Build a First Consumer

Create a minimal CMake application that links only SharpRuntime::Console.

Goal

Build a tiny native executable using one physical component. This keeps the dependency graph visible and avoids pulling the complete runtime into an embedding project.

1. Create the files

cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.20)
project(hello_sharp_runtime LANGUAGES CXX)

set(CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD 23)
set(CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD_REQUIRED ON)

set(SHARP_RUNTIME_COMPONENTS Console)
set(SHARP_RUNTIME_BUILD_TESTS OFF CACHE BOOL "" FORCE)
add_subdirectory(sharp-runtime)

add_executable(hello main.cpp)
target_link_libraries(hello PRIVATE SharpRuntime::Console)

#include <System/Console.hpp>

int main()
{
    System::Console::WriteLine("Hello from native C++23.");
    return 0;
}

2. Add the source checkout

Clone Sharp Runtime as sharp-runtime/ beneath the sample project. GoogleTest is unnecessary because this consumer forces runtime tests off.

git clone https://github.com/openeggbert/sharp-runtime.git sharp-runtime

3. Configure, build and run

cmake -S . -B build
cmake --build build --parallel 2
./build/hello

What happened

• SHARP_RUNTIME_COMPONENTS was set before adding the subdirectory.
• The app linked the namespaced physical target SharpRuntime::Console.
• CMake automatically enabled Core.Base, Console’s public dependency.
• The executable is native C++; no CLR or managed assembly is involved.