Resource Builder for C++

A simple cross-platform resource builder for C++ programs. Works on Linux, Windows and MacOS (10.7 and higher). Python 3.x is required.

Tested with latest Manjaro Linux, Windows 7/10 and MacOS 10.14

On Linux uses objcopy to generate object files that will link with your code.

On Windows .rc file is generated to be compiled with your code.

On MacOS uses ld to create object files that will link with your code. Internally uses getsectiondata() that's why MacOS 10.6 and older are not supported.

How to use

It is the simplest to use this builder with CMake project.

Suppose you have resource-builder.py located at ./libs/resource-builder/resource-builder.py.

Suppose in CMakeLists.txt you create your executable:

add_executable(YourExecutableName)

In CMakeLists.txt add following code:

find_package( PythonInterp 3.0 REQUIRED )

#if you put your resource files not in ./res folder make changes here
execute_process(COMMAND ${PYTHON_EXECUTABLE}
        ${PROJECT_SOURCE_DIR}/libs/resource-builder/resource-builder.py #path to python script that builds resources
        ${PROJECT_SOURCE_DIR}/res                                       #work directory where resources are stored
        WORKING_DIRECTORY ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR})

#resource will be compiled in res/build folder (it is specified in res/resources.json)
#only need to add it as subdirectory and link to created library
add_subdirectory(res/build)
target_link_libraries(YourExecutableName PRIVATE ResourceBuilder::ResourceBuilder)

This runs python script to generate all required files and then you just write two lines to include everything in your project.

You need to place resources.json inside res directory in your project root. This file has following format:

{
  // in resources array you should specify relative path to all your resources
  "resources" : [
    "./icons/r*/*.png", //you can use * to create patterns. basically, this can be any regex (used with fnmatch)
    "./txt/*.txt"
  ],
  // in output you should store the name of build folder. all generated files are placed there
  "output" : "build",
  // project_name is used to prepend header define so it doesn't collide with any of your defines
  // it is also used to name static library that you'll need to link your executable
  "project_name" : "ResourceBuilder"
}

Don't forget to remove comments if you use this sample (json doesn't support comments).

In your code you can get resource data and size (or text) by calling appropriate functions:

#include "resource_builder/resources.h"

// ...

uint8_t* data = ResourceBuilder::get_resource_data(ResourceBuilder::ResId::YOUR_RES_NAME);
uint32_t sz = ResourceBuilder::get_resource_size(ResourceBuilder::ResId::YOUR_RES_NAME);
std::string utf8text = ResourceBuilder::get_resource_text(ResourceBuilder::ResId::YOUR_RES_NAME);

All resource ids are available in enum class ResourceBuilder::ResId

Examples

A fully functional CMake project is available in example directory to show how resources are stored and used in code. In that example a few icons and a text file are embedded into executable. At runtime we access icon data (only print its size in bytes) and output text file contains.

Mirrors

The project is stored at:

BitBucket https://bitbucket.org/funbiscuit/resource-builder

Github https://github.com/funbiscuit/resource-builder

License

The project is licensed under MIT license (look LICENSE.txt)