Table of Contents

Staying Current
Tags & Branches

Examples using tags and branches
Check out a specific tag for compilation

Windows build dependencies
HTC Power to Give source code
Source code structure overview

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BOINC source code

BOINC is free software, distributed under the Lesser General Public License (LGPL), version 3 or later.

The BOINC source code is maintained in a Git repository on Github: https://github.com/BOINC/boinc

Getting the code using Git

Installing Git

On Windows, get a Git client like 'Git for Windows' (console) or TortoiseGit (GUI) (see this guide for Windows).
On Linux, Git is usually provided by your distribution. If it is not already installed, check your distribution's package manager and look for package "git" or "git-core".
On Mac OS X, GIT is installed as part of the Xcode command-line tools when you install and run Xcode. You can also use MacPorts (to keep Git up to date) or a manual installation package.
Recommended free GUIs: SourceTree (includes an embedded Git, works well on Macintosh), SmartGit (free for non-commercial use), GitX (latest)

You don't need to fully understand Git; just skim the instructions below. If you intend to modify BOINC or to look at branches, you'll need to know at least the basics.

Cloning the Git repository

The easiest way to download the current GIT master source tree is to go to https://github.com/BOINC/boinc and click on "Clone or download". You can also download the source tree for any branch by selecting the desired branch from the pull-down menu on that page.

To clone the repository into a local directory called (for example) 'boinc', run the following command in the Terminal utility (Macintosh) or "Command Prompt" utility (Windows) :

git clone https://github.com/BOINC/boinc boinc

On Windows using TortoiseGit, right-click on the parent directory, select 'Git Clone...', and fill in the dialog with one of the above URLs. Don't forget to remove both 'git clone' and 'boinc' from the commands above.

The 'clone' operation pulls down ~150 MiB of source and gives you a copy that you can modify and compile locally. However, you will not be able to push changes to the BOINC repository. For write access, see below.

Change to the directory 'boinc'. Here you will find the files corresponding to the HEAD of the 'remote master branch'.

Sometimes it is necessary to purge all untracked files created by build tools (_autosetup, configure, make) and reset the source directory without pulling a new clone. This can be done using:

$ git clean -f -d -x

Working with the local Git repository

Staying Current

The local git repository which you created when you cloned the remote repository has a complete snapshot of development at the time it was cloned. You can use this to build the BOINC software, and you can even make local changes to your local copy. Meanwhile the BOINC developers will be making changes to the remote repository as they continue working on the software. To see what changes have been made there since you cloned the repository you must first "fetch" the changes from that repository. These will go into a branch called "origin/master", which is not the current working branch of your repository (which by default will be the "master" branch). So to compare your local copy with the remote, follow this example:

$ cd boinc
$ git fetch
$ git diff --name-status master..origin/master
M       client/app.cpp
M       client/app_config.cpp
M       client/client_types.h
M       client/cpu_sched.cpp
M       client/cs_prefs.cpp
M       client/cs_scheduler.cpp
M       client/result.cpp
M       client/result.h
M       client/rr_sim.cpp
M       client/sim.cpp
M       clientgui/MainDocument.cpp
M       doc/versions.inc
M       html/user/get_passwd.php
M       html/user/server_status.php
M       lib/coproc.h

The "--name-status" flag causes only the name and status of differing files to be displayed. The "master..origin/master" specification causes the difference to be displayed between your local repository (the "master" branch) and the remote repository (as fetched onto the local "origin/master" branch).

If you wish to update your local branch to match the remote repository then simply use the git "pull" command, as in this example:

$ git pull
Updating 6790085..2bb3e74
Fast-forward
 client/app.cpp              |   2 +-
 client/app_config.cpp       |  12 ++
 client/client_types.h       |   2 +-
 client/cpu_sched.cpp        |  12 +-
 client/cs_prefs.cpp         |   5 +-
 client/cs_scheduler.cpp     |  15 +-
 client/result.cpp           |   7 +-
 client/result.h             |   3 +
 client/rr_sim.cpp           |   4 +-
 client/sim.cpp              |   6 +-
 clientgui/MainDocument.cpp  |  12 +-
 doc/versions.inc            | 380 ++++++++++++++++++++++----------------------
 html/user/get_passwd.php    | 101 ++++++------
 html/user/server_status.php |  38 ++++-
 lib/coproc.h                |   5 +
 15 files changed, 332 insertions(+), 272 deletions(-)

You could also use the "git merge" command, which would merge the changes from your local copy of the "origin/master" branch into your local "master" branch. The "git pull" command is shorthand for "git fetch" followed immediately by "git merge".

