CMake is a cross-platform, open-source build system designed to simplify the software compilation process and manage builds across different platforms and compilers. It provides a family of tools for building, testing, and packaging software while adhering to best practices such as avoiding custom variables and functions. The document discusses CMake's efficiency, modes of operation, and emphasizes the importance of clear project structures and proper library management.

1. cmake
Introduction and best practices
Daniel Pfeifer
May 21, 2015
daniel@pfeifer-mail.de

2. interest over time
2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015
autoconf
automake
bjam
cmake
scons
0https://www.google.com/trends/explore#q=autoconf,automake,bjam,cmake,scons
1

3. what is cmake?

4. according to its website
Welcome to CMake, the cross-platform, open-source build system.
CMake is a family of tools designed to build, test and package
software. CMake is used to control the software compilation process
using simple platform and compiler independent configuration files.
CMake generates native makefiles and workspaces that can be used
in the compiler environment of your choice.1
1http://www.cmake.org/
3

5. cmake’s position among build systems
standalone Make, NMake, SCons, Jom, BJam, Ninja
integrated Visual Studio, Xcode, Eclipse
generators Autotools, CMake, GYP
4

6. cmake is simple
> ls zlib-1.2.8
amiga/ as400/ contrib/ doc/
examples/ msdos/ nintendods/ old/
qnx/ test/ watcom/ win32/
adler32.c ChangeLog CMakeLists.txt compress.c
configure crc32.c crc32.h deflate.c
deflate.h FAQ gzclose.c gzguts.h
gzlib.c gzread.c gzwrite.c INDEX
infback.c inffast.c inffast.h inffixed.h
inflate.c inflate.h inftrees.c inftrees.h
make_vms.com Makefile Makefile.in README
treebuild.xml trees.c trees.h uncompr.c
zconf.h zconf.h.in zlib.3 zlib.3.pdf
zlib.h zlib.map zlib.pc.in zlib2ansi
zutil.c zutil.h
5

7. reduce your maintenance ...
You write a single configuration that CMake understands.
CMake takes care that it works on all compilers and platforms.
6

8. ... unless you break it!
Don’t make any assumption about the platform or compiler!
7

9. cmake is fast!
I was quite surprised with the speed of building Quantum GIS
codebase in comparison to Autotools.2
Task CMake Autotools
Configure 0:08 0:61
Make 12:15 21:16
Install 0:20 0:36
Total 12:43 22:43
2http://blog.qgis.org/node/16.html
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10. the cmake cache
∙ Compiler and platform test results are cached in
CMakeCache.txt.
∙ You can modify this file and re-run CMake.
∙ CMake also provides graphical cache editors.
9

11. cmake’s graphical cache editor
10

12. cmake’s position on the time axis
past CMake generates build systems.
today CMake is integrated into IDEs.
future IDEs run CMake as a background process.3
3http://public.kitware.com/pipermail/cmake-developers/2015-April/025012.html
11

13. modes of operation

14. cmake as a build system generator
1 > cmake [<options>] <path>
∙ If the specified path contains a CMakeCache.txt, it is treated as a
build directory where the build system is reconfigured and
regenerated.
∙ Otherwise the specified path is treated as the source directory
and the current working directory is treated as build directory.
1 > mkdir build
2 > cd build
3 > time cmake ..
4 > time cmake .
5 > time make
13

15. cmake as a build system generator
Issues:
∙ The commands mkdir and time are not portable.
∙ With cmake . you may accidentally perform an in-source
configure.
∙ Who said that make is the right build command?
1 > mkdir build
2 > cd build
3 > time cmake ..
4 > time cmake .
5 > time make mylibrary
14

16. cmake’s command-line tool mode
1 > cmake -E <command> [<options>...]
Run cmake -E help for a summary of commands.
1 > cmake -E make_directory build
2 > cmake -E chdir cmake -E time cmake ..
3 > cmake -E time cmake build
15

17. use cmake to run the build system
1 > cmake --build build
2 --target mylibrary
3 --config Release
4 --clean-first
Just don’t:
1 > ‘grep ’CMAKE_MAKE_PROGRAM:’ CMakeCache.txt
2 | awk -F= ’{print $2}’‘ mylibrary
16

18. cmake as a scripting language
1 > cat hello_world.cmake
2 foreach(greet Hello Goodbye)
3 message(”${greet}, World!”)
4 endforeach()
5
6 > cmake -P hello_world.cmake
7 Hello, World!
8 Goodbye, World!
No configure or generate step is performed and the cache is not
modified.
17

19. Resist the bash/perl/python temptation!
18

20. commands for projects

21. cmake_minimum_required()
Sets the mimimum required version of CMake.
1 cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.2 FATAL_ERROR)
∙ Prefer the latest version of CMake.
∙ Please don’t set 2.8 as the minimum.
∙ If you use 2.6 or 2.4, God kills a kitten.
20

22. project()
Set the name and version; enable languages.
1 project(<name> VERSION <version> LANGUAGES CXX)
∙ CMake sets several variables based on project().
∙ Call to project() must be direct, not through a
function/macro/include.
∙ CMake will add a call to project() if not found on the top level.
21

