Cross-Platform Build Guide¶

This guide covers building Movian for multiple platforms and cross-compilation scenarios.

Overview¶

Movian supports building for various platforms:

Desktop: Linux, Windows, macOS
Mobile: Android, iOS (limited)
Embedded: Raspberry Pi, other ARM devices

Build System¶

Movian uses CMake as its primary build system, providing:

Cross-platform configuration
Dependency management
Multiple generator support (Make, Ninja, Visual Studio, Xcode)
Toolchain file support for cross-compilation

Platform-Specific Builds¶

Quick Reference¶

Platform	Generator	Toolchain
Linux	Unix Makefiles / Ninja	Native
Windows	Visual Studio / Ninja	vcpkg
macOS	Xcode / Unix Makefiles	Homebrew
Android	Ninja	NDK
iOS	Xcode	iOS SDK
Raspberry Pi	Unix Makefiles	ARM toolchain

Cross-Compilation Basics¶

Toolchain Files¶

Create a toolchain file for your target platform:

# arm-linux-toolchain.cmake
set(CMAKE_SYSTEM_NAME Linux)
set(CMAKE_SYSTEM_PROCESSOR arm)

set(CMAKE_C_COMPILER arm-linux-gnueabihf-gcc)
set(CMAKE_CXX_COMPILER arm-linux-gnueabihf-g++)

set(CMAKE_FIND_ROOT_PATH /usr/arm-linux-gnueabihf)
set(CMAKE_FIND_ROOT_PATH_MODE_PROGRAM NEVER)
set(CMAKE_FIND_ROOT_PATH_MODE_LIBRARY ONLY)
set(CMAKE_FIND_ROOT_PATH_MODE_INCLUDE ONLY)

Use the toolchain:

cmake .. -DCMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE=arm-linux-toolchain.cmake

Android Build¶

Prerequisites¶

Android NDK r21 or later
Android SDK with API level 21+
CMake 3.15+

Build Steps¶

# Set NDK path
export ANDROID_NDK=/path/to/android-ndk

# Configure
cmake .. \
  -DCMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE=$ANDROID_NDK/build/cmake/android.toolchain.cmake \
  -DANDROID_ABI=arm64-v8a \
  -DANDROID_PLATFORM=android-21 \
  -DANDROID_STL=c++_shared

# Build
cmake --build .

Android ABIs¶

Build for multiple architectures:

# ARM 64-bit
-DANDROID_ABI=arm64-v8a

# ARM 32-bit
-DANDROID_ABI=armeabi-v7a

# x86 64-bit (emulator)
-DANDROID_ABI=x86_64

# x86 32-bit (emulator)
-DANDROID_ABI=x86

Creating APK¶

# Build native libraries
./gradlew assembleRelease

# Output: app/build/outputs/apk/release/movian-release.apk

iOS Build (Experimental)¶

Prerequisites¶

Xcode 12+
iOS SDK 13.0+
macOS development machine

Build Steps¶

# Configure for iOS
cmake .. -G Xcode \
  -DCMAKE_SYSTEM_NAME=iOS \
  -DCMAKE_OSX_DEPLOYMENT_TARGET=13.0 \
  -DCMAKE_OSX_ARCHITECTURES=arm64

# Build
cmake --build . --config Release

iOS Simulator¶

cmake .. -G Xcode \
  -DCMAKE_SYSTEM_NAME=iOS \
  -DCMAKE_OSX_SYSROOT=iphonesimulator \
  -DCMAKE_OSX_ARCHITECTURES=x86_64

Raspberry Pi Build¶

On Raspberry Pi (Native)¶

# Install dependencies
sudo apt-get install build-essential cmake git
sudo apt-get install libfreetype6-dev libssl-dev libsqlite3-dev

# Build
mkdir build && cd build
cmake .. -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release
make -j4

Cross-Compilation from Linux¶

# Install cross-compiler
sudo apt-get install gcc-arm-linux-gnueabihf g++-arm-linux-gnueabihf

# Configure
cmake .. \
  -DCMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE=../cmake/rpi-toolchain.cmake \
  -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release

# Build
make -j$(nproc)

Embedded Linux Devices¶

Generic ARM Device¶

# Configure
cmake .. \
  -DCMAKE_SYSTEM_NAME=Linux \
  -DCMAKE_SYSTEM_PROCESSOR=arm \
  -DCMAKE_C_COMPILER=arm-linux-gnueabihf-gcc \
  -DCMAKE_CXX_COMPILER=arm-linux-gnueabihf-g++

# Build
make

OpenWrt¶

# Use OpenWrt SDK
source /path/to/openwrt/staging_dir/target-*/environment

cmake .. \
  -DCMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE=openwrt-toolchain.cmake \
  -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release

make

Dependency Management¶

vcpkg (Windows, Linux, macOS)¶

# Install vcpkg
git clone https://github.com/Microsoft/vcpkg.git
./vcpkg/bootstrap-vcpkg.sh

# Install dependencies
./vcpkg/vcpkg install openssl curl sqlite3 freetype

# Use in CMake
cmake .. -DCMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE=./vcpkg/scripts/buildsystems/vcpkg.cmake

