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Building: TinyORM

Introduction​

The build systems supported out of the box are CMake and qmake.

caution

All examples below assume that pwsh runs on Windows and bash runs on Linux.

Common Prerequisites​

Before beginning, install required dependencies.

Windows Prerequisites​

Build environment scripts​

The Visual Studio does not provide vcvars scripts for pwsh, you can use vcvars64.ps1 provided by TinyORM in the tools/ folder. Place them on the $env:Path user/system path and they will be available system-wide.

The same is true for the Qt Framework, it doesn't provide qtenv scripts for pwsh too. You can create your own script, place it on the $env:Path user/system path and it will be available system-wide.

Here is one simple example for pwsh.

Write-Host 'Setting up environment for Qt 6.2.4 usage...' -ForegroundColor Magenta
$env:Path = 'C:\Qt\6.2.4\msvc2019_64\bin;' + $env:Path
. E:\dotfiles\bin\vcvars64.ps1

Open Local Security Policy, go to Local Policies - User Rights Assignment, open Create symbolic links and add your user account or user group, restart when it doesn't apply immediately.

Folders structure​

All tinyorm.org examples are based on the following folders structure. The tom folder will contain a migrations console application.

tip

You can set the root and application folder paths in the form below and they will be used across the whole www.tinyorm.org website. 🥳 The pwsh shell is supposed to use on Windows and the bash shell on Linux, but it is not a requirement.

Current pwsh path 



├──
│   ├── HelloWorld/
│   |   ├── HelloWorld/
│   |   ├── HelloWorld-builds-cmake/
│   |   |   └── build-debug/
│   |   └── HelloWorld-builds-qmake/
│   |       └── build-debug/
│   ├── TinyORM/
│   |   ├── TinyORM/
│   |   ├── TinyORM-builds-cmake/
│   |   │   ├── build-gcc-debug/
│   |   │   ├── build-gcc-release/
│   |   │   └── build-clang-debug/
│   |   └── TinyOrm-builds-qmake/
│   |       ├── build-debug/
│   |       ├── build-TinyOrm-Desktop_Qt_5_15_2_MSVC2019_64bit-Debug/
│   |       └── build-TinyOrm-Desktop_Qt_5_15_2_MSYS2_UCRT64_64bit-Release/
│   └── tom/
│       ├── tom/
│       │   └── database/
│       │       ├── migrations/
│       │       ├── seeders/
│       │       ├── migrations.pri
│       │       └── seeders.pri
│       ├── tom-builds-cmake/
│       │   └── build-TinyOrm-Desktop_Qt_6_3_1_MSVC2019_64bit-Debug/
│       └── tom-builds-qmake/
│           ├── build-TinyOrm-Desktop_Qt_5_15_3_MSYS2_UCRT64_64bit-Release/
│           └── build-TinyOrm-Desktop_Qt_6_3_1_MSVC2019_64bit-Debug/
├── tmp/
└── vcpkg/
danger

Avoid paths with spaces with the qmake build system, it will not compile.

Getting started​

Prepare compilation environment, we need to put the Qt Framework and Visual Studio MSVC compiler on the path on Windows. The Qt Framework and compiler are already on the path on Linux.

mkdir 
cd 
$env:Path = 'E:\Qt\5.15.2\msvc2019_64\bin;' + $env:Path
vcvars64.ps1

vcpkg​

Installing the vcpkg is highly recommended, it simplifies installation of the range-v3 and tabulate dependencies.

git clone git@github.com:microsoft/vcpkg.git
cd vcpkg
.\bootstrap-vcpkg.bat

Add vcpkg on the system path, add the following to the .bashrc or .zshrc on Linux.

export PATH=/vcpkg${PATH:+:}$PATH

On Windows, open the Environment variables dialog and add vcpkg on the PATH.

Or you can export it for the current session only.

$env:Path = "\vcpkg;" + $env:Path

C preprocessor macros​

The following table summarizes all the C preprocessor macros defined in the TinyORM library. These C macros are configured by CMake or qmake build systems. They are not sorted alphabetically, but they are sorted by how significant they are.

