n-api,doc: add info about building n-api addons

doc/api/n-api.md

@@ -118,6 +118,89 @@ must make use exclusively of N-API by restricting itself to using
 and by checking, for all external libraries that it uses, that the external
 library makes ABI stability guarantees similar to N-API.
 
+## Building
+
+Unlike addons coded in JavaScript, developing and deploying Node native
+addons using N-API requires an additional set of tools. Besides the basic
+tools required to develop for Node, the native addon developer requires a
+toolchain that can compile C and C++ code into a binary. In addition,
+depending upon how the native addon is deployed, the *user* of the native
+addon will also need to have a C/C++ toolchain installed.
+
+For Linux developers, the necessary C/C++ toolchain is typically already
+installed. For systems lacking the necessary toolchain, the
+[LLVM](https://llvm.org) compiler infrastructure is a good choice.
+
+For Mac developers, [Xcode](https://developer.apple.com/xcode/) offers all
+the required compiler tools. However, it is not necessary to install the
+entire Xcode IDE. The following command installs the necessary toolchain:
+
+```bash
+xcode-select --install
+```
+
+For Windows developers, [Visual Studio](https://visualstudio.microsoft.com)
+offers all the required compiler tools. However, it is not necessary to
+install the entire Visual Studio IDE. The following command installs the
+necessary toolchain:
+
+```bash
+npm install --global --production windows-build-tools
+```
+
+The sections below describe the additional tools available for developing
+and deploying Node native addons.
+
+### Build tools
+
+> Both the tools listed here require that *users* of the native
+> addon have a C/C++ toolchain installed in order to successfully install
+> the native addon.
+
+#### node-gyp
+
+[node-gyp](https://github.com/nodejs/node-gyp) is a build system based on
+Google's [GYP](https://gyp.gsrc.io) tool and comes bundled with npm. GYP,
+and therefore node-gyp, requires that Python be installed.
+
+Historically, node-gyp has been the tool of choice for building native
+addons. However, Google has stopped development on GYP and some developers
+are concerned about the dependency of some GYP versions on Python 2.7 which
+has a sunset date of 2020.
+
+#### CMake.js
+
+[CMake.js](https://github.com/cmake-js/cmake-js) is an alternative build
+system based on [CMake](https://cmake.org).
+
+CMake.js is a good choice for projects that already use CMake or for
+developers affected by limitations in node-gyp.
+
+### Uploading precompiled binaries
+
+The two tools listed here permit native addon developers and maintainers to
+create and upload binaries to public or private servers. These tools are
+typically integrated with CI/CD build systems like
+[Travis CI](https://travis-ci.org) and [AppVeyor](https://www.appveyor.com)
+to build and upload binaries for a variety of platforms and architectures.
+These binaries are then available for download by users who do not need to
+have a C/C++ toolchain installed.
+
+#### node-pre-gyp
+
+[node-pre-gyp](https://github.com/mapbox/node-pre-gyp) is a tool based on
+node-gyp that adds the ability to upload binaries to a server of the
+developer's choice. node-pre-gyp has particularly good support for
+uploading binaries to Amazon S3.
+
+#### prebuild
+
+[prebuild](https://github.com/prebuild/prebuild) is a tool that supports
+builds using either node-gyp or CMake.js. Unlike node-pre-gyp which
+supports a variety of servers, prebuild uploads binaries only to
+[GitHub releases](https://github.com/prebuild/prebuild). prebuild is a
+good choice for GitHub projects using CMake.js.
+
 ## Usage
 
 In order to use the N-API functions, include the file