Build and Deploy

Complete guide for building and deploying the C Pro Camera Server.

Build System Overview

The project uses Nim's compiler with custom build scripts in the tools/ directory for cross-compilation and deployment to ARM64 embedded systems.

Development Build

Local Compilation

# Quick development build
nim c -r rotordream.nim

# With debug information
nim c -r -d:RuntimeCallDebug=true rotordream.nim

# Release build (local)
nim c -d:release --mm:orc rotordream.nim

VS Code Integration

Use configured VS Code tasks (Ctrl+Shift+B):

local-test-file: Compile and run current file
local-test-rotordream: Compile and run main application
remote-test: Test on remote device
remote-release: Build and deploy release

Build Configuration

Core build settings (from config.nims):

switch("define", "leveldb")
switch("define", "directCompile=true")
switch("mm", "orc")  # ORC memory management

Production Build

Cross-compilation for ARM64

Build Release for ARM64 Target:

nim c -r tools/buildRelease.nim [falcon_firmware_path]

Example:

nim c -r tools/buildRelease.nim ../falcon_firmware

Build Flags (from `tools/buildRelease.nim`)

nim c -d:release \
  --floatChecks:off \
  --overflowChecks:off \
  --passC:"-flto -ffast-math -funroll-loops -O3 -fno-strict-aliasing" \
  --nimcache:cache/release \
  -d:directCompile=true \
  -d:embeddedSystem \
  -d:useRobustFileExists=true \
  --cpu:arm64 \
  --os:linux \
  -o:'../falcon_firmware/projectroot/usr/bin/rotoclear_server' \
  rotordream.nim

Embedded System Flags (from `tools/common.nim`)

proc getEmbeddedFlags*(isArm32: bool = true): string =
  result.add(" -d:directCompile=true -d:embeddedSystem -d:useRobustFileExists=true")
  result.add(" -d:CorunLogsDir=/media/data/logs ")

  if isArm32:
    # ARM32 library linking
    for (kind, path) in walkDir("libs-petalinux"):
      if kind == pcFile:
        result.add "-L:" & path & " "
    result.add " --passC:\"-D_FILE_OFFSET_BITS=64\""
  else:
    # ARM64 cross-compilation
    result.add(" --cpu:arm64 --os:linux -d:nosimd")
    result.add(" --clibdir:../falcon_firmware/platform-zynqmp/sysroot-target/usr/lib")
    result.add(" --passL:\"-L../falcon_firmware/platform-zynqmp/sysroot-target/usr/lib\"")
    result.add(" --passC:\"-I../falcon_firmware/platform-zynqmp/sysroot-target/usr/include\"")

Deployment

Environment Setup

Configure deployment target:

export C3_BOX_IP="192.168.1.100"  # Target device IP
export C3_BOX_PW="admin"           # SSH password

Remote Deployment

Deploy Release Build:

nim c -r tools/remoteRelease.nim

Deploy with Custom Path:

nim c -r tools/remoteRelease.nim /path/to/falcon_firmware

Deployment Process (from `tools/remoteRelease.nim`)

Cross-compile for ARM64 target
Package binary and assets
SSH Transfer to target device
Install on target system
Restart services

SSH Configuration (from `tools/common.nim`)

var boxAddress* = "root@" & getEnv("C3_BOX_IP", default = "rotoclear-cam.fritz.box")
var boxPassword* = getEnv("C3_BOX_PW", default = "root")
var sshpass* = if defined(windows): "" else: "sshpass -p " & boxPassword & " "

Build Dependencies

System Requirements

Development Environment:

# Build tools
sudo apt-get install build-essential

# Media libraries
sudo apt install ffmpeg
sudo apt install libturbojpeg

# Cross-compilation tools (for ARM64)
sudo apt install gcc-aarch64-linux-gnu

Nim Dependencies:

# Install project dependencies
nim c -r tools/installDeps.nim
nimble setup

Nim Package Dependencies (from `rotordream.nimble`)

requires "nim >= 2.2.2"
requires "corun >= 0.7.10"
requires "xxtea"
requires "checksums >= 0.2.1"