In the CMake build system, all the C macros are auto-detected / auto-configured or controlled by CMake build options, so you don't have to care too much about them.

In the qmake build is important whether you are building TinyORM library or you are building your application and linking against TinyORM library. When you are building the TinyORM library, all the C macros are auto-detected / auto-configured or controlled by qmake build options, so you don't have to care too much about them.

But a special situation is when you are building your application / library and you are linking against TinyORM library. In this particular case, you must configure all these C macros manually! For this reason, the TinyOrm.pri has been created, so that's not a big deal. Little more info here.

C Macro NameDescription
TINYORM_LINKING_SHAREDMust be defined when you are linking against TinyORM shared build (dll library), exported classes and functions will be tagged with __declspec(dllimport) on msvc and visibility("default") on GCC >= 4.
TINYORM_BUILDING_SHAREDDefined when TinyORM is built as a dll library (shared build).
TINYORM_DEBUGDefined in the debug build.
TINYORM_NO_DEBUGDefined in the release build.
TINYORM_DEBUG_SQLDefined in the debug build.
TINYORM_NO_DEBUG_SQLDefined in the release build.
TINYORM_MYSQL_PINGEnable Orm::MySqlConnection::pingDatabase() method.
Defined when mysql_ping (qmake) / MYSQL_PING (cmake) configuration build option is enabled.
TINYORM_DISABLE_ORMControls the compilation of all ORM-related source code, when this macro is defined, then only the query builder without ORM is compiled. Also excludes ORM-related unit tests.
Defined when disable_orm (qmake) / ORM (cmake) configuration build option is enabled (qmake) / disabled (cmake).
TINYORM_EXTERN_CONSTANTSDefined when extern constants are used.
Described at qmake / CMake how it works.
TINYORM_INLINE_CONSTANTSDefined when global inline constants are used.
Defined when inline_constants (qmake) / INLINE_CONSTANTS (cmake) configuration build option is enabled.
TINYORM_TESTS_CODEEnable code needed by unit tests, eg. connection overriding in the Orm::Tiny::Model.
Defined when build_tests (qmake) / BUILD_TESTS (cmake) configuration build option is enabled.
TINYORM_DISABLE_THREAD_LOCALRemove all thread_local storage duration specifiers, it disables threading support.
Defined when disable_thread_local (qmake) / DISABLE_THREAD_LOCAL (cmake) configuration build option is enabled.
TINYTOM_MIGRATIONS_DIRDefault migrations path for the make:migration command, can be an absolute or relative path (to the pwd).
Default value: database/migrations (relative to the pwd)
Defined by TOM_MIGRATIONS_DIR (cmake) configuration build option.
(qmake note) You can use DEFINES += TINYTOM_MIGRATIONS_DIR="\"database/migrations\"" on the command-line or set it in the main conf.pri file.
TINYTOM_MODELS_DIRDefault models path for the make:model command, can be an absolute or relative path (to the pwd).
Default value: database/models (relative to the pwd)
Defined by TOM_MODELS_DIR (cmake) configuration build option.
(qmake note) You can use DEFINES += TINYTOM_MODELS_DIR="\"database/models\"" on the command-line or set it in the main conf.pri file.
TINYTOM_SEEDERS_DIRDefault seeders path for the make:seeder command, can be an absolute or relative path (to the pwd).
Default value: database/seeders (relative to the pwd)
Defined by TOM_SEEDERS_DIR (cmake) configuration build option.
(qmake note) You can use DEFINES += TINYTOM_SEEDERS_DIR="\"database/seeders\"" on the command-line or set it in the main conf.pri file.
TINYORM_USING_PCHDefined if building with precompiled headers.
Controlled by qmake / CMake.

Building with CMake​

tip

If something is not clear, you can still look at GitHub Action workflows how a building is done.

