[[deps]] == Packages and dependencies Erlang.mk can fetch and compile the dependencies that your project requires. Erlang.mk improves upon the concepts introduced by Rebar, so they should be familiar to many seasoned Erlang developers. Erlang.mk is not a package manager, nor is it trying to be, but it does include an index of Erlang packages to make discovering useful projects easier. This chapter will explain how to use packages, add dependencies to your project or bundle them directly in a single repository. === Searching packages Erlang.mk gives you access to nearly 500 packages, with more being added regularly. To find a package, search for it: [source,bash] $ make search q=pool This will return all packages matching this word, like worker pool and acceptor pool projects. You can also list everything and use regular command line tools to find what you need, for example: [source,bash] $ make search | less // @todo Simplify adding packages, add a new chapter explaining // everything, then link to this new chapter from here. === Adding dependencies to your project Once you find the package you need, adding it as a dependency to your project is a one-liner: [source,make] DEPS = cowboy And that's it! The next time you run `make`, Erlang.mk will fetch and compile Cowboy. Erlang.mk will also ensure Cowboy is available whenever you use the shell, run tests and any other operations. Note though that you may need to specify the version of a dependency to use. Otherwise, you may get an outdated version, since the package index used by Erlang.mk is not always updated with the latest version of each package. [source,make] DEPS = cowboy dep_cowboy_commit = 2.8.0 Erlang.mk will fill in the application resource file with all applications found in `DEPS`. But not all dependencies are Erlang applications, and not all dependencies need to be a runtime dependency. That's where the `BUILD_DEPS` variable comes in: it works just like `DEPS`, except the dependencies listed there will not be added as runtime dependencies. For example, you could add a parse transform project like this to make it available only at build time: [source,make] BUILD_DEPS = erlando Or you could depend on a C project directly, if you are building a NIF: [source,make] BUILD_DEPS = leveldb dep_leveldb = git https://github.com/basho/leveldb 2.1.3 This dependency will be built before your application, so you could easily copy the resulting shared file into your 'priv/' directory as part of the build process. More information about that in the xref:ports[NIFs and port drivers] chapter. Another variable, `LOCAL_DEPS`, allows specifying runtime dependencies which are part of Erlang/OTP itself, but also dependencies that are included in the repository. Since they are already on your system, there is no need to fetch them. Do note that there is no way to choose the version, the application used will be the one already on your system. You could depend on the Crypto application, for example: [source,make] LOCAL_DEPS = crypto Erlang.mk comes with additional types of dependencies. It has `TEST_DEPS` for dependencies used only for testing: [source,make] TEST_DEPS = ct_helper dep_ct_helper = git https://github.com/ninenines/ct_helper master `DOC_DEPS` for dependencies used only when building documentation: [source,make] DOC_DEPS = edown `REL_DEPS` for dependencies required to build the release, or to include extra applications in the release: [source,make] REL_DEPS = recon And `SHELL_DEPS` for dependencies to make available when running the `make shell` command: [source,make] SHELL_DEPS = tddreloader All these will be documented in more details in their respective chapters. Note that these additional types of dependencies will only be fetched after normal dependencies by default. You can force a dependency to be downloaded first by extending the target `deps::` before including 'erlang.mk', for example: [source,make] deps:: $(CURDIR)/deps/triq Sometimes dependencies are allowed to be missing. However, your application may depend on an optional application being started. To ensure that an optional dependency is started before your application, the variable `OPTIONAL_DEPS` may be used: [source,make] OPTIONAL_DEPS = quicer The top-level project can then decide whether to include this application by adding it to its `BUILD_DEPS` and including it in the release dependencies. ==== Modifying the dependency source or version By default, Erlang.mk will look into its package index to find the project you are looking for, if you only provide its name. This is this case: [source,make] DEPS = cowboy If you need a different version, you need to define another variable. There are two ways to do this, each being useful for different reasons. If you simply want to change the commit number, all you need to do is to define the `dep_$(DEP_NAME)_commit` variable. In the case of Cowboy, this would look like this: [source,make] DEPS = cowboy dep_cowboy_commit = 2.0.0-pre.2 Erlang.mk will use the package index to get all information about Cowboy, except the commit number which will be overridden. If you need to set the fetch method or repository information too, for example because you want to use your own fork, or simply because the project is missing from the index, you can define the `dep_$(DEP_NAME)` variable with everything: [source,make] DEPS = cowboy dep_cowboy = git https://github.com/essen/cowboy 2.0.0-pre.2 This will fetch Cowboy from your fork at the given commit. ==== Fetch methods Erlang.mk comes with a number of different fetch methods. You can fetch from Git, Mercurial, SVN, to name a few. There are fetch methods that will work everywhere, and fetch methods that will only work in a given environment. The following table lists all existing methods: [cols="<,2*^",options="header"] |=== | Name | Format | Description | git | git repo commit | Clone the Git repository and checkout the given version | git-subfolder | git repo commit subfolder | Clone the Git repository, checkout the given version and use one of its subfolders as a dependency | git-submodule | git-submodule | Initialize and update the Git submodule | hg | hg repo commit | Clone the Mercurial repository and update to the given version | svn | svn repo | Checkout the given SVN repository | cp | cp path/to/repo | Recursively copy a local directory | ln | ln path/to/repo | Symbolically link a local directory | hex | hex version [pkg] | Download the given project version from hex.pm | fail | N/A | Always fail, reserved for internal use | legacy | N/A | Legacy Erlang.mk fetcher, reserved for internal use | default | N/A | Reserved |=== The `git` and `hg` methods both have a repository and commit. You can use any valid commit, tag or branch in that repository for the commit value. For example, to fetch Cowboy with tag 2.0.0-pre.2 from Git: [source,make] dep_cowboy = git https://github.com/ninenines/cowboy 2.0.0-pre.2 Or to fetch Ehsa tag 4.0.3 from Mercurial: [source,make] dep_ehsa = hg https://bitbucket.org/a12n/ehsa 4.0.3 Git also comes with a concept of submodules. Erlang.mk can automatically initializes and updates submodules for dependencies, as long as they were added beforehand using `git submodule add`: [source,make] dep_cowboy = git-submodule The `svn` method only has a repository value, but that's simply because the SVN repository URL can also contain the path and commit. This would fetch an example project from the trunk: [source,make] dep_ex1 = svn https://example.com/svn/trunk/project/ex1 And this would fetch a separate example project from a specific commit: [source,make] dep_ex2 = svn svn://example.com/svn/branches/erlang-proj/ex2@264 You can copy a directory from your machine using the `cp` method. It only takes the path to copy from: [source,make] dep_cowboy = cp $(HOME)/ninenines/cowboy Finally, you can use a package from the link:https://hex.pm/[Hex repository]: [source,make] dep_cowboy = hex 1.0.3 If the package on Hex has a different name than the application, you can provide it after the version: [source,make] dep_uuid = hex 1.7.5 uuid_erl ==== Custom fetch methods If none of the existing methods fit your use, you can simply define your own. Erlang.mk will consider all variables that are named as `dep_fetch_$(METHOD)` to be available fetch methods. You can do anything inside this variable, as long as you create a folder named '$(DEPS_DIR)/$(call dep_name,$1)'. Or in layman terms, if your dependency is Cowboy, this would become 'deps/cowboy'. To give an example, this is what the Git method does: [source,make] ---- define dep_fetch_git git clone -q -n -- $(call dep_repo,$1) $(DEPS_DIR)/$(call dep_name,$1); \ cd $(DEPS_DIR)/$(call dep_name,$1) && git checkout -q $(call dep_commit,$1); endef ---- Note that, like dependency information, this custom fetch method must be written before including 'erlang.mk'. === How deps are fetched and built The order in which dependencies are fetched and built is well defined. This means that Erlang.mk will get the same applications regardless of the command or options being used. In tree traversal terms, where the list of dependencies is a tree, Erlang.mk fetches