GN group

A group in GN is essentially a collection of other targets. It doesn't define any build outputs itself but is used to bundle a set of dependencies together. This can be useful for organizing related targets or creating meta-targets that build several things at once.

In GN, a “group” is just a collection of dependencies that’s not complied or linked.

Definition

A group is defined much like any other target in GN. It starts with the group keyword followed by the target's name.

group("my_group") {
 ...
}

Dependencies

Inside the group block, you can specify a list of dependencies. These dependencies can be other targets like source_set, executable, shared_library, etc. When the group is built, GN ensures that all of its dependencies are also built.

group("my_group") {
 deps = [
   ":dependency1",
   "//path/to:dependency2",
   "//another/path:dependency3",
 ]
}

Visibility

Like other targets, a group can have visibility rules defining which other targets can depend on it. This is useful for controlling the accessibility of a set of targets.

group("my_group") {
 visibility = [":some_other_target"]
 ...
}

Purpose

Groups are often used for:

• Aggregating Targets: Simplifying build scripts by combining multiple targets into a single target.
• Organizing Code: Grouping related targets for better readability and structure.
• Managing Dependencies: Encapsulating a set of dependencies that are commonly used together.

Building

When you build a group, GN doesn't generate any build output for the group itself. Instead, it ensures that all of the dependencies of the group are built. This is done by generating appropriate build rules in the Ninja build file.

Remember, group targets don't directly correspond to any file or build artifact. They are purely organizational within the build system to manage and relate different build targets.

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