First, create a basic folder structure and then clone the TinyORM project.

cd 
mkdir /TinyORM/TinyORM-builds-cmake/build-debug

cd /TinyORM
git clone git@github.com:silverqx/TinyORM.git

Configure & Build (cmake)​

Now you are ready to configure the TinyORM library.

cd TinyORM-builds-cmake/build-debug
cmake.exe `
-S "/TinyORM/TinyORM" `
-B "/TinyORM/TinyORM-builds-cmake/build-debug" `
-G 'Ninja' `
-D CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE:STRING='Debug' `
-D CMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE:FILEPATH="/vcpkg/scripts/buildsystems/vcpkg.cmake" `
-D CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX:PATH="/tmp/TinyORM" `
-D BUILD_TESTS:BOOL=OFF `
-D MATCH_EQUAL_EXPORTED_BUILDTREE:BOOL=ON `
-D MYSQL_PING:BOOL=OFF `
-D TOM:BOOL=ON `
-D TOM_EXAMPLE:BOOL=OFF `
-D VERBOSE_CONFIGURE:BOOL=ON

Build TinyORM​

And build. You don't have to install it, you can use the build tree directly if you want.

cmake --build . --target all
cmake --install .

Or build and install in one step.

cmake --build . --target install
info

CMake multi-config generators like Ninja Multi-Config or Visual Studio 16 2019 are also supported.

CMake build options​

Option NameDefaultDescription
BUILD_SHARED_LIBSONBuild as a shared/static library.
BUILD_TESTSOFFBuild TinyORM unit tests.
INLINE_CONSTANTSOFFUse inline constants instead of extern constants in the shared build.
OFF is highly recommended for the shared build;
is always ON for the static build.
Available when: BUILD_SHARED_LIBS
MSVC_RUNTIME_DYNAMICONUse MSVC dynamic runtime library (-MD) instead of static (-MT), also considers a Debug configuration (-MTd, -MDd).
Available when: MSVC AND NOT DEFINED CMAKE_MSVC_RUNTIME_LIBRARY
MYSQL_PINGOFFEnable Orm::MySqlConnection::pingDatabase() method.
ORMONControls the compilation of all ORM-related source code, when this option is disabled, then only the query builder without ORM is compiled. Also excludes ORM-related unit tests.
TOMONControls the compilation of all Tom-related source code, when this option is disabled, then it also excludes Tom-related unit tests.
TOM_EXAMPLEOFFBuild the Tom command-line application example (console application).
TOM_MIGRATIONS_DIR-Default migrations path for the make:migration command, can be an absolute or relative path (to the pwd).
Default value: database/migrations (relative to the pwd)
TOM_MODELS_DIR-Default models path for the make:model command, can be an absolute or relative path (to the pwd).
Default value: database/models (relative to the pwd)
TOM_SEEDERS_DIR-Default seeders path for the make:seeder command, can be an absolute or relative path (to the pwd).
Default value: database/seeders (relative to the pwd)
VERBOSE_CONFIGUREOFFShow information about PACKAGES_FOUND / PACKAGES_NOT_FOUND in the CMake configure output.

Advanced TinyORM options.

Option NameDefaultDescription
DISABLE_THREAD_LOCALOFFRemove all thread_local storage duration specifiers, it disables threading support.
MATCH_EQUAL_EXPORTED_BUILDTREEOFFExported package configuration from the build tree is considered to match only when the build type of application/library that is linking against the TinyORM library is equal.
Available when:
CMAKE_EXPORT_PACKAGE_REGISTRY AND NOT TINY_IS_MULTI_CONFIG

Important CMake options.

Option NameDefaultDescription
CMAKE_DISABLE_PRECOMPILE_HEADERSOFFDisable precompiled headers.
CMAKE_CXX_COMPILERautoThe full path to the c++ compiler.
CMAKE_CXX_COMPILER_LAUNCHER-Default compiler launcher to use for the c++ compiler.
Can be used to enable ccache, eg. ccache.exe on MinGW or /usr/bin/ccache on Linux.
CMAKE_EXPORT_PACKAGE_REGISTRYONEnable the export(TinyOrm) command.
TinyORM sets this variable to ON by default.
CMAKE_VERBOSE_MAKEFILEOFFEnable verbose output from Makefile builds.

