This adds the option FULLY_STATIC to create fully-static executables.
To create portable, fully-static release executables on Linux, we need
to use musl instead of glibc. Static executables from glibc are not
portable.
The popular musl-gcc wrapper does not support C++, so instead we use a
full musl cross-compiler toolchain in the build workflow.
To build FULLY_STATIC, the user must point to the appropriate
cross-compiler, as we do in the workflow. On systems where musl is the
native libc (such as Alpine Linux), this is not necessary.
I have also read that musl's allocator is not very fast in
multi-threaded applications. So when FULLY_STATIC is enabled, we will
also enable mimalloc, a replacement allocator that is very fast.
I tested a very basic packaging command to compare speeds of dynamic
glibc, static musl, and static musl+mimalloc:
dynamic glibc:
runs: 2.527, 2.798, 2.703, 2.756, 2.959
avg = 2.749, std dev = 0.156s
static musl:
runs: 2.813, 2.920, 3.129, 3.003, 2.738
avg = 2.921s, std dev = 0.154s
static musl+mimalloc:
runs: 2.291, 2.034, 2.415, 2.303, 2.265
avg = 2.262s, std dev = 0.140s
The mimalloc build is 82% faster than musl default allocator, 77% faster
than glibc, and has more consistent runtime characteristics (lower
standard deviation).
This work was done over ~80 individual commits in the `cmake` branch,
which are now being merged back into `main`. As a roll-up commit, it is
too big to be reviewable, but each change was reviewed individually in
context of the `cmake` branch. After this, the `cmake` branch will be
renamed `cmake-porting-history` and preserved.
---------
Co-authored-by: Geoff Jukes <geoffjukes@users.noreply.github.com>
Co-authored-by: Bartek Zdanowski <bartek.zdanowski@gmail.com>
Co-authored-by: Carlos Bentzen <cadubentzen@gmail.com>
Co-authored-by: Dennis E. Mungai <2356871+Brainiarc7@users.noreply.github.com>
Co-authored-by: Cosmin Stejerean <cstejerean@gmail.com>
Co-authored-by: Carlos Bentzen <carlos.bentzen@bitmovin.com>
Co-authored-by: Cosmin Stejerean <cstejerean@meta.com>
Co-authored-by: Cosmin Stejerean <cosmin@offbytwo.com>
Joey Parrish