Tags & Branches

For all software other than the client (i.e., server, web, and API) use the master branch. Don't use a client tag or branch; the server software in it probably isn't stable.

Various versions of the source code are available in the remote repository (and now, in your local copy of it):

remote tags: These are snapshots of the state of development taken at a specific point in time. You can check out a 'remote tag', but you should not modify the files thus checked out - for that you need a separate branch (which can be created later though). The tag's name indicates what's in there. For example, the release of BOINC client version 7.0.60 has been given then tag 'client_release/7.0/7.0.60'. Run git tag to list the remote tags.
remote branches: BOINC developers perform long-running work on source code that needs to be visible to other members of the team by working on a 'remote branch'. There are:
The remote master branch: This is the most recent version of the source code. It always exists, contains the freshest code and has not necessarily been thoroughly tested.
Other branches: For example, work on version 6.12 of BOINC that is not done in the 'remote master branch', (let's say because of the need for a immediate bugfix) may be done in a remote branch called 'client_release/6/6.12'.

Some tagged versions are available as compressed archives from here.

Run git remote show origin to list the remote branches.

When you cloned the Git repository a 'local master branch' was created. This initially matches the 'remote master branch', but once you start editing files, it will of course deviate from it. You can create local branches and tags (both invisible to anyone but yourself). You can check out a specific 'remote tag' to compile, or you can create a local branch based on a specific 'remote tag' to work on the code.

See Git Basics - Tagging for the concept of 'tagging'.
See Git Branching - Remote Branches for the concept of 'remote branches' and the concepts of the 'local' and 'remote' master branches.
See What is the difference between a tag and a branch in git? for a short intro on 'tags' and 'branches'.
See Checkout GIT tag for an explanation about 'checking out git tags'.

If you want to have an overview of the development history, refer to - this discussion on stack overflow about generating pretty pictures of the same.

For the impatient living on Unix, you can follow Slipp D. Thompson's idea and edit (or create) your '~/.gitconfig' file, adding the following command aliases:

[alias]
lg1 = log --graph --abbrev-commit --decorate --date=relative --format=format:'%C(bold blue)%h%C(reset) - %C(bold green)(%ar)%C(reset) %C(white)%s%C(reset) %C(dim white)- %an%C(reset)%C(bold yellow)%d%C(reset)' --all
lg2 = log --graph --abbrev-commit --decorate --format=format:'%C(bold blue)%h%C(reset) - %C(bold cyan)%aD%C(reset) %C(bold green)(%ar)%C(reset)%C(bold yellow)%d%C(reset)%n*          %C(white)%s%C(reset) %C(dim white)- %an%C(reset)' --all
lg = !"git lg1"

Then run

git lg

inside the 'boinc' directory for a quick text-only history dump, which will look something like this:

* 403afa4 - (14 hours ago) client: work fetch policy tweak - David Anderson (HEAD, origin/master, origin/HEAD, master)
* 28f7f95 - (17 hours ago) client: Default to /usr/bin when looking for VboxManage. - Rom Walton
* b4f7e33 - (18 hours ago) client, Android: run CPU-intensive apps in background mode - David Anderson
* b0504e9 - (24 hours ago) Mac: script builds boinc_zip library when building other BOINC libraries - Charlie Fenton
* edc96a2 - (24 hours ago) Mac: update build scripts for OS 10.9 - Charlie Fenton
* 0d04b84 - (24 hours ago) Mac: Update build script for wxWidgets 3.0.0 - Charlie Fenton
* 04e8f00 - (30 hours ago) client, Win: when running GPU detect, use "boinc.exe" rather than "boinc" on cmdline. - David Anderson
* be2f175 - (2 days ago) DOC: Add entries for MIPS and x86 for Android. - Rom Walton
*   cc32c51 - (2 days ago) Merge branch 'master' of ssh://isaac.ssl.berkeley.edu/boinc-v2 - Rom Walton
|\
| * 6d78613 - (2 days ago) API: make boinc_api_fortran.cpp compile - David Anderson
| * 36460bc - (2 days ago) Compile fixes for Ubuntu - David Anderson
* | 8bb3af6 - (2 days ago) DOC: Update android client to 7.2.41. - Rom Walton
|/
* 9b041f7 - (2 days ago) VBOX: Fix case of virtualbox and vboxheadless for platforms that are case sensitive.  The code...
* 9220ceb - (3 days ago) Admin web: deprecate problem_host.php, which sends a confusing email to user - David Anderson

Examples using tags and branches

To revert back to the remote master branch after you have modified some files in a too hasty fashion:

git checkout master

What is the absolutely latest tag issued?

