Paul Krill
Editor at Large

Conan package manager brings C and C++ to devops

news
Feb 22, 20181 min

The multiplatform package manager builds and shares native binaries

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Conan, a distributed, open source package and dependency manager, promises to bring C and C++ into devops.

The multiplatform package manager builds and shares native binaries. Conan’s ability to quickly create builds, port packages, and run them on different operating systems (Windows, Linux, MacOS, and FreeBSD) helps make C and C++ suitable for devops, said Harry Manley, a senior solutions engineer at JFrog, which sponsors the Conan project.

C and C++ provide fragile builds, where it is difficult to re-create the build when moving from one system to another. Conan helps to overcome these limitations, Manley says. Developers specify dependencies on libraries, and Conan finds the libraries in a remote repository based on architecture, operating system, and platform and makes them available to a build, with build systems incuyding Visual Studio MSBuild and CMake.

While intended for C and C++, Conan can manage builds from source, dependencies, and precompiled binaries for any language. 

Where to download Conan

You can download Conan from the project’s website.

Paul Krill

Paul Krill is editor at large at InfoWorld. Paul has been covering computer technology as a news and feature reporter for more than 35 years, including 30 years at InfoWorld. He has specialized in coverage of software development tools and technologies since the 1990s, and he continues to lead InfoWorld’s news coverage of software development platforms including Java and .NET and programming languages including JavaScript, TypeScript, PHP, Python, Ruby, Rust, and Go. Long trusted as a reporter who prioritizes accuracy, integrity, and the best interests of readers, Paul is sought out by technology companies and industry organizations who want to reach InfoWorld’s audience of software developers and other information technology professionals. Paul has won a “Best Technology News Coverage” award from IDG.

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