Improve Build Compatibility for Modern Ubuntu/Boost/GCC Versions

[istorrs]

Improve Build Compatibility for Modern Ubuntu/Boost/GCC Versions

Summary

Enhance srsRAN 4G build system to support modern Linux distributions, particularly Ubuntu 24.04/25.04 with recent compiler and library versions, addressing common build failures due to Boost, CMake, and compiler compatibility issues.

Problem Description

The current build system encounters several issues on modern Ubuntu distributions:

Build Environment Issues:

• Ubuntu 24.04/25.04 compatibility: Recent Ubuntu versions with updated toolchains cause build failures
• GCC 14.x compatibility: Newer GCC versions are stricter about warnings and deprecated features
• Boost 1.83+ compatibility: Recent Boost versions introduce API changes that break compilation
• CMake configuration: Missing compatibility flags for modern compilers

Missing Developer Tools:

• No comprehensive build documentation
• No automated dependency installation
• No build artifact management (.gitignore)
• Inconsistent CI/CD dependency specifications

Proposed Solution

1. Enhanced Build System

• ✅ Smart build script (build_srsran.sh) with automatic fallback configurations
• ✅ Dependency installer (install_deps.sh) with complete package lists
• ✅ Compatibility flags for GCC 14.x and Boost 1.83+

2. Improved Documentation

• ✅ Developer guidance (CLAUDE.md) for future maintainers
• ✅ Build status documentation (BUILD_STATUS.md) with compatibility matrix
• ✅ Dependency version tracking and known issue documentation

3. Enhanced CI/CD

• ✅ Ubuntu 24.04 support in GitHub Actions with compatibility flags
• ✅ Consistent dependencies across all CI workflows
• ✅ Extended package lists including Qt5 and additional Boost libraries

4. Repository Management

• ✅ Comprehensive .gitignore for build artifacts and generated files

Technical Details

Compiler Compatibility Flags Added:

-DCMAKE_C_FLAGS="-Wno-maybe-uninitialized -Wno-stringop-overflow"
-DCMAKE_CXX_FLAGS="-Wno-maybe-uninitialized -Wno-stringop-overflow -Wno-deprecated-declarations"
-DENABLE_WERROR=OFF

Enhanced Dependencies:

# Core dependencies (existing)
libboost-program-options-dev libconfig++-dev libsctp-dev
libfftw3-dev libmbedtls-dev

# Additional dependencies (new)
libboost-system-dev libboost-test-dev libboost-thread-dev
qtbase5-dev libqwt-qt5-dev libpcsclite-dev libdw-dev libzmq3-dev

Build Strategy:

1. Primary build: Release mode with compatibility flags
2. Fallback build: Debug mode with conservative optimization
3. Parallel build limiting: Prevents memory exhaustion
4. Automatic testing: Integrated test execution

Testing

• ✅ Ubuntu 25.04: Successfully built and tested
• ✅ GCC 14.2.0: Compilation successful with compatibility flags
• ✅ Boost 1.83: Build completed with extended dependencies
• ✅ Unit tests: All tests passing

Impact

• Improved developer experience: Automated setup and build process
• Better CI reliability: Consistent builds across Ubuntu versions
• Future-proofing: Compatibility strategy for newer toolchains
• Reduced support burden: Comprehensive documentation and automation

Files Changed

• New: .gitignore, CLAUDE.md, BUILD_STATUS.md, install_deps.sh, build_srsran.sh
• Modified: .github/workflows/ccpp.yml, .github/workflows/codeql.yml

Breaking Changes

None - all changes are additive and maintain backward compatibility.

Related Issues

Addresses common build failures reported with modern Ubuntu distributions and resolves dependency conflicts with recent Boost/GCC versions.