Conan (Cross-Platform)¶

# Install Conan
pip install conan

# Install dependencies
conan install .. --build=missing

# Configure
cmake .. -DCMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE=conan_toolchain.cmake

Build Optimization¶

Parallel Builds¶

# Make
make -j$(nproc)

# Ninja
ninja -j$(nproc)

# CMake (any generator)
cmake --build . --parallel $(nproc)

Compiler Optimizations¶

cmake .. \
  -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release \
  -DCMAKE_C_FLAGS="-O3 -march=native" \
  -DCMAKE_CXX_FLAGS="-O3 -march=native"

Link-Time Optimization (LTO)¶

cmake .. \
  -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release \
  -DCMAKE_INTERPROCEDURAL_OPTIMIZATION=ON

Static vs Dynamic Linking¶

Static Build¶

cmake .. \
  -DBUILD_SHARED_LIBS=OFF \
  -DCMAKE_EXE_LINKER_FLAGS="-static"

Dynamic Build¶

cmake .. \
  -DBUILD_SHARED_LIBS=ON

Packaging¶

Linux Packages¶

# DEB package
cmake .. -DCPACK_GENERATOR=DEB
make package

# RPM package
cmake .. -DCPACK_GENERATOR=RPM
make package

# AppImage
cmake .. -DCPACK_GENERATOR=External
make package

Windows Installer¶

# NSIS installer
cmake .. -DCPACK_GENERATOR=NSIS
cmake --build . --target package

macOS Bundle¶

# DMG image
cmake .. -DCPACK_GENERATOR=DragNDrop
make package

Continuous Integration¶

Multi-Platform CI Matrix¶

# .github/workflows/build.yml
name: Multi-Platform Build

on: [push, pull_request]

jobs:
  build:
    strategy:
      matrix:
        os: [ubuntu-latest, windows-latest, macos-latest]
        include:
          - os: ubuntu-latest
            generator: Unix Makefiles
          - os: windows-latest
            generator: Visual Studio 16 2019
          - os: macos-latest
            generator: Xcode

    runs-on: ${{ matrix.os }}

    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v2

      - name: Configure
        run: |
          mkdir build
          cd build
          cmake .. -G "${{ matrix.generator }}"

      - name: Build
        run: cmake --build build --config Release

Troubleshooting¶

Cross-Compilation Issues¶

Problem: Cannot find libraries for target platform

Solution: - Set CMAKE_FIND_ROOT_PATH to target sysroot - Use CMAKE_FIND_ROOT_PATH_MODE_* variables - Install target platform development packages

Architecture Mismatches¶

Problem: Binary won't run on target device

Solution: - Verify CMAKE_SYSTEM_PROCESSOR matches target - Check compiler flags for correct architecture - Use file command to verify binary architecture

Missing Dependencies¶

Problem: Build fails due to missing libraries

Solution: - Install development packages for target platform - Use package manager (vcpkg, conan) - Build dependencies from source

Best Practices¶

Version Control¶

Commit toolchain files
Document build requirements
Use submodules for dependencies
Tag releases consistently

Build Scripts¶

Create platform-specific build scripts:

#!/bin/bash
# build-linux.sh
mkdir -p build-linux
cd build-linux
cmake .. -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release
make -j$(nproc)

Testing¶

Test builds on actual target hardware:

# Copy to device
scp movian user@device:/tmp/

# Run on device
ssh user@device /tmp/movian --version

Cross-Platform Build Guide¶

Overview¶

Build System¶

Platform-Specific Builds¶

Quick Reference¶

Cross-Compilation Basics¶

Toolchain Files¶

Android Build¶

Prerequisites¶

Build Steps¶

Android ABIs¶

Creating APK¶

iOS Build (Experimental)¶

Prerequisites¶

Build Steps¶

iOS Simulator¶

Raspberry Pi Build¶

On Raspberry Pi (Native)¶

Cross-Compilation from Linux¶

Embedded Linux Devices¶

Generic ARM Device¶

OpenWrt¶

Dependency Management¶

vcpkg (Windows, Linux, macOS)¶

Conan (Cross-Platform)¶

Build Optimization¶

Parallel Builds¶

Compiler Optimizations¶

Link-Time Optimization (LTO)¶

Static vs Dynamic Linking¶

Static Build¶

Dynamic Build¶

Packaging¶

Linux Packages¶

Windows Installer¶

macOS Bundle¶

Continuous Integration¶

Multi-Platform CI Matrix¶

Troubleshooting¶

Cross-Compilation Issues¶

Architecture Mismatches¶

Missing Dependencies¶

Best Practices¶

Version Control¶

Build Scripts¶

Testing¶

Next Steps¶

See Also¶