C++ Core

Header-only C++ helper library that provides small, cross-platform utilities and a centrally maintained Version struct shared by the cpp-bindings-linux, cpp-bindings-windows and cpp-bindings-macos repositories.

Note

This repository contains headers only. To obtain a working native library (SO / DLL / dylib) build one of the platform-specific projects instead:

• C++ bindings (Windows)
• C++ bindings (Linux)

These repositories compile cpp-core for you and provide the ready-to-use shared library.

Documentation

• Overview: Architecture, Build & Quick Start.
• C++23, zero runtime dependencies
• Delivered as an INTERFACE target cpp_core::cpp_core
• Fetchable via CPM.cmake or regular find_package

Requirements

• CMake ≥ 3.14
• A C++23 compatible compiler (GCC 13+, Clang 16+, MSVC 2022+)

Quick Start

1. Add cpp-core with CPM.cmake (recommended way)

# Set the project version once via **cache variables** –
# ensures the values end up in cpp-core regardless of when CPM configures.
set(CPP_CORE_VERSION_MAJOR 1 CACHE STRING "")
set(CPP_CORE_VERSION_MINOR 0 CACHE STRING "")
set(CPP_CORE_VERSION_PATCH 3 CACHE STRING "")

CPMAddPackage(
  NAME cpp_core
  GITHUB_REPOSITORY Serial-IO/cpp-core    # Fork / Upstream
  GIT_TAG main                            # or e.g. v0.1.0
)

add_executable(my_app src/main.cpp)
target_link_libraries(my_app PRIVATE cpp_core::cpp_core)

Why cache variables?
They guarantee the values exist before the CPMAddPackage() call. If the variables are set later (or via
OPTIONS ... "CPP_CORE_VERSION_MAJOR=${FOO}") and FOO is empty at that moment, cpp-core falls back to its default version (0.1.0).

2. Use in code

#include <cpp_core/version.h>
#include <cpp_core/helpers.h>

int main() {
    constexpr auto v = cpp_core::VERSION;            // {1,4,0}
}

Alternative: add_subdirectory

If you include the source code directly as a sub-repository, simply do:

add_subdirectory(externals/cpp-core)
# the same version variables can be set before the call

Using the package with find_package

After running cmake --install (or make install) you can locate the package system-wide:

find_package(cpp_core REQUIRED)
add_executable(my_app src/main.cpp)
target_link_libraries(my_app PRIVATE cpp_core::cpp_core)

License

Apache-2.0 Check LICENSE for more details.