Set up build system

We need a reproducible build that any engineer on the team can run. Create a build setup that compiles the project and produces debug and release binaries, runs unit tests, and regenerates only changed objects. Put the build files at the repo root, include a README with exact commands for Linux and Windows, and make sure the debug build includes symbols and the release build is optimized with size and speed tweaks. Verify by building on my laptop and confirming the test suite passes.

Before I hand this to the team, make the build easy to adopt. Show where source and headers must live, surface the build and test commands up front in the README, list the default output paths, and flag any system dependencies that will make a reviewer hesitate (specific library names and minimum versions). Suggest a minimal CI job that runs the release build and tests on push.

On my colleague Maria's machine the build stops with multiple missing header errors. I already checked the include paths in the project but I don't know which dependency or system package is absent. Maria is blocked and needs to run tests this afternoon. What is the most likely cause, what checks should I run now to pinpoint the missing dependency, and what quick workaround will unblock her so she can run the test suite while I fix the root cause?

Across several projects we repeatedly lose time because engineers hit build failures locally caused by differing system libraries and ad hoc build setups. Recommend one habit and one concrete repo-level change that will stop this churn: something that reduces setup error, speeds onboarding, and keeps builds deterministic for the next hires.