Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Autoconf VS Ninja Build

Compare Autoconf VS Ninja Build and see what are their differences

Autoconf logo Autoconf

GNU Autoconf is a tool for producing configure scripts for building, installing and packaging...

Ninja Build logo Ninja Build

Ninja is a small build system with a focus on speed.
  • Autoconf Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-10-15
  • Ninja Build Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-09-14

Autoconf features and specs

  • Portability
    Autoconf helps create scripts that automatically configure software to adapt to various Unix flavors and systems, enhancing portability across different environments.
  • Flexibility
    Autoconf provides a high degree of flexibility by allowing developers to customize checks and macros based on project requirements.
  • Maturity
    Being a mature tool, Autoconf has a widespread user base and an extensive set of features that have been refined over time.
  • Open Source
    Autoconf is open-source software, allowing developers to modify and improve the tool as needed, with a large community for support.

Possible disadvantages of Autoconf

  • Complexity
    Autoconf can be complex and difficult to configure, requiring a learning curve for new developers not familiar with its syntax and ecosystem.
  • Generated Scripts
    The configure scripts generated by Autoconf can become large and difficult to debug, making the build process less transparent.
  • Dependency
    Autoconf relies on other tools like M4, making it necessary to manage additional dependencies when setting up and using the tool.
  • Performance Overhead
    Running the configuration scripts can add overhead to the build process, leading to slower configuration times compared to simpler systems.

Ninja Build features and specs

  • Speed
    Ninja is designed for high performance, making it one of the fastest build systems available. It minimizes the time spent on tasks such as parsing, dependency resolution, and build command execution.
  • Simplicity
    Ninja’s configuration syntax is straightforward and concise, reducing the complexity involved in setting up builds and allowing for a clear overview of build rules.
  • Parallelism
    Ninja excels at handling parallel builds, leveraging multiple cores effectively to decrease overall build times.
  • Incremental Builds
    Ninja efficiently handles incremental builds by only recompiling what is necessary, which significantly speeds up iterative development processes.
  • Integration
    Ninja is often used as the backend for more complex build systems (e.g., CMake), making it a versatile tool within a larger toolchain.

Possible disadvantages of Ninja Build

  • Limited Features
    Ninja is deliberately minimalist, lacking many of the features found in other build systems, such as built-in support for complex dependency management and custom build steps.
  • Learning Curve
    While Ninja itself has a simple syntax, the learning curve can be steep for those unfamiliar with how build systems work or for those coming from more feature-rich environments.
  • Dependency on Generators
    Ninja often requires an external generator (like CMake) to create its build files, which can add to the setup complexity and introduce dependencies on other tools.
  • Limited Scripting Capabilities
    Unlike some build systems that offer extensive scripting support (e.g., Python in SCons), Ninja's functionality is largely limited to what its syntax and predefined rules allow.
  • Less Flexibility
    Due to its minimalist nature, Ninja may not be as flexible as other build systems, potentially limiting its use in more complex or unusual build scenarios.

Analysis of Ninja Build

Overall verdict

  • Ninja Build is considered a strong choice for users seeking a fast, reliable, and efficient build system. Its simplicity and focus on performance make it appealing to developers working on projects where build speed is critical.

Why this product is good

  • Ninja Build is a high-performance build system designed to handle complex build processes efficiently. It is known for its minimalistic yet powerful design, which allows for faster build times compared to traditional build systems like Make. Its approach to dependency tracking and parallelism is optimized for modern build environments, making it suitable for large codebases and incremental builds.

Recommended for

    Ninja Build is recommended for developers working on large-scale projects with complex build processes, particularly in environments where build speed and efficiency are prioritized. It is especially beneficial for projects that are continuously integrated or require frequent incremental builds.

Autoconf videos

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Ninja Build videos

FORTNITE STW: HERE IS THE BEST NINJA BUILD (AFTER MONTHS OF TESTING)

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Autoconf and Ninja Build)
JavaScript Package Manager
Front End Package Manager
JS Build Tools
20 20%
80% 80
Continuous Integration
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Ninja Build seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 22 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Autoconf mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of Autoconf yet. Tracking of Autoconf recommendations started around Mar 2021.

Ninja Build mentions (22)

  • TypeScript's Successor is Waiting, and You'll Never Want to Turn Back
    Under the hood, Rescript uses a build system called Ninja. Ninja is similar to Make, but cross-platform and more minimal/performant. - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
  • Using Make – writing less Makefile
    Ninja was super easy to pick up even after using make for some time (10+ years). GN is just a ninja generator that is optional. https://gn.googlesource.com/gn/+/main/docs/quick_start.md https://ninja-build.org/. - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • Ask HN: What outdated tech are you still using and are perfectly happy with?
    Really? I thought most new projects were switching to ninja[^1] and have never used it. [^1]: https://ninja-build.org/. - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • What was used to build C++ programs before Cmake?
    Ninja showed real promise for a while, but then CMake grew up and people stopped seeing a reason to leave it behind. Source: almost 2 years ago
  • Building and Running Pidgin and Finch 3
    Now that you have your build system all generated you can go ahead and build everything. By default Meson will use Ninja as the build tool. Ninja is similar to Make but much much faster. You can also generate additional build systems but that's outside of the scope of this post. - Source: dev.to / about 2 years ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing Autoconf and Ninja Build, you can also consider the following products

CMake - CMake is an open-source, cross-platform family of tools designed to build, test and package software.

GNU Make - GNU Make is a tool which controls the generation of executables and other non-source files of a program from the program's source files.

SCons - SCons is an Open Source software construction tool—that is, a next-generation build tool.

Gradle - Accelerate developer productivity. Gradle helps teams build, automate and deliver better software, faster. DocsExplore the documentation of Gradle. Find installation ..

Meson - Meson is an open source build system meant to be both extremely fast, and, even more importantly...

npm - npm is a package manager for Node.