subsys: README

README.md

@@ -1 +1,101 @@
-# subsys repo
+# plugin initialization support
+
+subsys is a small header-only library providing support for plugin initialization
+
+## Features
+
+- provide application control of initialization order across c++ libraries
+- circumvents the 'static order initialization fiasco'
+- ensure initialization code runs exactly once if subsystem is linked
+- enforce initialization order constraints
+- defend against static linker stripping essential initialization code
+- designed to work cleanly for libraries integrating into existing executable like python, java runtime, ..
+- initialization state browseable at runtime
+
+## Getting Started
+
+### build + install `indentlog` dependency
+
+see [github/rconybea/indentlog](https://github.com/Rconybea/indentlog)
+
+### copy `subsys` repository locally
+```
+$ git clone git@github.com:rconybea/subsys.git
+$ ls -d subsys
+subsys
+```
+
+### build + install
+```
+$ cd subsys
+$ mkdir build
+$ cd build
+$ cmake -DCMAKE_PREFIX_PATH=${INSTALL_PREFIX} -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=${INSTALL_PREFIX} ..
+$ make
+$ make install
+```
+
+`CMAKE_PREFIX_PATH` should point to prefix where `indentlog` is installed
+
+alternatively,  if you're a nix user:
+```
+$ git clone git@github.com:rconybea/xo-nix.git
+$ ls -d xo-nix
+xo-nix
+$ cd xo-nix
+$ nix-build -A subsys
+```
+
+### build for unit test coverage
+```
+$ cd subsys
+$ mkdir ccov
+$ cd ccov
+$ cmake -DCMAKE_PREFIX_PATH=${INSTALL_PREFIX} -DCODE_COVERAGE=ON -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Debug ..
+```
+
+## Examples
+
+### 1
+```
+// initialization code in .hpp for a subsystem foo,  that relies on related subsystem bar
+
+#include "subsys/Subsystem.hpp"
+
+enum S_foo_tag {};  /* tag to represent initialization of subsystem foo */
+
+template<>
+struct InitSubsys<S_foo_tag> {
+     static void init() {
+         // plugin initialization for subsystem foo
+     }
+
+    static InitEvidence require() {
+          InitEvidence retval;
+
+          // demand initialization of dependent subsystem  bar,
+          // before initialization subsystem foo
+          //
+          retval ^= InitSubsys<S_bar_tag>::require();
+
+          // initialization of this subsystem foo
+          retval ^= Subsystem::provide<S_foo_tag>("foo", &init);
+
+          return retval;
+    }
+};
+```
+
+```
+// in application code that relies on foo (perhaps along with other subsystems),
+// for example in a pybind11 module:
+//
+PYBIND11_MODULE(pyfoo, m) {
+    // include foo in initialization set
+    InitSubsys<S_foo_tag>::require();
+    // ensure foo + dependencies are initialized
+    Subsystem::initialize_all();
+
+    ...
+}
+```