What is Bazel and Why Use It?

Modern software development often involves complex projects with numerous dependencies, multiple languages, and the need for cross-platform compatibility. In such environments, having a reliable and efficient build system is crucial. Enter Bazel, an open-source build and test tool designed to handle large-scale, fast, and reproducible builds. Originally developed by Google, Bazel has become a go-to solution for developers worldwide. In this post, we’ll explore what Bazel is and why it might be the right tool for your C++ projects.

What is Bazel?

At its core, Bazel is a build system that provides:

  • High performance: Bazel uses advanced caching and dependency tracking to minimize rebuild times, ensuring only the necessary components are recompiled.
  • Reproducibility: Builds with Bazel are deterministic, meaning the same inputs will always produce the same outputs.
  • Multi-language builds: While this series focuses on C++, Bazel supports a variety of languages like Java, Python, Go, and more.

Key Features of Bazel

  1. Dependency Management: Bazel handles both internal and external dependencies efficiently, ensuring all required files and libraries are included during the build process.

  2. Scalability: Designed for large-scale projects, Bazel can manage thousands of source files and dependencies without significant performance degradation.

  3. Extensibility: Through its Starlark build language, you can define custom build rules tailored to your specific needs.

  4. Testing Integration: Bazel’s built-in support for testing frameworks allows you to run unit tests seamlessly alongside your builds.

Why Use Bazel for C++ Development?

For C++ developers, Bazel offers several unique advantages:

  • Incremental Builds: When working on large C++ projects, rebuild times can become a bottleneck. Bazel’s incremental build feature ensures you’re only rebuilding what has changed, saving significant time.

  • Remote builds: Bazel supports remote build execution, allowing resource-intensive tasks to be offloaded to powerful remote servers. This reduces the load on local machines and accelerates build times for large projects.

  • Optimized for Performance: Bazel uses sandboxing and parallel execution to make C++ builds faster and more reliable.

Summary

This blog series will guide you through Bazel, starting with the basics and gradually covering more advanced topics. Here’s the full list of articles:

  1. Introduction to Bazel: An overview of Bazel, its features, and its advantages for C++ development (this post).
  2. Setting Up Bazel: A detailed guide to installing Bazel, setting up your environment, and building your first project.