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Using Shiver

   

Build from source

Shiver doesn't ship precompiled binaries. Games integrate it by building from source – the same way you'd pull in any CMake dependency with FetchContent or a submodule.

   

Installer

If there ever comes a day that Shiver is used by devs who are not contributing to Shiver: their choice of tooling distribution is up to them. They may choose to build an installer for their team to install Shiver development tools on developer machines or they may integrate from source like I do.

   

Repository layout

The top level splits into four areas:

ProjectRootBuildSystemcmakeEngineCoreCodeInclude╮AllEnginelibrariessharethisstructure.Source├─UnitTestisoptional;CMakecreatesatestUnitTest╯projectforitwhenBUILD_TESTSisset.App(etc)CodeIncludeSourceUnitTestMedia╮Fonts├─Brandresources.Icons╯Samples01-CoreHelloWorld╮Samplesdoubleaslivingdocumentation.02-AppHelloWorld├─ProjectstructuremirrorsEnginelibraries.03-HelloCube╯ToolsSharedIPCShiver-EditorShiver-EngineServiceShiver-DataService

   

Library anatomy

Every engine library follows the same pattern: a Code/ directory containing Include/, Source/, and optionally UnitTest/. The separation between Include/ and Source/ is a public/private distinction – Include/ is what downstream code sees, Source/ is what only that library sees.

This isn't novel, but keeping it consistent across all libraries makes it easy to set up CMake targets mechanically: Include/ goes on the public interface, Source/ stays private.

When BUILD_TESTS is set in CMake, any library with a UnitTest/ folder automatically gets a test project. The tests live next to the code they test rather than in a separate top-level directory, which I prefer – it keeps the feedback loop tight when working on a specific library.

   

CMake integration

Games link Shiver libraries the same way they'd link any CMake dependency: 

include(FetchContent)
FetchContent_Declare(
    Shiver
    URL https://git.xo.codes/shiver/shiver/archive/refs/tags/v1.0.0.zip
)
FetchContent_MakeAvailable(Shiver)

target_link_libraries(MyGame
    PRIVATE
        Shiver-Core
        Shiver-App
)

The BuildSystem/cmake/ directory contains the CMake modules that define each library target. More on the specifics of how those are structured to come.

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