Quick Start Guide#

This guide will help you get Join framework up and running on your system in few minutes.

Prerequisites#

Join framework requires:

C++14 compatible compiler
CMake
Linux operating system

Dependencies#

Join relies on the following libraries:

Library	Package	Purpose
OpenSSL	`libssl-dev`	TLS support and cryptographic operations
zlib	`zlib1g-dev`	Compression capabilities
Google Test	`libgtest-dev`	Unit testing (optional)
Google Mock	`libgmock-dev`	Mocking in tests (optional)

Note: OpenSSL is required by join_core as TLS support is part of the core runtime.

Installing Dependencies#

On Ubuntu/Debian:

sudo apt update && sudo apt install libssl-dev zlib1g-dev libgtest-dev libgmock-dev

Download#

Clone the latest source code from GitHub:

git clone https://github.com/joinframework/join.git

Configuration#

Configure Join using CMake. Here are the most common configurations:

Standard Release Configuration#

For production use:

cmake -B build -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release

Debug Configuration with Tests#

For development with tests and coverage enabled:

cmake -B build -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Debug -DJOIN_ENABLE_TESTS=ON

Configuration Options#

Available CMake options:

Option	Description	Default
`CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE`	Build type: `Release`, `Debug`, `RelWithDebInfo`, `MinSizeRel`	`Release`
`BUILD_SHARED_LIBS`	Build as shared libraries (OFF for static)	`ON`
`JOIN_ENABLE_CRYPTO`	Enable crypto module	`ON`
`JOIN_ENABLE_DATA`	Enable data module	`ON`
`JOIN_ENABLE_FABRIC`	Enable fabric module	`ON`
`JOIN_ENABLE_SERVICES`	Enable services module	`ON`
`JOIN_ENABLE_TESTS`	Enable unit tests	`OFF`
`JOIN_ENABLE_COVERAGE`	Enable code coverage reporting	`OFF`
`CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX`	Installation directory	`/usr/local`

Build#

Build Join using CMake:

cmake --build build

Installation#

Install Join to your system:

sudo cmake --install build

After installation, you may need to update the library cache:

sudo ldconfig

Running Tests#

If you configured with tests enabled (-DJOIN_ENABLE_TESTS=ON), run the test suite:

ctest --test-dir build --output-on-failure

Using Join in Your Project#

Once installed, you can use Join in your CMake projects:

CMakeLists.txt#

cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.14)
project(MyApp)

# Find the join package
find_package(join REQUIRED)

# Create your executable
add_executable(myapp main.cpp)

# Link against Join modules
target_link_libraries(myapp PRIVATE 
    join::core
    join::crypto
    join::data
    join::fabric
    join::services
)

# Set C++ standard
set_target_properties(myapp PROPERTIES
    CXX_STANDARD 14
    CXX_STANDARD_REQUIRED ON
)

Next Steps#

Now that you have Join installed and working, explore the modules:

Core Module - Reactor, sockets, threads, timers
Fabric Module - Interface management, ARP, DNS
Crypto Module - Hashing, signatures, TLS
Data Module - JSON, MessagePack, compression
Services Module - HTTP/HTTPS, SMTP/SMTPS

Additional Resources#

API Documentation - Complete Doxygen reference
GitHub Repository - Source code
Issue Tracker - Report bugs or request features

Getting Help#

If you encounter issues:

Search existing issues
Review the API documentation
Open a new issue with:
- Your system information (OS, compiler version)
- CMake configuration command
- Complete error messages
- Minimal reproducible example

License#

Join is released under the MIT License, giving you maximum freedom to use it in your projects, whether open source or proprietary.