everything using the pre-order traversal method. The steps can be summarized like this, starting from the root application: . Fetch all dependencies for the application . Build first dependency . Build Nth dependency . Build last dependency Every time a dependency is built, these same steps are followed, recursively. Do note that the first step, fetching all dependencies of an application, is not guaranteed to be ordered. The reason for this is that it is not possible to have the same dependency listed twice in a single application, and therefore there can be no conflicts. Remember, this step only fetches, at no point are different applications built in parallel. What about conflicts between the dependencies of different applications? Simple. Since builds are ordered, this means that the first version of an application that is fetched will be the one that wins. This means that if project A depends on projects B and C, in this order, and that both B and C depend on a different version of D, it will always be B's version of D that wins, because we fetch the dependencies of B before fetching those from C. Similarly, if project A depends on projects B, C and D, regardless of the order, and A, B and C depend on a different version of D, it will always be A's version that wins, because we fetch all dependencies of A before fetching those from B or C. Once a dependency is built, it will not be built again by default. Typically dependencies do not need to be recompiled and this speeds up building immensely. There are a few ways to force recompiling a dependency however: * The dependency directory is a symbolic link; the dependency will always be recompiled. * The dependency is built directly, for example with a command like `make -C deps/cowlib`, or `make` in the dependency's directory. * The variable `FULL` is set, for example `make FULL=1`. This will force building of all dependencies. This can be added to your Makefile before including 'erlang.mk'. * The file `ebin/dep_built` in the dependency is removed. === Fetching and listing dependencies only You can fetch all dependencies recursively without building anything, with the `make fetch-deps` command. It follows the same rules described in the section above. You can list all dependencies recursively, again without building anything, with the `make list-deps` command. It will obviously need to fetch all dependencies exactly like `make fetch-deps`. Once everything is fetched, it prints a sorted list of absolute paths to the dependencies. By default, `fetch-deps` and `list-deps` work on the `BUILD_DEPS` and `DEPS` lists only. To also fetch/list `TEST_DEPS`, `DOC_DEPS`, `REL_DEPS` and/or `SHELL_DEPS`, you have two possibilities: * You can use `make fetch-test-deps`, `make fetch-doc-deps`, `make fetch-rel-deps` and `make fetch-shell-deps` commands respectively. If you want to list them, you can use `make list-test-deps`, `make list-doc-deps`, `make list-rel-deps` and `make list-shell-deps` respectively. * You can use `make fetch-deps` or `make list-deps` with the Makefile variable `DEP_TYPES` set to a list of dependency types you want. The types are `test`, `doc`, `rel` and `shell` respectively. For example, you can list test and doc dependencies with `make list-deps DEP_TYPES='test doc'`. Note that only first level `TEST_DEPS`, `DOC_DEPS`, `REL_DEPS` and `SHELL_DEPS` are included, not dependencies' one. In other word, `make list-test-deps` lists the `TEST_DEPS` of your project, but not `TEST_DEPS` of the projects yours depend on. No matter which method you use, `BUILD_DEPS` and `DEPS` are always included. Internally, the `make fetch-*` commands store the complete list of dependencies in files named `$(ERLANG_MK_RECURSIVE_DEPS_LIST)`, `$(ERLANG_MK_RECURSIVE_TEST_DEPS_LIST)`, `$(ERLANG_MK_RECURSIVE_DOC_DEPS_LIST)`, `$(ERLANG_MK_RECURSIVE_REL_DEPS_LIST)` and `$(ERLANG_MK_RECURSIVE_SHELL_DEPS_LIST)`. Those files are simply printed by the `make list-*` commands. `make list-*` commands are made for human beings. If you need the list of dependencies in a Makefile or a script, you should use the content of those files directly instead. The reason is that `make fetch-*` and `make list-*` may have unwanted content in their output, such as actual fetching of dependencies. === Querying dependencies You can obtain information about all dependencies with the `make query-deps` family of commands: * `make query-deps` will list dependencies found in `BUILD_DEPS` and `DEPS` recursively. * `make query-doc-deps` will list documentation dependencies of the current project. * `make