Editing SCons

{{Redirect-distinguish|Scons|Scones}}
{{Infobox software
| name = SCons
| logo = SCons.png
| screenshot = <!-- [[File: ]] -->
| caption = 
| collapsible = 
| author = Steven Knight
| developer = 
| released = {{start date and age|2001|12|13}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://legacy.python.org/workshops/2002-02/papers/16/index.htm|first=Steven|last=Knight|date=February 2002|title = SCons Design and Implementation|access-date=March 23, 2024|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180321082341/http://legacy.python.org/workshops/2002-02/papers/16/index.htm|archive-date=March 21, 2018}}</ref>
| discontinued =
| latest release version = 4.8.1<ref>{{cite web |url=https://scons.org/archives.html |title = Archives - SCons}}</ref>
| latest release date = {{start date and age|2024|09|04}}
| latest preview version = 
| latest preview date = <!-- {{start date and age|YYYY|MM|DD}} -->
| repo = {{URL|https://github.com/SCons/scons}}
| programming language = [[Python (programming language)|Python]]
| operating system = [[Cross-platform]]
| platform = 
| size = 
| language = 
| genre = [[Software development tools]]
| license = [[MIT License]]
| website = {{URL|http://scons.org}}
}}
'''SCons''' is a [[software development tool]] that analyzes [[source code]] dependencies and [[operating system]] adaptation requirements from a software project description and generates final binary executables for installation on the target operating system platform. Its function is similar to the more popular [[GNU build system]].

The tool generates [[Python (programming language)|Python]] scripts for project configuration and build logic.

== History ==
The ''Cons'' software construction utility, written in the [[Perl]], was created by Bob Sidebotham in 1999.<ref>{{Citation | url = http://www.dsmit.com/cons/ | title = Cons | type = web site | publisher = DSMit | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://archive.today/20000815211359/http://www.dsmit.com/cons/ | archive-date = 2000-08-15 }}.</ref> It served as a base for the ''ScCons'' build tool, a design which won the [[Software Carpentry]] project SC Build competition in August 2000.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://lwn.net/2000/0810/a/sc-second-round.php3 |title= Software Carpentry Design Competition Second Round Results Config, Build, and Track categories|date=2000-08-04|first=Alex|last= Samuel|access-date= 2012-10-29}}</ref>  ScCons was the foundation for SCons.

SCons inspired the creation of [[Waf (build system)|Waf]], formerly known as ''SCons/BKsys'', which emerged in the [[KDE]] community. For some time, there were plans to use it as the build tool for KDE 4 and beyond, but that effort was abandoned in favor of [[CMake]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://lwn.net/Articles/188693/|title=Why the KDE project switched to CMake – and how (continued)|last=Neundorf|first=Alexander|date=21 June 2006|publisher=LWN | access-date =21 July 2009}}</ref>

Notable projects that use SCons (or used it at one time) include: [[The Battle for Wesnoth]],<ref>{{cite web| url = http://wiki.wesnoth.org/CompilingWesnoth#Building_with_SCons | title =CompilingWesnoth|access-date= 2011-04-11 | work = Wiki | publisher = Wesnoth}}</ref> [[Battlefield 1942]],{{citation needed|date=March 2014}} [[Doom 3]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://github.com/id-Software/DOOM-3/blob/master/README.txt | publisher = id Software | title=README.txt | access-date= 2015-05-13}}</ref> [[FCEUX]],<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.fceux.com/web/download.html | publisher = FCEUX | title = Downloads | access-date = 2017-04-25}}</ref> gem5,<ref>{{Citation | url = http://www.gem5.org/ | title = Gem5}}.</ref> [[gpsd]],<ref>{{cite web|url= http://esr.ibiblio.org/?p=3089| work = ESR | publisher = iBiblio | title= SCons is full of win today|date = 2011-04-05 | access-date=2011-04-11}}</ref> [[GtkRadiant]],<ref>{{cite web| publisher = QE radiant | url= http://www.qeradiant.com/cgi-bin/trac.cgi/browser/GtkRadiant/trunk/COMPILING |title=Developer documentation for GtkRadiant 1.6.0 (Zeroradiant)| date= 2008-06-30 | format = Trac | access-date = 2009-12-28}}</ref> [[Madagascar (software)|Madagascar]],<ref>{{cite web | publisher = Ahay | work = Wiki | url= http://www.ahay.org/wiki/Installation#Installation_from_source |title= Installation|date = 2011-02-26 | access-date = 2011-04-11}}</ref> [[Mixxx]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://github.com/mixxxdj/mixxx#compiling | title=Mixxx/Compiling | website=[[GitHub]] | date=2014-08-26}}</ref> [[MongoDB]],<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.mongodb.org/display/DOCS/Building+for+Linux#BuildingforLinux-Building|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090221220848/http://www.mongodb.org/display/DOCS/Building+for+Linux#BuildingforLinux-Building|url-status= dead|archive-date= February 21, 2009|work= MongoDB|title= Building for Linux|date= January 30, 2009|publisher= 10gen|access-date= February 8, 2011}}</ref> [[Nullsoft Scriptable Install System]],<ref>{{cite web | url = http://nsis.svn.sourceforge.net/viewvc/nsis/NSIS/trunk/INSTALL?revision=6147&view=markup | archive-url = https://archive.today/20120711221146/http://nsis.svn.sourceforge.net/viewvc/nsis/NSIS/trunk/INSTALL?revision=6147&view=markup | url-status = dead | archive-date = 2012-07-11 | title = INSTALL | work = NSIS | type = source code | date = 2011-05-28 | access-date = 2011-04-11 | publisher = Source forge }}</ref> [[OpenNebula]],<ref>{{cite web | url = http://dev.opennebula.org/projects/opennebula/repository/revisions/e20fb5c4c42960186cae7cdf353ba96e7a629703/entry/SConstruct | title = /SConstruct - OpenNebula - OpenNebula Development pages | publisher = OpenNebula Project | access-date= 2016-01-09}}</ref> [[VMware]],{{citation needed|date=March 2014}}, [[Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory]],<ref>{{cite web|url = https://github.com/id-Software/Enemy-Territory/blob/master/README.txt | publisher = id Software | title = README.txt | access-date = 2017-04-25}}</ref> [[XORP]] and MCA2,<ref>{{cite web|url= http://mca2.org/ |title= Modular Controller Architecture|publisher = Research Center for Information Technology (FZI), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)}}</ref> [[openpilot]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://github.com/commaai/openpilot|title=openpilot Github repository|website=comma.ai/|access-date=2021-05-10}}</ref> and [[Godot (game engine)|Godot]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://docs.godotengine.org/en/3.1/development/compiling/introduction_to_the_buildsystem.html|title=Introduction to the buildsystem — Godot Engine latest documentation|website=docs.godotengine.org|access-date=2019-08-19}}</ref>

