Rewrite the Readme! by illwieckz · Pull Request #20 · DaemonEngine/native_client

illwieckz · 2026-06-22T00:39:46Z

Google will no longer update it, we fully adopt this!

This is now our Readme!

illwieckz · 2026-06-22T00:41:37Z

@slipher I would like to know the current status of this sentence:

Currently it only works for amd64 host+target (run.py won't work since NaCl targets aren't supported yet).

illwieckz · 2026-06-22T00:44:23Z

+- `src/trusted/`: Source code that's used only by trusted code
+- `src/untrusted/`: Source code that's used only by untrusted code
+- `tests/common/`: Source code for examples and tests.
+- `../third_party/`: Third-party source code and binaries that aren't part of


I guess we can delete this ../third_party mention. The first purpose of the fork was to not require things outside this repository.

slipher · 2026-06-22T09:55:21Z

@slipher I would like to know the current status of this sentence:

Currently it only works for amd64 host+target (run.py won't work since NaCl targets aren't supported yet).

Oh that's out of date indeed. NaCl targets work great. You can built NaCl targets, including the IRT, and test everything together. That's why I complain that using CMake is a regression, since it can't handle the multiple toolchains working in concert. I have verified that Linux stuff generally works and tests pass on the x86_64, x86, and (modulo recent kernel changes...) arm platforms.

slipher · 2026-06-22T09:57:55Z

I haven't tested Windows or Mac yet. But I know that run.py works on at least some Linux targets.

illwieckz · 2026-06-22T15:31:32Z

+
+## Dependencies
+
+- LLVM (must be installed in `/usr/bin`)


@slipher do we still need LLVM be in /usr/bin/?

I suggest to rewrite this line as GCC or Clang.

Yes the LLVM location is still hard-coded. GCC just needs to be in the PATH. And with the other PR LLVM is now optional.

Also the way to use GCC is by putting --no-clang in the command line.

illwieckz · 2026-06-22T15:55:13Z

Currently it only works for amd64 host+target (run.py won't work since NaCl targets aren't supported yet).
Oh that's out of date indeed. NaCl targets work great. You can built NaCl targets, including the IRT, and test everything together.

Great.

That's why I complain that using CMake is a regression, since it can't handle the multiple toolchains working in concert.

CMake can totally use a different toolchain per ExternalProject, and an ExternalProject can build a local directory. This is what we do to build nexe game with PNaCl/Saigo for Unvanquished…

The reason why my CMake implementation doesn't care about IRT right now is that the first goal is to give the ability to build native trusted binaries from Dæmon's external_deps and to extend the compatibility of that (MinGW, etc.).

IRT can be downloaded for now, built with SCons in advance. I'm not excluding the opportunity to build the IRT too, but this is not needed to reach the minimal valuable product which is to make the native loader binary buildable with CMake with the exact same ease we do with the engine itself.

It's totally on purpose that IRT isn't cared about yet, that's a selling point: I don't want the IRT topic to hold back the CMake implementation. The fact the current CMake implementation doesn't build the IRT should not be used against the CMake implementation. It would be holding it back because of the special effort made to not hold it back.

I don't mind that tests remain implemented in SCons forever, run by a CI or something.

slipher · 2026-06-23T05:14:46Z

- LLVM (must be installed in /usr/bin)
+# Native Client loader
+
+This project makes possible to rebuild the Native Client loader for usage with the [Dæmon game engine](https://github.com/DaemonEngine/Daemon). The Dæmon engine is the open-source game engine powering the [Unvanquished game](https://unvanquished.net). The Dæmon engine uses Native Client to securely and portably run downloadable compiled games.


The very long lines are annoying.

slipher · 2026-06-23T05:15:54Z

+
+Native Client is a sandboxing technology by Google, it was used by Chrome extensions and Chrome apps.
+
+Google publicly annouced [in May of 2017](https://www.tomshardware.com/news/chrome-deprecates-pnacl-embraces-webassembly%2C34583.html) the (then-)upcoming deprecation and abandonment of Native Client technologies in favor of WebAssembly, and announced the actual deprecation [in 2020](https://developer.chrome.com/deprecated). But Google also [supported](https://developer.chrome.com/docs/native-client) the Native Client-powered ChromeOS 138 [until July of 2025](https://support.google.com/chrome/a/answer/10314655) and as such continued developpement of some Native Client technologies.


The last link isn't very useful. It goes to a list of all release notes without giving any clue which version I'm supposed to look at.

slipher · 2026-06-23T05:17:33Z

+
+- [github.com/DaemonEngine/native_client/issues/13](https://github.com/DaemonEngine/native_client/issues/13)
+
+This fork brings edits to enable the building of NaCl without the Chromium


This could use a more prominent billing, like in the first paragraph. The fact it can be built without gclient or any other Chromium repos.

slipher · 2026-06-23T05:18:40Z

+
+## Build the NaCl loader and boostrap loader
+
+```sh


We can mention the other possible architectures are x86 and arm.

slipher · 2026-06-23T05:25:23Z

- * `tools/`: Utilities such as the plug-in installer.
+- `COPYING NOTICE README.md RELEASE_NOTES documentation/`: Documentation,
+  release, and license information.
+- `SConstruct scons.bat scons scons-out/ site_scons/`: Build-related files.


scons (+ scons.bat I guess) could be dropped as we no longer use a vendored scons, just the scons command normally installed. Though ./scons still works apparently.

readme: rewrite

0ef9a4e

illwieckz force-pushed the illwieckz/readme branch from e9c7c22 to 2c986ac Compare June 22, 2026 00:42

illwieckz commented Jun 22, 2026

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illwieckz force-pushed the illwieckz/readme branch from 2c986ac to 0ef9a4e Compare June 22, 2026 02:25

slipher mentioned this pull request Jun 22, 2026

Don't use lld when building with GCC #21

Open

illwieckz commented Jun 22, 2026

View reviewed changes

slipher reviewed Jun 23, 2026

View reviewed changes


		Native Client is a sandboxing technology by Google, it was used by Chrome extensions and Chrome apps.

		Google publicly annouced [in May of 2017](https://www.tomshardware.com/news/chrome-deprecates-pnacl-embraces-webassembly%2C34583.html) the (then-)upcoming deprecation and abandonment of Native Client technologies in favor of WebAssembly, and announced the actual deprecation [in 2020](https://developer.chrome.com/deprecated). But Google also [supported](https://developer.chrome.com/docs/native-client) the Native Client-powered ChromeOS 138 [until July of 2025](https://support.google.com/chrome/a/answer/10314655) and as such continued developpement of some Native Client technologies.


		- [github.com/DaemonEngine/native_client/issues/13](https://github.com/DaemonEngine/native_client/issues/13)

		This fork brings edits to enable the building of NaCl without the Chromium

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slipher commented Jun 22, 2026

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illwieckz commented Jun 22, 2026

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illwieckz commented Jun 22, 2026 •

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