query-rel-deps` will list release dependencies of the current project. * `make query-shell-deps` will list shell dependencies of the current project. * `make query-test-deps` will list test dependencies of the current project. By default the information printed will be the dependency name, fetch method, repository and version, prefixed by the current project's name. But this output can be customized via the variable `QUERY`: [source,bash] $ make query-deps QUERY="name fetch_method repo version extra absolute_path" The following options are available: name:: The dependency name. fetch_method:: The dependency's fetch method. repo:: The dependency's repository. version:: The dependency's version, tag or commit. extra:: Any additional information specific to the fetch method used. absolute_path:: The dependency's location after it has been fetched. Fields that have no value will print `-`. For example not all fetch methods have a value for the `version`. The value for `extra`, when available, will be formatted with the name of the information printed prefixed. For example the hex fetch method will add `package-name=uuid_erl` for the `uuid` application. === Ignoring unwanted dependencies Sometimes, you may want to ignore dependencies entirely. Not even fetch them. You may want to do this because a project you depend on depends on an application you do not need (like a dependency for building documentation or testing). Or maybe the dependency is already installed on your system. To ignore a dependency, simply add it to the `IGNORE_DEPS` variable: [source,make] IGNORE_DEPS += edown proper This will only ignore dependencies that are needed for building. It is therefore safe to write: [source,make] IGNORE_DEPS += edown proper TEST_DEPS = proper The PropEr application will be fetched as intended when running `make tests` or `make check`. It will however not be fetched when running `make` or `make deps`. === Dependencies directory Dependencies are fetched in '$(DEPS_DIR)'. By default this is the 'deps' directory. You can change this default, but you should only do so if it was not defined previously. Erlang.mk uses this variable to tell dependencies where to fetch their own dependencies. You will therefore need to use `?=` instead of `=`. Of course, if you know you will never use this project as a dependency, `=` will work. But to avoid it biting you later on, do this: [source,make] DEPS_DIR ?= $(CURDIR)/libs The `$(CURDIR)` part is important, otherwise dependencies of dependencies will be fetched in the wrong directory. Erlang.mk will also export the `REBAR_DEPS_DIR` variable for compatibility with Rebar build tools, as long as they are recent enough. === Many applications in one repository In addition to the dependencies that are fetched, Erlang.mk also allows you to have dependencies local to your repository. This kind of layout is sometimes called multi-application repositories, or repositories with multiple applications. They work exactly the same as remote dependencies, except: * They are not fetched * They are not autopatched * They are not deleted on `make distclean` * They are not automatically added to the application resource file To properly fill the application resource file and compile apps in the right order, you will need to define the `LOCAL_DEPS` variable for each relevant application, the same as for OTP applications. Apps can depend on each other in this way, and their compilation order will follow the same rules as regular dependencies in `DEPS`. The top-level `LOCAL_DEPS` variable, if defined, will determine which apps (along with their dependencies) to build, and also which apps should be added to the top-level application resource file, if there is one. This may be useful, for example, for specifying a different set of apps to build for different releases. If `LOCAL_DEPS` is not defined, then all apps in the '$(APPS_DIR)' will be built, but none will be automatically added to the top-level application resource file. If there is a conflict between a local dependency and a remote dependency, then the local dependency always wins; an error will be triggered when trying to fetch the conflicting remote dependency. To start using dependencies local to the repository, simply create a folder named '$(APPS_DIR)'. By default, this folder is the 'apps/' directory. You can use Erlang.mk to bootstrap local dependencies by using the command `make new-app` or `make new-lib`. This command will create the necessary directories and bootstrap the application. For example, to create a full fledged OTP application