Build Artifacts

Output Locations

Build Type	Output Path	Purpose
Development	`./rotordream`	Local testing binary
Release	`../falcon_firmware/projectroot/usr/bin/rotoclear_server`	ARM64 production binary
Cache	`cache/release/`	Nim compilation cache

Binary Size Optimization

Production builds use aggressive optimization:

Link-time optimization: -flto
Fast math: -ffast-math
Loop unrolling: -funroll-loops
Maximum optimization: -O3
No strict aliasing: -fno-strict-aliasing

Testing Deployment

Remote Testing

nim c -r tools/remoteTest.nim

Manual Verification

Check Service Status:

ssh root@$C3_BOX_IP "systemctl status rotoclear_server"

View Logs:

ssh root@$C3_BOX_IP "tail -f /media/data/logs/rotoclear.log"

Test API Connectivity:

curl "http://$C3_BOX_IP/api/status?token=1a2B3c4D5e6f7G8h"

Configuration Deployment

Environment-specific Builds

Deploy with specific configurations:

# Deploy DMG configuration
BUILD_CONFIG=DMG nim c -r tools/remoteRelease.nim

# Deploy EDU configuration  
BUILD_CONFIG=EDU nim c -r tools/remoteRelease.nim

Asset Deployment

Deploy environment-specific assets:

# Copy configuration files
scp -r rsc_config/config_DMG/* root@$C3_BOX_IP:/opt/rotoclear/config/

# Copy web assets
scp -r assets/* root@$C3_BOX_IP:/opt/rotoclear/assets/

Build Troubleshooting

Common Build Issues

Missing Cross-compiler:

# Install ARM64 cross-compiler
sudo apt install gcc-aarch64-linux-gnu g++-aarch64-linux-gnu

Library Not Found:

# Check library paths
export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/usr/local/lib:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH
ldconfig

Nim Cache Issues:

# Clear Nim cache
rm -rf ~/.cache/nim/
rm -rf cache/

Deployment Issues

SSH Connection Failed:

# Test SSH connectivity
ssh-keyscan $C3_BOX_IP
ssh root@$C3_BOX_IP "echo 'Connection successful'"

Permission Denied:

# Check SSH key or password
ssh-copy-id root@$C3_BOX_IP

Service Won't Start:

# Check dependencies
ssh root@$C3_BOX_IP "ldd /usr/bin/rotoclear_server"

# Check configuration
ssh root@$C3_BOX_IP "ls -la /opt/rotoclear/config/"

Build Optimization

Compilation Speed

Parallel Compilation:

nim c --threads:on --parallelBuild:4 rotordream.nim

Cache Utilization:

# Use persistent cache
nim c --nimcache:cache/dev rotordream.nim

Binary Size Reduction

Strip Debug Symbols:

nim c -d:release --passL:"-s" rotordream.nim

Link-time Optimization:

nim c -d:release --passC:"-flto" --passL:"-flto" rotordream.nim

Automated Builds

Build Matrix:
- Development (x86-64)
- Production ARM64 (multiple configurations)
- Cross-platform testing

Deployment Pipeline:
1. Build verification
2. Unit test execution
3. Cross-compilation
4. Deployment to staging
5. Integration testing
6. Production deployment

Monitoring and Health Checks

Post-deployment Verification

Service Health:

# Check process status
ssh root@$C3_BOX_IP "ps aux | grep rotoclear_server"

# Check port binding
ssh root@$C3_BOX_IP "netstat -tlnp | grep :80"

API Health Check:

# WebSocket connectivity
wscat -c "ws://$C3_BOX_IP/api?token=1a2B3c4D5e6f7G8h"

# HTTP endpoint
curl -f "http://$C3_BOX_IP/camera.jpeg?token=1a2B3c4D5e6f7G8h"

Rollback Procedures

Service Rollback:

# Stop current service
ssh root@$C3_BOX_IP "systemctl stop rotoclear_server"

# Restore previous binary
ssh root@$C3_BOX_IP "cp /usr/bin/rotoclear_server.backup /usr/bin/rotoclear_server"

# Restart service
ssh root@$C3_BOX_IP "systemctl start rotoclear_server"

Getting Started - Development setup
Environment Configuration - Multi-environment configs
Testing Strategy - Testing procedures

Build and deployment documentation derived from tools/buildRelease.nim, tools/common.nim, and rotordream.nimble