README.md
1# Abseil - C++ Common Libraries
2
3The repository contains the Abseil C++ library code. Abseil is an open-source
4collection of C++ code (compliant to C++11) designed to augment the C++
5standard library.
6
7## Table of Contents
8
9- [About Abseil](#about)
10- [Quickstart](#quickstart)
11- [Building Abseil](#build)
12- [Codemap](#codemap)
13- [License](#license)
14- [Links](#links)
15
16<a name="about"></a>
17## About Abseil
18
19Abseil is an open-source collection of C++ library code designed to augment
20the C++ standard library. The Abseil library code is collected from Google's
21own C++ code base, has been extensively tested and used in production, and
22is the same code we depend on in our daily coding lives.
23
24In some cases, Abseil provides pieces missing from the C++ standard; in
25others, Abseil provides alternatives to the standard for special needs
26we've found through usage in the Google code base. We denote those cases
27clearly within the library code we provide you.
28
29Abseil is not meant to be a competitor to the standard library; we've
30just found that many of these utilities serve a purpose within our code
31base, and we now want to provide those resources to the C++ community as
32a whole.
33
34<a name="quickstart"></a>
35## Quickstart
36
37If you want to just get started, make sure you at least run through the
38[Abseil Quickstart](https://abseil.io/docs/cpp/quickstart). The Quickstart
39contains information about setting up your development environment, downloading
40the Abseil code, running tests, and getting a simple binary working.
41
42<a name="build"></a>
43## Building Abseil
44
45[Bazel](http://bazel.build) is the official build system for Abseil,
46which is supported on most major platforms (Linux, Windows, MacOS, for example)
47and compilers. See the [quickstart](https://abseil.io/docs/cpp/quickstart) for
48more information on building Abseil using the Bazel build system.
49
50<a name="cmake"></a>
51If you require CMake support, please check the
52[CMake build instructions](CMake/README.md).
53
54## Codemap
55
56Abseil contains the following C++ library components:
57
58* [`base`](absl/base/) Abseil Fundamentals
59 <br /> The `base` library contains initialization code and other code which
60 all other Abseil code depends on. Code within `base` may not depend on any
61 other code (other than the C++ standard library).
62* [`algorithm`](absl/algorithm/)
63 <br /> The `algorithm` library contains additions to the C++ `<algorithm>`
64 library and container-based versions of such algorithms.
65* [`container`](absl/container/)
66 <br /> The `container` library contains additional STL-style containers.
67* [`debugging`](absl/debugging/)
68 <br /> The `debugging` library contains code useful for enabling leak
69 checks. Future updates will add stacktrace and symbolization utilities.
70* [`memory`](absl/memory/)
71 <br /> The `memory` library contains C++11-compatible versions of
72 `std::make_unique()` and related memory management facilities.
73* [`meta`](absl/meta/)
74 <br /> The `meta` library contains C++11-compatible versions of type checks
75 available within C++14 and C++17 versions of the C++ `<type_traits>` library.
76* [`numeric`](absl/numeric/)
77 <br /> The `numeric` library contains C++11-compatible 128-bit integers.
78* [`strings`](absl/strings/)
79 <br /> The `strings` library contains a variety of strings routines and
80 utilities, including a C++11-compatible version of the C++17
81 `std::string_view` type.
82* [`synchronization`](absl/synchronization/)
83 <br /> The `synchronization` library contains concurrency primitives (Abseil's
84 `absl::Mutex` class, an alternative to `std::mutex`) and a variety of
85 synchronization abstractions.
86* [`time`](absl/time/)
87 <br /> The `time` library contains abstractions for computing with absolute
88 points in time, durations of time, and formatting and parsing time within
89 time zones.
90* [`types`](absl/types/)
91 <br /> The `types` library contains non-container utility types, like a
92 C++11-compatible version of the C++17 `std::optional` type.
93
94## License
95
96The Abseil C++ library is licensed under the terms of the Apache
97license. See [LICENSE](LICENSE) for more information.
98
99## Links
100
101For more information about Abseil:
102
103* Consult our [Abseil Introduction](http://abseil.io/about/intro)
104* Read [Why Adopt Abseil](http://abseil.io/about/philosophy) to understand our
105 design philosophy.
106* Peruse our
107 [Abseil Compatibility Guarantees](http://abseil.io/about/compatibility) to
108 understand both what we promise to you, and what we expect of you in return.
109