Author Archives: kchodorow

Custom, locally-sourced output filenames

Skylark lets you use templates in your output file name, e.g., this would create a file called target.timestamp: touch = rule( outputs = {“date_and_time”: “%{name}.timestamp”}, implementation = _impl, ) So if you had touch(name = “foo”) in a BUILD file and built :foo, you’d get foo.timestamp. I’d always used %{name}, but I found out theContinue reading “Custom, locally-sourced output filenames”

Using environment variables in Skylark repository rules

If you’ve every used the AppEngine rules, you know the pain that is wait for all 200 stupid megabytes of API to be downloaded. The pain is doubled because I already have a copy of these rules on my workstation. To use the local rules, all I have to do is override the @com_google_appengine_java repositoryContinue reading “Using environment variables in Skylark repository rules”

Communicating between Bazel rules: how to use Skylark providers

Rules in Bazel often need information from their dependencies. My previous post touched on a special case of this: figuring out what a dependency’s runfiles are. However, Skylark is actually capable of passing arbitrary information between rules using a system known as providers. Suppose we have a rule, analyze_flavors, that figures out what all ofContinue reading “Communicating between Bazel rules: how to use Skylark providers”

Collecting transitive runfiles with skylark

Bazel has a concept it calls runfiles for files that a binary uses during execution. For example, a binary might need to read in a CSV, an ssh key, or a .json file. These files are generally specified separately from your sources for a couple of reasons: Bazel can understand that it is a runtime,Continue reading “Collecting transitive runfiles with skylark”

Startup idea #6ec4e42a-28cc-4425-9ebc-61ac8e224580: Adventurer’s gear for geeky hikers

I’m going to start “calling” my startup ideas in the same way Andy Dwyer calls band names. So, first up: it’s like REI for D&D players. We’d sell a “basic adventurer’s kit” that came with iron rations, wineskin, torches, 50 feet of rope, etc. Then you could get “class specialization” kits, for example: Rogue: containsContinue reading “Startup idea #6ec4e42a-28cc-4425-9ebc-61ac8e224580: Adventurer’s gear for geeky hikers”

Using a generated header file as a dependecy

Someone asked me today about how to use a generated header as a C++ dependency in Bazel, so I figured I’d write up a quick example. Create a BUILD file with a genrule that generates the header and a cc_library that wraps it, say, foo/BUILD: genrule( name = “header-gen”, outs = [“my-header.h”], # This commandContinue reading “Using a generated header file as a dependecy”

Operation: Crappy Sewing Machine commences

This weekend, I went to a bra-making workshop and won a sewing machine in a raffle. It isn’t really crappy, but I spent a couple of hours un-jamming it, so I’m bitter. The interesting thing about this machine is that it has a built-in camera, so you can take photos and video of exactly whatContinue reading “Operation: Crappy Sewing Machine commences”

configure: error: lib_i_don’t_care_about.so not found.

I work on Bazel, so I don’t usually get to see it from a user’s point of view. However, yesterday I added seven new projects to Bazel’s continuous integration, all of which promptly broke. I started cloning them and trying to fix them. These projects were various user-contributed rules for Bazel: rules for building Go,Continue reading “configure: error: lib_i_don’t_care_about.so not found.”