forward

A simple inference engine. An excuse to learn C++ really.

Requirements:

• CMake 3.11 or better; 3.14+ highly recommended.
• A C++26 compatible compiler (tested with Clang 20 and GCC 14).
• Git
• Doxygen
• OpenMP (for CPU) (brew install libomp on Mac)

To use clang: just export these before you run cmake:

export CC=clang
export CXX=clang++

To configure:

cmake -S . -B build

Add -GNinja if you have Ninja.

To build:

cmake --build build

To test (--target can be written as -t in CMake 3.15+):

cmake --build build --target test

To build docs (requires Doxygen, output in build/docs/html):

cmake --build build --target docs

Editor / clangd setup

.clangd is not committed — it's a per-machine symlink to one of two checked-in variants, because clangd needs different config per backend:

• .clangd.cuda (Linux / NVIDIA): the production build compiles .cu with nvcc, which clangd can't parse, so this points clangd at the separate clang-based build/clangd database (make dx) and adds CUDA flag handling for .cu/.cuh.
• .clangd.metal (macOS / Apple): no nvcc, so the regular build's compile_commands.json is already clang-based. Points clangd at build/; no make dx needed.

Symlink the one for your machine, from the repo root:

ln -s .clangd.cuda .clangd    # Linux / NVIDIA
ln -s .clangd.metal .clangd   # macOS / Apple

To use an IDE, such as Xcode:

cmake -S . -B xbuild -GXcode
cmake --open xbuild

The CMakeLists show off several useful design patterns for CMake.