Consume TinyOrm library (cmake)​

In your application or library CMakeLists.txt file add following find_package() call.

find_package(TinyOrm 0.16.0 CONFIG REQUIRED)

If the TinyORM build tree is not exported to the CMake's User Package Registry then also add the TinyORM build tree or CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX folder to the CMAKE_PREFIX_PATH, so CMake can find TinyORM's package configuration file during find_package(TinyOrm) call.

# build tree
list(APPEND CMAKE_PREFIX_PATH "/TinyORM/TinyORM-builds-cmake/build-debug")

# installation folder - CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX
list(APPEND CMAKE_PREFIX_PATH "/tmp/TinyORM")

Or as an alternative, you can set CMAKE_PREFIX_PATH environment variable.

As the last thing, do not forget to add TinyOrm0d.dll on the path on Windows and on the LD_LIBRARY_PATH on Linux, so your application can find it during execution.

$env:Path = "\TinyORM\TinyORM-builds-cmake\build-debug;" + $env:Path

Now you can try the HelloWorld CMake example.

Building with qmake​

First, create a basic folder structure and then clone the TinyORM project.

cd 
mkdir /TinyORM/TinyOrm-builds-qmake

cd /TinyORM
git clone git@github.com:silverqx/TinyORM.git

Install dependencies​

With the qmake build system, you have to install TinyORM dependencies manually. We will use the vcpkg package manager.

cd ../../vcpkg

vcpkg search range-v3
vcpkg search tabulate
vcpkg install range-v3 tabulate
vcpkg list

On Linux, you can install the range-v3 library and some other dependencies with the package manager.

Configure & Build (qmake)​

Open QtCreator IDE​

tip

I recommend creating a new Session in the QtCreator, this way you will have all the examples in one place and as a bonus, everything will be in the same place when you close and reopen QtCreator IDE. You can name it tinyorm.org or TinyORM examples, it is up to you.

Configure TinyORM​

Now you are ready to configure the TinyORM library. The qmake does not support auto-configuration of dependencies out of the box, to configure TinyORM's qmake build dependencies you have to copy the conf.pri.example file to the conf.pri and manually edit the INCLUDEPATH and LIBS. This way you can override any qmake build options or variables.

conf.pri files are nicely commented, so is clearly visible what has to be modified.

cd /TinyORM/TinyORM

cp conf.pri.example conf.pri
cp tests/conf.pri.example tests/conf.pri
cp examples/tom/conf.pri.example examples/tom/conf.pri

Now you can open the TinyOrm.pro project in the QtCreator IDE.

This will open the Configure Project tab, select some kit and update build folder paths to meet our folders structure or like you want.

TinyORM - QtCreator - Configure Project

You are ready to configure build options, hit Ctrl+5 to open Project Settings tab and select Build in the left sidebar to open the Build Settings, it should look similar to the following picture.

Disable QML debugging and profiling and Qt Quick Compiler, they are not used.

TinyORM - QtCreator - Build Settings

If you want to change some TinyORM build options, you can pass them to the Build Steps - qmake TinyOrm.pro - Additional arguments input field. It can look like this.

TinyORM - QtCreator - Build Settings - Additional arguments

Build TinyORM​

Everything is ready for build, you can press Ctrl+b to build the project.

qmake build options​

CONFIG Option NameDefaultDescription
build_testsOFFBuild TinyORM unit tests.
disable_thread_localOFFRemove all thread_local storage duration specifiers, it disables threading support.
disable_ormOFFControls the compilation of all ORM-related source code, when this option is enabled, then only the query builder without ORM is compiled. Also excludes ORM-related unit tests.
disable_tomOFFControls the compilation of all Tom-related source code, when this option is disabled, then it also excludes Tom-related unit tests.
inline_constantsOFFUse inline constants instead of extern constants in the shared build.
OFF is highly recommended for the shared build;
is always ON for the static build.
Available when: CONFIG(shared|dll)
mysql_pingOFFEnable Orm::MySqlConnection::pingDatabase() method.
tiny_ccacheONEnable compiler cache. Homepage
It works only on Windows systems. It works well with the MSYS2 g++, clang++, msvc, and clang-cl with msvc. It disables precompile_header as they are not supported on Windows and changes the -Zi compiler option to the -Z7 for debug builds as the -Zi compiler option is not supported (link to the issue).
tom_exampleOFFBuild the Tom command-line application example (console application).

