+ +

Prev		Next

Chapter 3. Overview

Now that you know how to get started, let’s take a look at +what Erlang.mk can do for you.

3.1. Building your project

Erlang.mk is first and foremost a build tool. It is especially +tailored for Erlang developers and follows widely accepted +practices in the Erlang community.

Erlang.mk will happily build all Erlang-specific files +you throw at it. Other kinds of files too, like C or C++ code +when you are working on a NIF or a port driver.

Erlang.mk embraces the concept of source dependencies. +It can fetch dependency source code using a variety of mechanisms, +including fetching from Git, Mercurial or SVN.

Erlang.mk will automatically generate releases +when applicable. It can also generate escripts.

3.2. Exploring the package index

Erlang.mk comes with a built-in package index. +It is built as an extension of the dependency system and is +meant to be used for discovery purposes.

No package is ever installed, they are only used as dependencies +and are always project-specific. They can be thought of as a +shortcut over plain dependencies.

You can get a list of all packages known to Erlang.mk by using +the search target:

$ make search

You can also use this target to search across all packages, for +example to find all packages related to Cowboy:

$ make search q=cowboy

3.3. Generating documentation

Erlang.mk supports EDoc and Asciidoc.

EDoc generates HTML documentation directly from +your source code.

While it is convenient, ask yourself: if all the documentation is +inside the source code, why not just open the source code directly? +That’s where Asciidoc comes in.

The Asciidoc plugin expects all documentation +to be separate from source. It will generate HTML, PDF, man pages and +more from the documentation you write in the doc/src/ folder in +your repository.

3.4. Running tests

Erlang.mk supports a lot of different testing and static +analysis tools.

The make shell command allows you +to test your project manually. You can automate these +unit tests with EUnit and test +your entire system with Common Test. +Property based testing +with Triq is a strong alternative to writing unit tests +manually. Code coverage can of course +be enabled during tests.

Erlang.mk comes with features to make your life easier when +setting up and using Continuous integration.

On the static analysis side of things, Erlang.mk comes with +support for Dialyzer, Xref +and Elvis, performing success typing +analysis, cross reference and style reviewing.

3.5. Need more?

Not convinced yet? You can read about why you should use Erlang.mk +and its history. And if you’re still not +convinced after that, it’s OK! The world would be boring if +everyone agreed on everything all the time.

Prev		Next
	Home