--- title: Release 0.58.0 short-description: Release notes for 0.58.0 ... # New features ## New `meson.global_build_root()` and `meson.global_source_root()` methods Returns the root source and build directory of the main project. Those are direct replacement for `meson.build_root()` and `meson.source_root()` that have been deprecated since 0.56.0. In some rare occasions they could not be replaced by `meson.project_source_root()` or `meson.current_source_dir()`, in which case the new methods can now be used instead. Old methods are still deprecated because their names are not explicit enough and created many issues when a project is being used as a subproject. ## Developer environment New method `meson.add_devenv()` adds an [`environment()`](#environment) object to the list of environments that will be applied when using `meson devenv` command line. This is useful for developers who wish to use the project without installing it, it is often needed to set for example the path to plugins directory, etc. Alternatively, a list or dictionary can be passed as first argument. ``` meson devenv = environment() devenv.set('PLUGINS_PATH', meson.current_build_dir()) ... meson.add_devenv(devenv) ``` New command line has been added: `meson devenv -C builddir []`. It runs a command, or open interactive shell if no command is provided, with environment setup to run project from the build directory, without installation. These variables are set in environment in addition to those set using `meson.add_devenv()`: - `MESON_DEVENV` is defined to `'1'`. - `MESON_PROJECT_NAME` is defined to the main project's name. - `PKG_CONFIG_PATH` includes the directory where Meson generates `-uninstalled.pc` files. - `PATH` includes every directory where there is an executable that would be installed into `bindir`. On windows it also includes every directory where there is a DLL needed to run those executables. - `LD_LIBRARY_PATH` includes every directory where there is a shared library that would be installed into `libdir`. This allows to run system application using custom build of some libraries. For example running system GEdit when building GTK from git. On OSX the environment variable is `DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH` and `PATH` on Windows. - `GI_TYPELIB_PATH` includes every directory where a GObject Introspection typelib is built. This is automatically set when using `gnome.generate_gir()`. ## `-pipe` no longer used by default Meson used to add the `-pipe` command line argument to all compilers that supported it, but no longer does. If you need this, then you can add it manually. However note that you should not do this unless you have actually measured that it provides performance improvements. In our tests we could not find a case where adding `-pipe` made compilation faster and using `-pipe` [can cause sporadic build failures in certain cases](https://github.com/mesonbuild/meson/issues/8508). ## `meson.add_dist_script()` allowed in subprojects `meson.add_dist_script()` can now be invoked from a subproject, it was a hard error in earlier versions. Subproject dist scripts will only be executed when running `meson dist --include-subprojects`. `MESON_PROJECT_SOURCE_ROOT`, `MESON_PROJECT_BUILD_ROOT` and `MESON_PROJECT_DIST_ROOT` environment variables are set when dist scripts are run. They are identical to `MESON_SOURCE_ROOT`, `MESON_BUILD_ROOT` and `MESON_DIST_ROOT` for main project scripts, but for subproject scripts they have the path to the root of the subproject appended, usually `subprojects/`. Note that existing dist scripts likely need to be modified to use those new environment variables instead of `MESON_DIST_ROOT` to work properly when used from a subproject. ## Do not add custom target dir to header path if `implicit_include_directories` is `false` If you do the following: ```meson # in some subdirectory gen_h = custom_target(...) # in some other directory executable('foo', 'foo.c', gen_h) ``` then the output directory of the custom target is automatically added to the header search path. This is convenient, but sometimes it can lead to problems. Starting with this version, the directory will no longer be put in the search path if the target has `implicit_include_directories: false`. In these cases you need to set up the path manually with `include_directories`. ## Multiple append() and prepend() in `environment()` object `append()` and `prepend()` methods can now be called multiple times on the same `varname`. Earlier Meson versions would warn and only the last operation was taking effect. ```meson env = environment() # MY_PATH will be '0:1:2:3' env.set('MY_PATH', '1') env.append('MY_PATH', '2') env.append('MY_PATH', '3') env.prepend('MY_PATH', '0') ``` ## `dep.get_variable(varname)` `dep.get_variable()` now has `varname` as first positional argument. It is used as default value for `cmake`, `pkgconfig`, `configtool` and `internal` keyword arguments. It is useful in the common case where `pkgconfig` and `internal` use the same variable name, in which case it's easier to write `dep.get_variable('foo')` instead of `dep.get_variable(pkgconfig: 'foo', internal: 'foo')`. ## clang-format include and ignore lists When clang-format is installed and a `.clang-format` file is found at the main project's root source directory, Meson automatically adds a `clang-format` target that reformat all C and C++ files. It is now possible to restrict files to be reformatted with optional `.clang-format-include` and `.clang-format-ignore` files. The file `.clang-format-include` contains a list of patterns matching the files that will be reformatted. The `**` pattern matches this directory and all subdirectories recursively. Empty lines and lines starting with `#` are ignored. If `.clang-format-include` is not found, the pattern defaults to `**/*` which means all files recursively in the source directory but has the disadvantage to walk the whole source tree which could be slow in the case it contains lots of files. Example of `.clang-format-include` file: ``` # All files in src/ and its subdirectories src/**/* # All files in include/ but not its subdirectories include/* ``` The file `.clang-format-ignore` contains a list of patterns matching the files that will be excluded. Files matching the include list (see above) that match one of the ignore pattern will not be reformatted. Unlike include patters, ignore patterns does not support `**` and a single `*` match any characters including path separators. Empty lines and lines starting with `#` are ignored. The build directory and file without a well known C or C++ suffix are always ignored. Example of `.clang-format-ignore` file: ``` # Skip C++ files in src/ directory src/*.cpp ``` A new target `clang-format-check` has been added. It returns