apache / apache/iceberg-cpp

CMake and Meson build definitions are Out Of Sync

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#894 2 comments 0 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub
enhancement question
Dominant language
C++
Stars
221
Forks
124
Avg merge
1d 16h
Merged PRs (30d)
21

Description

## Description

The CMake and Meson build definitions are maintained separately and have drifted. On current `main` (`e0399c6945326dd5281da07de8ed14a61c9f2cac`), equivalent configurations do not install the same public headers or run the same core tests.

Examples:

- CMake installs public headers by globbing each directory, while Meson lists them manually. As a result:
- CMake installs `iceberg/puffin_dv_io.h` and `iceberg/catalog/rest/auth/token_refresh_scheduler.h`, but Meson does not.
- Meson installs `iceberg/catalog/catalog_util.h`, `iceberg/catalog/session_catalog.h`, and `iceberg/catalog/session_context.h`, but CMake does not install headers from `src/iceberg/catalog/`.
- CMake includes `snapshot_summary_builder_test.cc` in `table_test`, but Meson does not include that test source, so the Meson CI path does not exercise it.
- Vendored/fallback dependency versions differ between the two build systems:

| Dependency | CMake | Meson |
|---|---:|---:|
| CRoaring | 4.4.3 | 4.3.11 |
| nlohmann/json | 3.11.3 | 3.12.0 |
| GoogleTest | 1.15.2 | 1.17.0 |

Other shared dependencies, such as nanoarrow 0.9.0, utf8proc 2.10.0, spdlog 1.15.3, cpr 1.14.1, and Google Benchmark 1.8.4, are currently aligned but can drift because their pins are also declared independently.
- Dependency resolution policy also differs: CMake requires system Zlib and Curl, while Meson can fall back to pinned wraps (Zlib 1.3.1 and Curl 8.10.1). Any intentional difference here should be documented and tested explicitly.

The Meson bundle gap is already tracked by #256 and is outside the scope of this issue. Other intentional feature differences should likewise remain explicit rather than appearing as accidental drift.

---

**This to track current status and initiated a discussion on how we can maintain and sync the build tools in the long term.**

Contributor guide

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Research direction

Compare the CMake and Meson build definitions at main commit e0399c6, beginning with public-header installation, table_test sources, and the listed dependency pins. Check snapshot_summary_builder_test.cc and issue #256 for the stated scope. Done means accidental differences are aligned, while intentional dependency and feature differences are documented and tested.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
cmake, cpp
Domain
build-system, tooling
Issue type
Refactor
Difficulty
5/5
Estimated time
Over a week
Activity status
Active
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
38/100

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