Advanced TinyORM options.

Option NameDefaultDescription
ubsanOFFAllows to enable UBSan sanitizer (Clang only).

Important qmake options.

CONFIG Option NameDefaultDescription
ccacheOFFEnable compiler cache. Homepage
It works only on the Unix systems. It works well with the g++ and clang++ and also supports precompiled headers.
precompile_header-Enable precompiled headers, you can disable them with:
CONFIG-=precompile_header.
The precompile_header is enabled by default on msvc, g++, clang++, clang-cl on Windows and disabled by default on linux.
static
staticlib		OFFBuild as a static library (lib only).

Consume TinyOrm library (qmake)​

The TinyOrm.pri file is available to simplify the integration of the TinyORM library into your application. This file sets up all the qmake variables that are needed by TinyORM. You can use it to configure the TinyORM library.

TINY_MAIN_DIR = $$clean_path(<your_path>)
# Name of this qmake variable is crucial
TINYORM_BUILD_TREE = $$quote($$TINY_MAIN_DIR/TinyOrm-builds-qmake/build-TinyOrm-Desktop_Qt_6_3_1_MSVC2019_64bit-Debug)

include($$TINY_MAIN_DIR/TinyORM/qmake/TinyOrm.pri)

You will have to link against the TinyORM library manually if you don't set the TINYORM_BUILD_TREE qmake variable before the inclusion of the TinyOrm.pri file. The INCLUDEPATH is autodetected every time.

# Link against TinyORM library
# ---
TINY_MAIN_DIR = $$clean_path(<your_path>)
TINY_TINYORM_BUILDS_DIR = $$quote($$TINY_MAIN_DIR/TinyOrm-builds-qmake)

# Configure TinyORM library
include($$TINY_MAIN_DIR/TinyORM/qmake/TinyOrm.pri)

# TinyORM library path
LIBS += $$quote(-L$$TINY_TINYORM_BUILDS_DIR/build-TinyOrm-Desktop_Qt_5_15_2_MSVC2019_64bit-Debug/src/debug/)
LIBS += -lTinyOrm

The last thing is to set up the INCLUDEPATH for the vcpkg that provides the range-v3 and tabulate header files.

# vcpkg - range-v3 and tabulate
# ---
INCLUDEPATH += $$quote(<your_path>/vcpkg/installed/x64-windows/include/)

Do not forget to add TinyOrm0d.dll on the path on Windows and on the LD_LIBRARY_PATH on Linux, so your application can find it during execution.

$env:Path = "\TinyORM\TinyORM-builds-qmake\build-debug;" + $env:Path
tip

On Linux -isystem marks the directory as a system directory, it prevents warnings.

tip

On Windows you can use QMAKE_CXXFLAGS_WARN_ON = -external:anglebrackets -external:W0, it applies a warning level 0 to the angel bracket includes, #include <file>.

Ccache support​

The TinyORM supports the ccache out of the box for all supported compilers. For qmake you can enable it using the CONFIG+=ccache on Linux or CONFIG+=tiny_ccache on Windows. For CMake you can set the CMAKE_CXX_COMPILER_LAUNCHER=ccache.

On Linux it's clear, the ccache is fully supported and works also with the precompiled headers. But was necessary to add some workarounds to the qmake/CMake build systems to make out of the box support on Windows. When you enable the ccache on Windows then the build system disables precompiled headers and replaces the -Zi compiler option with the -Z7 (link to the issue).

tip

You can install the ccache using the scoop install ccache command on Windows.