an error code if any file needs to be reformatted. This is intended to be used by CI. ## Introducing format strings to the Meson language In addition to the conventional `'A string @0@ to be formatted @1@'.format(n, m)` method of formatting strings in the Meson language, there's now the additional `f'A string @n@ to be formatted @m@'` notation that provides a non-positional and clearer alternative. Meson's format strings are currently restricted to identity-expressions, meaning `f'format @'m' + 'e'@'` will not parse. ## Skip subprojects installation It is now possible to skip installation of some or all subprojects. This is useful when subprojects are internal dependencies static linked into the main project. By default all subprojects are still installed. - `meson install -C builddir --skip-subprojects` installs only the main project. - `meson install -C builddir --skip-subprojects foo,bar` installs the main project and all subprojects except for subprojects `foo` and `bar` if they are used. ## String `.replace()` String objects now have a method called replace for replacing all instances of a substring in a string with another. ```meson s = 'aaabbb' s = s.replace('aaa', 'bbb') # 's' is now 'bbbbbb' ``` ## `meson.get_cross_property()` has been deprecated It's a pure subset of `meson.get_external_property`, and works strangely in host == build configurations, since it would be more accurately described as `get_host_property`. ## New `range()` function ``` meson rangeobject range(stop) rangeobject range(start, stop[, step]) ``` Return an opaque object that can be only be used in `foreach` statements. - `start` must be integer greater or equal to 0. Defaults to 0. - `stop` must be integer greater or equal to `start`. - `step` must be integer greater or equal to 1. Defaults to 1. It cause the `foreach` loop to be called with the value from `start` included to `stop` excluded with an increment of `step` after each loop. ```meson # Loop 15 times with i from 0 to 14 included. foreach i : range(15) ... endforeach ``` The range object can also be assigned to a variable and indexed. ```meson r = range(5, 10, 2) assert(r[2] == 9) ``` ## Xcode improvements The Xcode backend has been much improved and should now we usable enough for day to day development. ## Use fallback from wrap file when force fallback Optional dependency like below will now fallback to the subproject defined in the wrap file in the case `wrap_mode` is set to `forcefallback` or `force_fallback_for` contains the subproject. ```meson # required is false because we could fallback to cc.find_library(), but in the # forcefallback case this now configure the subproject. dep = dependency('foo-1.0', required: false) if not dep.found() dep = cc.find_library('foo', has_headers: 'foo.h') endif ``` ```ini [wrap-file] ... [provide] dependency_names = foo-1.0 ``` ## `error()` with multiple arguments Just like `warning()` and `message()`, `error()` can now take more than one argument that will be separated by space. ## Specify man page locale during installation Locale directories can now be passed to `install_man`: ```meson # instead of # install_data('foo.fr.1', install_dir: join_paths(get_option('mandir'), 'fr', 'man1'), rename: 'foo.1')` install_man('foo.fr.1', locale: 'fr') ``` ## Passing `custom_target()` output to `pkg.generate()` It is now allowed to pass libraries generated by a `custom_target()` to pkg-config file generator. The output filename must have a known library extension such as `.a`, `.so`, etc. ## JDK System Dependency When building projects such as those interacting with the JNI, you need access to a few header files located in a Java installation. This system dependency will add the correct include paths to your target. It assumes that either `JAVA_HOME` will be set to a valid Java installation, or the default `javac` on your system is a located in the `bin` directory of a Java installation. Note: symlinks are resolved. ```meson jdk = dependency('jdk', version : '>=1.8') ``` Currently this system dependency only works on `linux`, `win32`, and `darwin`. This can easily be extended given the correct information about your compiler and platform in an issue. ## `meson subprojects update --reset` now re-extract tarballs When using `--reset` option, the source tree of `[wrap-file]` subprojects is now deleted and re-extracted from cached tarballs, or re-downloaded. This is because Meson has no way to know if the source tree or the wrap file has been modified, and `--reset` should guarantee that latest code is being used on next reconfigure. Use `--reset` with caution if you do local changes on non-git subprojects. ## Allow using generator with CustomTarget or Index of CustomTarget. Calling `generator.process()` with either a CustomTarget or Index of CustomTarget as files is now permitted. ## Qt Dependency uses a Factory This separates the Pkg-config and QMake based discovery methods into two distinct classes in the backend. This allows using `dependency.get_variable()` and `dependency.get_pkg_config_variable()`, as well as being a cleaner implementation. ## Purge subprojects folder It is now possible to purge a subprojects folder of artifacts created from wrap-based subprojects including anything in `packagecache`. This is useful when you want to return to a completely clean source tree or busting caches with stale patch directories or caches. By default the command will only print out what it is removing. You need to pass `--confirm` to the command for actual artifacts to be purged. By default all wrap-based subprojects will be purged. - `meson subprojects purge` prints non-cache wrap artifacts which will be purged. - `meson subprojects purge --confirm` purges non-cache wrap artifacts. - `meson subprojects purge --confirm --include-cache` also removes the cache artifacts. - `meson subprojects purge --confirm subproj1 subproj2` removes non-cache wrap artifacts associated with the listed subprojects. ## Check if native or cross-file properties exist It is now possible to check whether a native property or a cross-file property exists with `meson.has_external_property('foo')`. This is useful if the property in question is a boolean and one wants to distinguish between "set" and "not provided" which can't be done the usual way by passing a fallback parameter to `meson.get_external_property()` in this particular case. ## `summary()` accepts features Build feature options can be passed to `summary()` as the value to be printed. ## Address sanitizer support for Visual Studio The `b_sanitize` option for enabling Address sanitizer now works with the Visual Studio compilers. This requires [a sufficiently new version of Visual Studio](https://devblogs.microsoft.com/cppblog/address-sanitizer-for-msvc-now-generally-available/).