Bazel
Bazel is an open-source build and test tool similar to Make, Maven, or Gradle. It is optimized for building large, multi-language software projects efficiently by incrementally building only what has changed.
build-tool
incremental-builds
multilanguage
Bazel: Open-Source Build & Test Tool
An open-source build and test tool optimized for large, multi-language software projects, incrementally building only changed components
What is Bazel?
Bazel is an open-source build and test automation tool maintained by Google. It is designed for building large-scale, multi-language software projects efficiently and quickly by only rebuilding what needs to be changed after code changes.
Some key features of Bazel include:
- Incremental builds - Bazel tracks code dependencies and builds only what needs to be rebuilt, speeding up the build process significantly for large projects.
- Scalable - Bazel distributes builds across multiple machines, allowing very large projects to be built quickly.
- Language agnostic - Bazel supports multiple programming languages like Java, C++, Python, Go, etc.
- Extensible and customizable - Users can write custom build rules and plugins to extend Bazel.
- Reproducible builds - Bazel guarantees reproducible builds by precisely tracking all inputs and dependencies.
- Large ecosystem of rules - Bazel comes with 700+ predefined rules for common languages and build processes.
Bazel is used by large companies like Google, Pinterest, Stripe, Dropbox for building critical production software efficiently and reliably.
Bazel Features
Features
- Fast, incremental builds
- Scales to very large codebases
- Language-agnostic
- Hermetic and reproducible builds
- Supports multiple platforms
Pricing
- Open Source
Pros
Very fast build times
Easily build large projects
Reproducible builds
Language-agnostic
Active open source community
Cons
Steep learning curve
Requires buy-in from entire team
Not as feature-rich as alternatives like Gradle
Official Links
The Best Bazel Alternatives
Top Development and Build Tools and other similar apps like Bazel
Here are some alternatives to Bazel:
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CMake
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GNU Make
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Maven
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SCons
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Meson
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Gradle
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Premake
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Autoconf
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Yake
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Makepp
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