as a local dependency: [source,bash] $ make new-app in=webchat Or, the same as an OTP library: [source,bash] $ make new-lib in=webchat Templates also work with local dependencies, from the root directory of the project. You do need however to tell Erlang.mk to create the files in the correct application: [source,bash] $ make new t=gen_server n=my_server in=webchat === Repositories with no application at the root level It's possible to use Erlang.mk with only applications in '$(APPS_DIR)', and nothing at the root of the repository. Just create a folder, put the 'erlang.mk' file in it, write a Makefile that includes it, and start creating your applications. Similarly, it's possible to have a repository with only dependencies found in '$(DEPS_DIR)'. You just need to create a Makefile and specify the dependencies you want. This allows you to create a repository for handling the building of releases, for example. === Autopatch Erlang.mk will automatically patch all the dependencies it fetches. It needs to do this to ensure that the dependencies become compatible with not only Erlang.mk, but also with the version of Erlang.mk that is currently used. When fetching a dependency, the following operations are performed: * Fetch the dependency using the configured fetch method * If it contains a 'configure.ac' or 'configure.in' file, run `autoreconf -Wall -vif -I m4` * If it contains a 'configure' script, run it * Run autopatch on the project Autopatch first checks if there is any project-specific patch enabled. There are currently two: `ELIXIR_PATCH` for the `elixir` dependency and `HUT_PATCH` for the `hut` dependency. Otherwise, autopatch performs different operations depending on the kind of project it finds the dependency to be. * Rebar projects are automatically converted to use Erlang.mk as their build tool. This essentially patches Rebar out, and fixes and converts the project to be compatible with Erlang.mk. * Erlang.mk projects have their 'Makefile' patched, if necessary, to include the top-level project's Erlang.mk. This is to ensure that functionality works across all dependencies, even if the dependency's Erlang.mk is outdated. The patched Makefile can be safely committed if necessary. * Other Erlang projects get a small Erlang.mk Makefile generated automatically. * Projects with no source directory and no Makefile get an empty Makefile generated, for compatibility purposes. * Other projects with no Makefile are left untouched. You can add additional commands to be run immediately before or after autopatch is done by extending the target `autopatch-$(dep)::`, for example this would remove a module: [source,make] ---- autopatch-ranch:: rm -f $(DEPS_DIR)/ranch/src/ranch_proxy_header.erl ---- A common use case for this feature is to apply a PATCH file on the dependency immediately after fetching it. It can also be used to add compiler options, for example: [source,make] ---- autopatch-couchbeam:: printf "\nERLC_OPTS += -DWITH_JIFFY\n" >> $(DEPS_DIR)/couchbeam/Makefile ---- The commands will run before autopatch when the target is defined before including 'erlang.mk', and after otherwise. You can disable the replacing of the 'erlang.mk' file by defining the `NO_AUTOPATCH_ERLANG_MK` variable: [source,make] NO_AUTOPATCH_ERLANG_MK = 1 You can also disable autopatch entirely for a few select projects using the `NO_AUTOPATCH` variable: [source,make] NO_AUTOPATCH = cowboy ranch cowlib === Dealing with duplicate modules When there are duplicate modules found in both applications and their dependencies, some tasks may fail. Erlang expects modules to be unique in general. When the duplicates are found in dependencies, you will need to remove one of the duplicates at fetch time. To do so, you can add a rule similar to this to your Makefile before including 'erlang.mk': [source,make] ---- DEPS_DIR = $(CURDIR)/deps deps:: $(DEPS_DIR)/cowlib $(verbose) rm -f $(DEPS_DIR)/cowlib/src/cow_ws.erl ---- This must be done from the application that has this dependency. Only define the `DEPS_DIR` variable if necessary. === Skipping deps It is possible to temporarily skip all dependency operations. This is done by defining the `SKIP_DEPS` variable. Use cases include being somewhere with no connection to download them, or perhaps a peculiar setup. A typical usage would be: [source,bash] $ make SKIP_DEPS=1 When the variable is defined: * Dependencies will not be compiled or downloaded when required * The dependency directory '$(DEPS_DIR)' will not be removed on `make distclean` This variable only applies to remote dependencies.