Last Updated: October 9, 2025

Platform-Specific Notes

Windows

Build System:

Uses vcpkg for: SDL2, yaml-cpp, zlib (fast, pre-compiled)
Uses FetchContent for: gRPC v1.67.1, abseil, protobuf (slower first time)

MSVC Flags Applied:

/bigobj - Support large object files
/permissive- - Standards conformance
/wd4267 /wd4244 - Suppress conversion warnings
/constexpr:depth2048 - Deep template instantiation

Macro Definitions:

WIN32_LEAN_AND_MEAN - Reduce Windows header pollution
NOMINMAX - Prevent min/max macro conflicts
NOGDI - Prevent GDI macro conflicts (DWORD, etc.)

Build Times:

First build with FetchContent: ~45-60 minutes (compiles gRPC)
Subsequent builds: ~2-5 minutes
With vcpkg pre-compiled gRPC: ~5-10 minutes first time

macOS

Build System:

Uses vcpkg for: SDL2, yaml-cpp, zlib
Uses FetchContent for: gRPC, abseil, protobuf

Supported Architectures:

x64 (Intel Macs) - macOS 13+
ARM64 (Apple Silicon) - macOS 14+

Build Times:

First build: ~20-30 minutes
Subsequent builds: ~3-5 minutes

Linux

Build System:

Uses system packages (apt) for most dependencies
Does NOT use vcpkg
Uses FetchContent for: gRPC, abseil, protobuf (when not in system)

Required System Packages:

build-essential ninja-build pkg-config libglew-dev libxext-dev 
libwavpack-dev libabsl-dev libboost-all-dev libpng-dev python3-dev 
libpython3-dev libasound2-dev libpulse-dev libaudio-dev libx11-dev 
libxrandr-dev libxcursor-dev libxinerama-dev libxi-dev libxss-dev 
libxxf86vm-dev libxkbcommon-dev libwayland-dev libdecor-0-dev 
libgtk-3-dev libdbus-1-dev gcc-12 g++-12 clang-15

Build Times:

First build: ~15-20 minutes
Subsequent builds: ~2-4 minutes

Cross-Platform Code Validation

All recent additions (October 2025) are cross-platform compatible:

Audio System

✅ src/app/emu/audio/audio_backend.h/cc - Uses SDL2 (cross-platform)
✅ No platform-specific code
✅ Ready for SDL3 migration

Input System

✅ src/app/emu/input/input_backend.h/cc - Uses SDL2 (cross-platform)
✅ src/app/emu/input/input_manager.h/cc - Platform-agnostic
✅ Ready for SDL3 migration

Debugger System

✅ src/app/emu/debug/apu_debugger.h/cc - No platform dependencies
✅ src/app/emu/debug/breakpoint_manager.h/cc - Platform-agnostic
✅ src/app/emu/debug/watchpoint_manager.h/cc - Platform-agnostic
✅ All use ImGui (cross-platform)

UI Layer

✅ src/app/emu/ui/* - Uses ImGui + SDL2 (both cross-platform)
✅ No platform-specific rendering code

Common Build Issues & Solutions

Windows: "use of undefined type 'PromiseLike'"

Cause: Old gRPC version (< v1.67.1)
Fix: Clear build cache and reconfigure

rm -r build/_deps/grpc-*

cmake -B build -G "Visual Studio 17 2022" -A x64

macOS: "absl not found"

Cause: vcpkg not finding abseil packages
Fix: Use FetchContent (default) - abseil is fetched automatically by gRPC

cmake -B build

Linux: CMake configuration fails

Cause: Missing system dependencies
Fix: Install required packages

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install -y [see package list above]

Windows: "DWORD syntax error"

Cause: Windows macros conflicting with protobuf enums
Fix: Ensure NOGDI is defined (now automatic in grpc.cmake)

CI/CD Validation Checklist

Before merging platform-specific changes:

✅ vcpkg baseline synchronized across CI and vcpkg.json
✅ Windows x86 build removed (cpp-httplib incompatibility)
✅ Windows macro pollution prevented (NOGDI, NOMINMAX, WIN32_LEAN_AND_MEAN)
✅ gRPC v1.67.1 with MSVC compatibility flags
✅ Cross-platform code uses SDL2/ImGui only
⏳ Validate CI builds pass on next push

Testing Strategy

Automated (CI)

✅ Build on Ubuntu 22.04 (GCC-12, Clang-15)
✅ Build on macOS 13/14 (x64/ARM64)
✅ Build on Windows 2022 (x64 only)
✅ Run core tests (AsarWrapperTest, SnesTileTest, etc.)
✅ Code quality checks (clang-format, cppcheck, clang-tidy)
✅ Memory sanitizer (Linux AddressSanitizer)

Manual Testing

After successful CI build:

🔲 Windows: Audio backend initializes
🔲 Windows: Keyboard input works
🔲 Windows: APU Debugger UI renders
🔲 Linux: Input polling works
🔲 macOS: All features functional

Quick Reference

Build Command (All Platforms)

# Simple - no flags needed!
cmake -B build
cmake --build build --parallel
 
# Or use presets:
cmake --preset [mac-dbg|lin-dbg|win-dbg]
cmake --build --preset [mac-dbg|lin-dbg|win-dbg]

Enable Features

All features (JSON, gRPC, AI) are always enabled by default.
No need to specify -DZ3ED_AI=ON or -DYAZE_WITH_GRPC=ON.

Windows Troubleshooting

# Verify environment
.\scripts\verify-build-environment.ps1
 
# Use vcpkg for faster builds
.\scripts\setup-vcpkg-windows.ps1
cmake -B build -DCMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE="vcpkg/scripts/buildsystems/vcpkg.cmake"

Filesystem Abstraction

To ensure robust and consistent behavior across platforms, YAZE has standardized its filesystem operations:

**std::filesystem**: All new and refactored code uses the C++17 std::filesystem library for path manipulation, directory iteration, and file operations. This eliminates platform-specific bugs related to path separators (/ vs \).
**PlatformPaths Utility**: A dedicated utility class, yaze::util::PlatformPaths, provides platform-aware API for retrieving standard directory locations:
- Application Data: APPDATA% on Windows, ~/Library/Application Support on macOS, XDG Base Directory on Linux
- Configuration Files: Semantically clear API for config file locations
- Home and Temporary Directories: Safely resolves user-specific and temporary folders

This removes legacy platform-specific APIs (like dirent.h or Win32 directory functions) for cleaner, more maintainable file handling.

Native File Dialog Support

YAZE features native file dialogs on all platforms:

macOS: Cocoa-based file selection with proper sandboxing support
Windows: Windows Explorer integration with COM APIs (IFileOpenDialog/IFileSaveDialog)
Linux: GTK3 dialogs that match system appearance
Fallback: Cross-platform implementation when native dialogs unavailable

Status: ✅ All CI/CD issues resolved. Next push should build successfully on all platforms.

	yaze 0.3.2 Link to the Past ROM Editor