cmake-init VS llvm-mingw

https://github.com/friendlyanon/cmake-init This is how you do CMake properly. If you deviate from its install rules you are highly likely to do something wrong.

CMake itself is as declarative as a build systems need to be. For anything nontrivial, these "declarative" solutions all fall apart. Just use https://github.com/friendlyanon/cmake-init, learn CMake and you won't have any issues.

If you want something with a (mostly) Just Works experience then just use https://github.com/friendlyanon/cmake-init

For CMake basics check out the official "Getting started" tutorial: https://cmake.org/cmake/help/latest/guide/tutorial/index.html, as well as Introduction to Modern CMake. You can also get inspired by the CMake project generator cmake-init

You can just use https://github.com/friendlyanon/cmake-init to get a CMake + Conan C project ready to go with a short little command: cmake-init --c -e -p conan coolio

> Doing Python with a C plugin, or just compiling a command line C/C++ isn't really systems programming.

I care about a minimal set of tools in order to compile C/C++ programs. thats offered by:

https://github.com/mstorsjo/llvm-mingw/releases

and also MSYS2, and even the Zig C compiler. all less than 200 MB. meanwhile Visual Studio installing about 10 GB worth. If Microsoft can offer a similar experience then I am interested.

Pick a community-supported Clang-based Mingw-w64 distribution.

> AFAIK there is no native GCC compiler for Windows

might want to check your facts before spouting nonsense. there is, and has been for many, many years. more than one in fact:

https://github.com/mstorsjo/llvm-mingw

https://packages.msys2.org/base/mingw-w64-gcc

MinGW is notoriously slow to link compared to MSVC, unless using llvm-mingw with the link=lld SCons option. If using MSVC, make sure to use 2022 or at least 2019 if possible – recent linkers tend to be faster than older versions.

GCC doesn't support windows/arm64, but you should be able to do it with LLVM. I've never gotten it to work myself, but should be able to supply a cross toolchain: https://github.com/mstorsjo/llvm-mingw

Visual Studio is a bloated mess, and has been for many years. Its at least 10 times larger than other options, such as MinGW-LLVM:

https://github.com/mstorsjo/llvm-mingw

Sadly Qt ships MinGW 8.1 which is positively ancient (released in 2018). If you're starting a new project (which you likely are if you are installing an IDE aha) there's no reason not to go for more recent compilers - msys2 has GCC12 (https://packages.msys2.org/package/mingw-w64-x86_64-gcc) and Clang 14 (https://packages.msys2.org/package/mingw-w64-x86_64-clang) which just work better overall, have much more complete C++20 support, have less bugs, better compile times (especially clang with the various PCH options that appeared in the last few versions), better static analysis, etc.

Personally I use https://github.com/mstorsjo/llvm-mingw's releases directly which does not require MSYS but that's because I recompile all my libraries with specific options - if the MSYS libs as they are built are good for you there's no reason not to use them.

you can grab it here: https://github.com/mstorsjo/llvm-mingw/releases/tag/20211002

Clang (and lld) do support native TLS, and mingw-w64 does have the things that are needed. I think binutils also might have what's needed too, but AFAIK the thing that's missing is support for it in GCC.

Actually, (upstream) Clang defaults to native TLS instead of emulated TLS. In MSYS2, Clang is overridden to use emulated TLS by deafult to interoperate better with GCC built code and libstdc++ though.

The toolchain I maintain, https://github.com/mstorsjo/llvm-mingw, defaults to native TLS throughout.