$ git describe --tags `git rev-list --tags --max-count=1`
client_release/7.2/7.2.41

What's the most recent tag for the currently checked-out version?

$ git describe --always --tag
client_release/7.2/7.2.4-2866-g6ff59ea

This means that the HEAD is based on 'client_release/7.2/7.2.4', with 2866 commits on top (I think).

What are the differences between the HEAD and the latest tag issued?

$ git diff HEAD client_release/7.2/7.2.41 | wc -l
271949

271949 lines have differences.

You may want to see the differences to file 'version.h':

$ git diff HEAD client_release/7.2/7.2.41 version.h | grep BOINC_VERSION_STRING
-#define BOINC_VERSION_STRING "7.3.0"
+#define BOINC_VERSION_STRING "7.2.41"

Looks like the HEAD is an as-yet-untagged 7.3.0. The choice is yours ... what do you want to compile? You probably want something more stable.

Check out a specific tag for compilation

As mentioned above, the code for each client release is 'tagged'. For example, the code for version 7.2.9 is tagged with client_release/7.2/7.2.9.

Run

git tag

to list all the visible tags. Note that the tags come in lexicographical order, not in version order! If you want to sort them by version number:

git tag | perl version_path_sorter.pl

Where the source for the sorter function is here: VersionPathSorter

Run

git tag --list '*/7.2/*'

to list only the tags matching '/7.2/'.

Run

git checkout client_release/7.2/7.2.9; git status

to check out BOINC client version 7.2.9.

...and proceed with compilation.

Windows build dependencies

The Windows build for VS 2019 automatically fetches and builds the dependent libraries (openSSL, etc.). For earlier versions of Visual Studio we've collected pre-built versions of these libraries, available as .zip files from here:

https://boinc.berkeley.edu/dl/boinc_depends


VS	Dependency
Visual Studio 2010	boinc_depends_win_vs2010
Visual Studio 2013	boinc_depends_win_vs2013

The dependencies should be stored in the same parent directory as the BOINC source code:

+-+ source
    |
    + boinc
    | |
    | + api
    | + client
    | + clientgui
    | + etc...
    |
    + build_depends_vs2010
    | |
    | + curl
    | + openssl
    | + wxwidgets
    | + zlib

When you have older source code, deleting all previous source code and downloading it fresh will sometimes fix the breaks in building BOINC. Make sure to back up your own code prior to deleting the source code.

HTC Power to Give source code

The source code for HTC Power to Give (a variant of the BOINC Android client) can be found using the instructions here.

Source code structure overview

The BOINC source tree includes the following directories:


android	Android port
api	The BOINC API (for applications).
apps	Some test applications.
client	The BOINC client.
clientctrl	BOINC-as-Windows-Service.
clientgui	The BOINC Manager.
clientscr	The BOINC screensaver for Windows.
clienttray	The BOINC Tray component (checks for user activity on Windows).
coprocs	Header file for - NVIDIA API.
curl	Bunch of Certificate Authority Certificates (for libcurl?).
db	The database schema and C++ interface layer (needs mysql.h).
dcapi	Data collection API (?).
html/ops	PHP files for the operational web interface.
html/user	PHP files for the participant web interface.
html/inc	PHP include files
html/languages	Translation files for project websites.
lib	Code that is shared by more than one component (core client, scheduling server, etc.).
locale	Translation files for BOINC Manager.
m4	Code for the - m4 macro processor (Why!)
mac_build	For building on Macs.
mac_installer	For installing on Macs.
packages	Files required to create a distribution package for various operating systems.
py	Python modules used by tools.
rboinc	Remote job submission system for BOINC.
samples	Several example applications together with Windows and Mac project files and a Linux makefile for building the applications. It also includes Windows versions of some libraries (GLUT, jpeglib, etc.) that many applications will need, but which are not part of BOINC.
sched	The scheduling server, feeder, and file upload handler.
stripchart	Generate plots using gnuplot
test	Test scripts.
tools	Operational utility programs.
vda	Volunteer Data Archival code.
win_build	Project files for compiling the client under Windows, and the Windows installer.
zip	Compression functions; not used by BOINC, but may be useful for applications.

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