.csig is the SCons Content Signature file format.

== Features ==
Major features include:
* Configuration files are Python; user-written builds can leverage a general-purpose, cross-platform programming language
* [[coupling (computer programming)|Dependency]] analysis for [[C (programming language)|C]], [[C++]] and [[Fortran]]
* Dependency analysis is extensible through user-defined scanners for other languages or file types; unlike [[GNU Compiler Collection]] (GCC) dependency analysis, SCons uses a [[regular expression]] scan for included source files
* Built-in support for C, C++, [[D (programming language)|D]], [[Java (programming language)|Java]], [[Fortran]], [[Objective-C]], [[Yacc]], [[Lex (software)|Lex]], [[Qt (framework)|Qt]] and [[SWIG]], as well as [[TeX]] and [[LaTeX]] documents
* Support for other languages via custom builders
* Building from central repositories of source code and pre-built targets
* Ability to use [[Microsoft Visual Studio|Visual Studio]], including the generation of {{Not a typo|.dsp}}, {{Not a typo|.dsw}}, {{Not a typo|.sln}} and {{Not a typo|.vcproj}} files
* Detection of file content changes using [[MD5]] signatures; optional, configurable ability to use traditional timestamps
* Ability to do parallel builds, maintaining a specified number of jobs running simultaneously regardless of directory hierarchy
* Autoconf-like support for finding #include files, libraries, functions and [[typedef]]s
* Global view of dependencies, so multiple build passes or reordering targets is not required.
* Ability to share built files in a cache to speed up multiple builds - like [[ccache]] but for any type of target file, not just C/C++ compilation
* Designed from the ground up for cross-platform builds; known to work on [[POSIX]] systems (including [[Linux]], [[IBM AIX|AIX]] and [[OS/2]], [[Berkeley Software Distribution|*BSD Unices]], [[HP-UX]], [[Silicon Graphics|SGI]] [[IRIX]], [[Solaris (operating system)|Solaris]], [[illumos]]), [[Windows NT]], [[OS X]]

== Examples ==

The following is an SConstruct file that builds a [[hello world]] C program using the default platform compiler:

<syntaxhighlight lang="python">
Program("hello-world.c")
</syntaxhighlight>

The following is a SConstruct file for a project that includes two source files and specifies build tool options:

<syntaxhighlight lang="python">
env = Environment()
env.Append(CPPFLAGS=["-Wall", "-g"])
env.Program("hello", ["hello.c", "main.c"])
</syntaxhighlight>

== See also ==
{{Portal|Free and open-source software}}

* {{Annotated link|Buildout}}
* {{Annotated link|qmake}}
* {{Annotated link|Qbs (build tool)}}
* {{Annotated link|Premake}}
* {{Annotated link|List of build automation software}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== External links ==
* {{Official website|www.scons.org}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Scons}}
[[Category:Articles with example Python (programming language) code]]
[[Category:Build automation]]
[[Category:Compiling tools]]
[[Category:Free software programmed in Python]]
[[Category:Software using the MIT license]]