# Compile C code with Julia package
**URL:** https://discourse.julialang.org/t/compile-c-code-with-julia-package/91305
**Category:** General Usage
**Tags:** package, compilation, c
**Created:** [December 6, 2022, 2:45pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/compile-c-code-with-julia-package/91305 "2022-12-06T14:45:21Z")
**Posts on this page:** 9
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@PaterPen](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/PaterPen)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2022, 2:45pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/compile-c-code-with-julia-package/91305/1 "2022-12-06T14:45:21Z")
Hi,
I am currently thinking about migrating an R package with underlying C/C++ code to a Julia package. However, in the short term the large C/C++ codebase should be reused and therefore is intended to be called from within Julia instead of R.
My problem is now, that I neither want to ship binaries nor do I want the user having to install make, gcc etc. and compile the files. Instead I would like to have a singular Julia package which does this process for the user (similar to `R CMD INSTALL`). I have not found much beside [BinaryBuilder.jl](https://github.com/JuliaPackaging/BinaryBuilder.jl) and [CMake.jl](https://github.com/JuliaPackaging/CMake.jl) so far. How can I achieve this and what is best practise?
---
### Author:  [@thofma](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/thofma)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2022, 3:11pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/compile-c-code-with-julia-package/91305/2 "2022-12-06T15:11:50Z")
I guess that by “I neither want to ship binaries […]” you mean that you don’t want to do this manually? In this case, you could contribute your C code as a recipe to [GitHub - JuliaPackaging/Yggdrasil: Collection of builder repositories for BinaryBuilder.jl](https://github.com/JuliaPackaging/Yggdrasil/), which creates binaries which can be installed like a normal julia package and which would serve as a dependency for your pure julia package.
---
### Author:  [@PaterPen](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/PaterPen)
#### Post date: [January 24, 2023, 1:14am UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/compile-c-code-with-julia-package/91305/3 "2023-01-24T01:14:43Z")
Thanks for your reply! It took me some time to read into the topic, please excuse my ghosting.
What I tried to express was: I was wondering whether there is a proper way to work _without_ cross-compilation. My understanding is that BinaryBuilder + Yggdrasil is used to cross-compile reliably and distribute the binaries. Another approach would be to have the user compile the binaries on his own machine.
The question arises since in the R ecosystem this is possible and sometimes even necessary because the CRAN requirements are quite strict.
---
### Author:  [@mkitti](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/mkitti)
#### Post date: [January 24, 2023, 1:24am UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/compile-c-code-with-julia-package/91305/4 "2023-01-24T01:24:28Z")
You could add a `deps/build.jl` to your package:
[https://pkgdocs.julialang.org/v1/creating-packages/#Adding-a-build-step-to-the-package](https://pkgdocs.julialang.org/v1/creating-packages/#Adding-a-build-step-to-the-package)
More packages used to do this, but this created a rather terrible user experience. Most now use BinaryBuilder via Yggdrasil because this works quite reliably and does not impose many requirements upon the user. This will produce a JLL package.
If the user really wanted to build the binaries on their machine, they can use the JLL override mechanism via a Override.toml in the Julia depot or a LocalPreferences.toml with the Julia project.
[https://docs.binarybuilder.org/stable/jll/#Overriding-specific-products](https://docs.binarybuilder.org/stable/jll/#Overriding-specific-products)
---
### Author:  [@giordano](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/giordano)
#### Post date: [January 24, 2023, 1:47am UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/compile-c-code-with-julia-package/91305/5 "2023-01-24T01:47:03Z")
> [@PaterPen](#):
>
> What I tried to express was: I was wondering whether there is a proper way to work _without_ cross-compilation.
Any specific reason why you want to avoid that?
---
### Author:  [@PaterPen](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/PaterPen)
#### Post date: [February 13, 2023, 12:21am UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/compile-c-code-with-julia-package/91305/6 "2023-02-13T00:21:10Z")
Tbh the more I think about it, the less sense it makes.
---
### Author:  [@Elrod](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/Elrod)
#### Post date: [February 13, 2023, 12:30am UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/compile-c-code-with-julia-package/91305/7 "2023-02-13T00:30:40Z")
I strongly encourage the BinaryBuilder approach.
---
### Author:  [@giordano](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/giordano)
#### Post date: [February 13, 2023, 12:46am UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/compile-c-code-with-julia-package/91305/8 "2023-02-13T00:46:42Z")
That doesn’t answer my question, your comments are vague and unspecific.
---
### Author:  [@PaterPen](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/PaterPen)
#### Post date: [February 13, 2023, 1:02am UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/compile-c-code-with-julia-package/91305/9 "2023-02-13T01:02:32Z")
Ok. Maybe this does: I had some potential issues in mind which I thought could arise with the cross-compilation approach. However in the meantime I have come to the conclusion that these potential issues are actually nonsense. Being more specific would mean presenting you some flawed argument which probably doesn’t benefit anyone.
In other words: No, I don’t have a specific reason 😃