-501).

If you know you course code you can supply this as a command line parameter to the script.

Alternatively your course joining instructions will provide a link to a Feabhas GitHub repo containing the the exercise solutions and optional starter templates required for the training exercises.

Clone this GitHub *_exercises repo into the docker-target workspace you have just created.

Using the Visual Studio Code IDE

If you do not have Visual Studio Code installed then provided your company security policy permits you to install applications you can download it from [Visual Studio Code] (https://code.visualstudio.com/).

Start VS Code and click on the extension icon in the left hand panel (it shows four squares with the top right one detached from the rest).

In the search box at the top of the left hand panel enter the text

dev containers

Make sure you include the space. In the Dev Containers extension (from Microsoft) shown in the list of matched extension click on the Install button and add the Dev Containers extenions. You may need to restart VS code after doing this.

In the bottom left corner of the screen there will now be a coloured icon with an >< symbol, click on this and select:

  • Open Folder in container...

and open the docker-host workspace folder containing this project.

When VS Code opens the folder this will download a Docker container from feabhas/ubuntu-projects:latest. This container is configured with a toolchain for building Feabhas host training projects including:

  • Ubuntu GNU Toolchain and GDB
  • Build tools GNU Make, Ninja and CMake
  • Test tools googletest, gmock, puncover and valgrind

The container is about 3GB and will take a noticeable amount of time to download.

VS Code will connect to the remote container as user feabhas (password ubuntu) and copy files from an host target project template to the workspace folder. Within the container the working folder is mapped onto ~/workspace.

The docker-host workspace folder will now contain the files for building and running applications on the Ubuntu image.

Toolchain

The Feabhas project build process uses CMake as the underlying build system. CMake is itself a build system generator and we have configured it to generate the build files used by either Ninja or GNU Make: ninja is used in preference to make if it is installed.

Using CMake is a two step process: generate build files and then build. To simplify this and to allow you to add additional source and header files we have created a front end script to automate the build.

You can add additional C/C++ source and header files to the src directory. If you prefer you can place you header files in the include directory.

The build process checks if the contents of the src and/or include folders have changed and automatically regenerates the build configuration.

Build the application

VS Code build tasks

VS Code has been configured with tasks to build the code and run a gdb session.

From within VS Code you can use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl-Shift-B to run one of the build tasks: * Build standard build * Clean to remove object and executable files * Reset to regenerate the CMake build files

Command line build script

In the project root run:

$ ./build.sh

This will generate the executable file build/debug/Application.

You can add a -v option see the underlying build commands:

$ ./build.sh -v

The build.sh script supports the --help option for more information.

You have additional build options:

  • ./build.sh clean # delete working files for a clean rebuild
  • ./build.sh reset # regenerate the complete build configuration

Running you application

From VS Code:

  • Press Ctrl-Shift-P (or Shift-CMD-P on macOS hosts) to launch the Command Palette (you can also use the View -> Command Palette menu option)
  • type test task and select Tasks: Run Test Task from the list and your application will run

The next time you use Ctrl-Shift-P the asks: Run Test Task will be at the top of the list.

Running your application will trigger a rebuild if the application is out of date.

Alternatively from the command line enter:

$ ./build/debug/Application

Debugging

VS Code debug

To debug your code with the interactive (visual) debugger press the <F5> key or use the Run -> Start Debugging menu.

The debug sessions with stop at the entry to the main function and may display a red error box saying:

Exception has occurred.

This is normal: just close the warning popup and use the debug icon commands at the top manage the debug system. The icons are (from left to right):

  • continue stop over step into step return restart quit

Building an exercise solution

You must have downloaded the course solutions and stored them in your workspace as described at the start of this README. If you haven't done so already run the command

$ python3 configure.py

And select your course from the list of courses you're presented with.

To build a solution run the command:

$ python3 copy_solution.py

Select the required solution from the list you are shown.

You may supply the solution number (optionally omitting a leading zero) on the command line to avoid the interactive prompt.

On loading a solution the script will:

  • save and commit your current files using git
  • replace all of your source files with those from the the solution
  • rebuild the solution

Note: If the script cannot save your source files using git then they are copied to a src.bak folder. Only that last set of source files are saved in the backup folder.

Alternatively you can build any of the exercise solutions using the build-one.sh bash script:

$ ./build-one.sh N

Where N is the exercise number. The exercises must be stored in the workspace folder in one of the following locations:

  • A cloned github repo name ending _exercises
  • An exercises/solutionssub-folder in the workspace
  • A solutionssub-folder in the workspace

NOTE: this script will copy all files in the src and include directories to a src.bak directory in the workspace; any files already present in src.bak will be deleted.

Creating template starter projects

Some training courses supply one or more template starter projects containing a working application that will be refactored during the exercises.

These templates are used to generate fully configured projects in named subfolders. To generate the sub projects run the command:

$ ./build-template.sh

This will generate fully configured projects each starter template as a sub project in teh root workspace. Each sub project contains a fully configured CMake based build system including a copy of the solutions folder. The original toolchain build files in the project are moved to a project sub-folder as they are no longer required.

For each exercise you can now open the appropriate sub-project folder and work within that folder to build and run your application.

Static analysis using clang-tidy

The CMake build scripts create a clang-tidy target in the generated build files if clang-tidy is in the command search path ($PATH under Linux).

To check all of the build files run the command:

$ ./build.sh clang-tidy

To run clang-tidy as part of the compilation process edit the CMakeLists.txt file and uncomment the line starting with set(CMAKE_CXX_CLANG_TIDY.

Testing support

Create a sub-directory called tests with it's own CMakeList.txt and define yoru test suite (you don't need to include enable_testing() as this is done in the project root config).

Invoke the tests by adding the test option to the build command:

./build.sh test

Tests are only run on a successful build of the application and all tests.

You can also use cmake or ctest commands directly.

C/C++ Versions

The build system supports compiling against different versions of C and C++ with the default set in MakeLists.txt as C11 and C++17. The build.sh and build-one.sh scripts accept a version option to choose a different language option. To compile against C99 add the option `--c99 (or --C99) or for C++20 add --cpp20 (or --c++20 --C++20 --CPP20).

C++20 Modules

Support for compiling C++ modules is enabled by creating a file Modules.txt in the src folder and defining each module filename on a separate line in this file. The build ensures modules are compiled in the order defined in the Modules.txt file and before the main src files. Following MSVC and VS Code conventions the modules should be defined in *.ixx files.

Disclaimer

Feabhas is furnishing these items "as is". Feabhas does not provide any warranty of them whatsoever, whether express, implied, or statutory, including, but not limited to, any warranty of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose or any warranty that the contents their will be error-free.

In no respect shall Feabhas incur any liability for any damages, including, but limited to, direct, indirect, special, or consequential damages arising out of, resulting from, or any way connected to the use of the item, whether or not based upon warranty, contract, tort, or otherwise; whether or not injury was sustained by persons or property or otherwise; and whether or not loss was sustained from, or arose out of, the results of, the item, or any services that may be provided by Feabhas.

The items are intended for use as an educational aid.Typically code solutions will show best practice of language features that have been introduced during the associated training, but do not represent production quality code. Comments and structured documentation are not included because the code itself is intended to be studied as part of the learning process.