An incremental build is a process within a build system where build tools use an incremental compiler to

recompile In computing, a compiler is a computer program that translates computer code written in one programming language (the ''source'' language) into another language (the ''target'' language). The name "compiler" is primarily used for programs tha ...

only the parts of a

software Software consists of computer programs that instruct the Execution (computing), execution of a computer. Software also includes design documents and specifications. The history of software is closely tied to the development of digital comput ...

project that have changed since the last build, rather than rebuilding everything from scratch. This optimization reduces build time by leveraging dependency tracking, caching, and selective compilation. Incremental builds are especially valuable in large-scale software projects, where recompiling the entire codebase can be time-consuming and resource-intensive. By identifying and compiling only the modified components—such as source files,

libraries A library is a collection of Book, books, and possibly other Document, materials and Media (communication), media, that is accessible for use by its members and members of allied institutions. Libraries provide physical (hard copies) or electron ...

, or modules—the build system ensures faster iteration cycles, enabling developers to test and

debug In engineering, debugging is the process of finding the root cause, workarounds, and possible fixes for bugs. For software, debugging tactics can involve interactive debugging, control flow analysis, log file analysis, monitoring at the ap ...

changes more efficiently. The process relies on a dependency graph, which maps relationships between files, modules, or components in the project. When a change is detected, the build system traverses this graph to determine which parts of the project are affected and need to be recompiled. Modern build tools, such as Make,

Gradle Gradle is a build automation tool for multi-language software development. It manages tasks like compilation, packaging, testing, deployment, and publishing. Supported languages include Java (as well as JDK-based languages Kotlin, Groovy, Sc ...

and Bazel, often incorporate incremental build capabilities to streamline development workflows. While incremental builds offer significant

performance A performance is an act or process of staging or presenting a play, concert, or other form of entertainment. It is also defined as the action or process of carrying out or accomplishing an action, task, or function. Performance has evolved glo ...

advantages, they also introduce challenges, such as ensuring the accuracy of dependency tracking and avoiding stale or inconsistent build artifacts. To address these issues, some build systems provide mechanisms for "clean builds," which rebuild the entire project from scratch to guarantee correctness when necessary. Because of this issue, incremental builds are rarely used in

continuous integration Continuous integration (CI) is the practice of integrating source code changes frequently and ensuring that the integrated codebase is in a workable state. Typically, developers Merge (version control), merge changes to an Branching (revisio ...

systems, where correctness is preferred to compilation speed. Overall, incremental builds are a cornerstone of modern

software development Software development is the process of designing and Implementation, implementing a software solution to Computer user satisfaction, satisfy a User (computing), user. The process is more encompassing than Computer programming, programming, wri ...

, which offer trade-offs of speed and reliability in the build process.

References

{{Reflist Build automation Software development

See also

References