Posts Tagged → Bazel

How to compile C++ in 2025. Bazel or CMake?

Today, we’re examining two modern build systems for C++: CMake, the industry favorite, and Bazel, a powerful alternative. While CMake is often the default choice, I believe that approach warrants a bit more scrutiny—after all, we’re focusing on modern tools here (yep, not counting Make, right?). To explore this, I’ve created a practical demo project showcasing how both systems manage a real-world scenario.

Using the maelstrom-challenges project as a starting point, I’ve extracted a C++ library called maelstrom-node. This library has been set up to work seamlessly with both Bazel and CMake, giving us a hands-on comparison of their approaches, strengths, and quirks.

The Project Structure

Here’s what the final directory layout for maelstrom-node looks like:

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Managing Multi-Language Projects with Bazel

In today’s software development landscape, it’s rare to encounter a project built with just one programming language or platform. Modern applications often require integrating multiple technologies to meet diverse requirements. This complexity is both a challenge and an opportunity, demanding robust tools to manage dependencies, builds, and integrations seamlessly. Bazel, a powerful build system, is one such tool that has proven invaluable for multi-language projects.

Recently, I decided to extend my Maelstrom challenges with a C++-based test to explore how Bazel can simplify managing multi-language dependencies and streamline development workflows.

Why Bazel for Multi-Language Projects?

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Bazel and Rust: A Perfect Match for Scalable Development

Bazel never fails to impress, and its support for Rust demonstrates its versatility and commitment to modern development. Two distinct dependency management modes—Cargo—based and pure Bazel—allow developers to tailor workflows to their projects’ needs. This adaptability is particularly valuable for integrating Rust applications into monorepos or scaling complex systems.
I decided to explore how Bazel supports Rust, including managing dependencies, migrating from Cargo.toml to BUILD.bazel, and streamlining integration testing.
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Returning to Rust: A Journey Through Tooling, Performance

When I started tackling the Maelstrom challenges, my initial thought was to use C++. It’s a language I know inside out, and its performance is hard to beat. However, as I contemplated setting up the project, I realized I couldn’t justify fighting with the C++ pipeline for free. Crafting a proper CMake or Bazel configuration might be worthwhile for large-scale projects or when compensated, but for personal experiments? It’s an unnecessary headache.

Why Go is My Default Choice

For most non-performance critical scenarios, Go is my default, no-brainer choice. It has a clean build system, excellent tooling, and a developer experience that doesn’t make me dread the setup process. Go’s simplicity allows me (and any level team) to focus on solving the problem rather than wrestling with the environment. Yet, this time, I decided to take a different path.
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