This chapter covers
- Acquiring a prebuilt Apache Thrift IDL compiler
- Building the Apache Thrift IDL compiler and language libraries from source
- Reviewing the Apache Thrift source tree and project structure
- Running language and cross-language tests
- Debugging RPC applications
To build programs using Apache Thrift we’ll need the Apache Thrift IDL compiler, and, for certain languages, we’ll also need compiled runtime libraries. To build “working” programs we’ll need familiarity with testing and debugging techniques as well.
One of the most challenging things about open source software can be getting started, as in: how do I build this thing so that I can use it?! This chapter will get you started quickly and provide an orientation to the overall Apache Thrift development environment. We’ll look at different ways to acquire and/or build the Apache Thrift IDL compiler and libraries. We’ll also examine the Apache Thrift source tree and build systems, including Apache Thrift language libraries, the Apache Thrift tutorial, and the Apache Thrift test suite. The final sections of this chapter look at a few useful techniques for debugging RPC applications. This is an overview chapter and remains language-agnostic where possible, focusing on the Apache Thrift framework as a whole.