Zinn

Zinn (from the German "Sinn machen", "to make sense") is a builder similar to make, but based on YAML and the Handlebars templating language.

It supports job parameters, file tracking and a cli that displays the current progress visually. An example can be found in ./examples/cproj.

Please note: This is currently an experimental sideproject of myself and is not fit for production. The file format may change at any time.

Zinnfile

A Zinnfile describes the jobs that should be run. The YAML markup language is used in combination with the Handlebars templating language to describe the jobs that should be run. By default Zinn looks for the file zinn.yaml, but a path can also be specified manually.

A basic Zinnfile for a simple C project might look like this:

constants:
  CC: gcc
  CFLAGS: -std=c11 -pedantic -Wall -Werror -D_XOPEN_SOURCE=700
jobs:
  object:
    args: [path]
    inputs: "{{path}}"
    outputs: "{{subst path '.c' '.o'}}"
    run: "{{CC}} {{CFLAGS}} -c {{path}}"

  binary:
    requires:
      - job: object
        with:
          path: math.c
      - job: object
        with:
          path: output.c
      - job: object
        with:
          path: main.c
    inputs: math.c output.c main.c
    outputs: program
    run: "{{CC}} {{CFLAGS}} -o program"

  clean:
    run: |
      rm -rf *.o
      rm -rf program

  default:
    requires:
      - job: binary

You can find more information on the available options in the source documentation.

Templating Functions

Zinn provides custom functions for the templating language:

• cat <s1> <s2>...: Concatenate all parameters
• joinlines <var>: Join lines and connect them with a regular whitespace
• lst <s1> <s2>...: Create a space-separated list from all input parameters
• lst-prefix <prefix> <list>: Add a prefix to each element in a space-separated list
• lst-re <list> <pattern> <replacement>: Apply a regex replacement operation to each item in a space-separated list
• lst-suffix <prefix> <list>: Add a suffix to each element in a space-separated list
• lst-without <list> <remove1> <remove2>...: Create copy of a space-separated list without certain elements
• re <base> <pattern> <replacement>: Apply a regex replacement operation to an input string
• shell <cmd>: Create a string from the output of a shell command
• subst <base> <pattern> <replacement>: Replace all occurrences of a substring

Nix Support

If Nix is installed and Flakes are enabled, it is possible to specify build dependencies in the nix.packages field of the Zinnfile. All jobs are then run inside a environment containing these packages. It is possible to change the default nixpkgs flake reference with the nix.nixpkgs field.

Please note that Flakes are currently an unstable feature in Nix, so this feature should be considered unstable as well.

Installation

You can install Zinn directly from crates.io:

1. Make sure you have a working installation of Rust
2. Install the crate with cargo
3. Add the path (e.g. ~/.cargo/bin) to your $PATH variable (e.g. in .profile or .bashrc). You may have to log out or restart for the change to apply.