How to Compile and Package C/C++ Applications on Kunpeng: From Hello World to MySQL

Overview – The guide explains how to prepare a Kunpeng (ARM) Linux environment, compile C/C++ programs, use CMake for cross‑platform builds, and create distributable packages for MySQL 5.7.

Hello World on Kunpeng

1. Log into the Kunpeng development environment. 2. Configure the software repository. 3. Install the C/C++ compiler. 4. Create main.c with a classic hello‑world source. 5. Compile with gcc and run the executable. 6. Add a standard Makefile to the project directory. 7. Build and test using make.

Standard Cross‑Platform CMake Project

Because compilers differ across platforms, CMake is used to generate appropriate Makefiles automatically. A CMakeLists.txt file is placed at the project root, and a temporary build directory is created. Running cmake generates the Makefile, after which make compiles the project.

Q: Why use a temporary directory? A: CMake lacks a clean mechanism; a temporary directory isolates generated files, allowing easy removal after a successful build.

Building MySQL 5.7 on Kunpeng

MySQL 5.7, a widely used C/C++ open‑source database, is compiled using CMake. The steps include:

Download the source package from Huawei Cloud mirrors.

Extract the archive.

Activate GCC 7.3 (the default GCC 4.8.5 on CentOS 7 has bugs that prevent a successful MySQL build).

Create a temporary build directory.

Run cmake to generate build files.

Compile with make and install (default install path unless overridden).

To distribute the software efficiently, RPM packages are created using rpmbuild. After building, the binaries reside in /root/rpmbuild/RPMS/aarch64/ and can be deployed across multiple Kunpeng instances.

For Ubuntu 18.04, the process is similar but produces DEB packages. After installing dependencies and extracting the source, the dpkg‑buildpackage command creates binary .deb files, which are then installed and configured.

Finally, the MySQL service is started, and users can log in with the initial password.