Open-Source – Handling External Dependencies in Projects

dependenciesopen sourceversion control

When one writes an open-source project and uses Google Code or GitHub, and wants to use a library like Lua, how should one do this?

  • Should the dependency be included in the repository?
  • Should the dependency be built from within the same build script as the rest of the project, or from a separate build script?

Given that the library doesn't need installation before compilation.

Best Answer

I would highly recommend reading through Git's documentation on submodules; it addresses this very problem, assuming that all of your sources use Git. If they don't, you can always set up a git repo for the purpose of integration. The effort is trivial, and the payoff is significant.

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