23. add_subdirectory()
Embed projects as sub-projects.
1 add_subdirectory(<sourcedir> [<binarydir>])
∙ CMake creates a Makefile/Solution for each subproject.
∙ The subproject does not have to reside in a subfolder.
22

24. hint!
Make sure that all your projects can be built both standalone and as
a subproject of another project:
∙ Don’t assume that your project root is the build root.
∙ Don’t modify global compile/link flags.
∙ Don’t make any global changes!
23

25. find_package()
Finds preinstalled dependencies
1 find_package(Qt5 REQUIRED COMPONENTS Widgets)
∙ Can set some variables and define imported targets.
∙ Supports components.
24

26. add_executable()
Add an executable target.
1 add_executable(tool
2 main.cpp
3 another_file.cpp
4 )
5 add_executable(my::tool ALIAS tool)
25

27. add_library()
Add a library target.
1 add_library(foo STATIC
2 foo1.cpp
3 foo2.cpp
4 )
5 add_library(my::foo ALIAS foo)
∙ Libraries can be STATIC, SHARED, MODULE, or INTERFACE.
∙ Default can be controlled with BUILD_SHARED_LIBS.
26

28. things to remember
∙ Always add namespaced aliases for libraries.
∙ Dont’t make libraries STATIC/SHARED unless they cannot be built
otherwise.
∙ Leave the control of BUILD_SHARED_LIBS to your clients!
27

29. usage requirements

30. usage requirements signature
1 target_<usage requirement>(<target>
2 <PRIVATE|PUBLIC|INTERFACE> <lib> ...
3 [<PRIVATE|PUBLIC|INTERFACE> <lib> ... ] ...]
4 )
PRIVATE Only used for this target.
PUBLIC Used for this target and all targets that link against it.
INTERFACE Only used for targets that link against this library.
29

31. target_link_libraries()
Set libraries as dependency.
1 target_link_libraries(foobar
2 PUBLIC my::foo
3 PRIVATE my::bar
4 )
30

32. things to remember
∙ Prefer to link against namespaced targets.
∙ Specify the dependencies are private or public.
∙ Avoid the link_libraries() command.
∙ Avoid the link_directories() command.
∙ No need to call add_dependencies().
31

33. target_include_directories()
Set include directories.
1 target_include_directories(foo
2 PUBLIC include
3 PRIVATE src
4 )
32

34. things to remember
∙ Avoid the include_directories() command.
33

35. target_compile_definitions()
Set compile definitions (preprocessor constants).
1 target_compile_definitions(foo
2 PRIVATE SRC_DIR=${Foo_SOURCE_DIR}
3 )
34

36. things to remember
∙ Avoid the add_definitions() command.
∙ Avoid adding definitions to CMAKE_<LANG>_FLAGS.
35

37. target_compile_options()
Set compile options/flags.
1 if(CMAKE_COMPILER_IS_GNUCXX)
2 target_compile_options(foo
3 PUBLIC -fno-elide-constructors
4 )
5 endif()
36

38. things to remember
∙ Wrap compiler specific options in an appropriate condition.
∙ Avoid the add_compile_options() command.
∙ Avoid adding options to CMAKE_<LANG>_FLAGS.
37

39. target_compile_features()
Set required compiler features.
1 target_compile_features(foo
2 PUBLIC
3 cxx_auto_type
4 cxx_range_for
5 PRIVATE
6 cxx_variadic_templates
7 )
∙ CMake will add required compile flags.
∙ Errors if the compiler is not supported.
38

40. things to remember
∙ Don’t add -std=c++11 to CMAKE_<LANG>_FLAGS.
∙ Don’t pass -std=c++11 to target_compile_options().
39

41. best practices

42. goal: no custom variables

43. variables are fragile
1 set(PROJECT foobar)
2 set(LIBRARIES foo)
3
4 if(WIN32)
5 list(APPEND LIBRARIES bar)
6 endif()
7
8 target_link_libraries(${Project}
9 ${LIBRARIES}
10 )
42

44. variables are fragile
Hard to diagnose:
bar links against foo! But only on Windows!
1 set(PROJECT foobar)
2 set(LIBRARIES foo)
3
4 if(WIN32)
5 list(APPEND LIBRARIES bar)
6 endif()
7
8 target_link_libraries(${Project}
9 ${LIBRARIES}
10 )
42

45. variables are fragile
This is better:
Without variables the code is more robust and easier to read.
1 target_link_libraries(foobar PRIVATE my::foo)
2
3 if(WIN32)
4 target_link_libraries(foobar PRIVATE my::bar)
5 endif()
43

46. don’t use file(glob)!
Not recommended:
1 file(GLOB sources ”*.cpp”)
2 add_library(mylib ${sources})
∙ file(GLOB) is useful in scripting mode.
∙ Don’t use it in configure mode!
44

47. list all sources explicitly
1 add_library(mylib
2 main.cpp
3 file1.cpp
4 file2.cpp
5 )
45

48. Explicit is better than implicit
46

49. goal: no custom functions

50. picking on myself
∙ I wrote many custom functions.
∙ Experience tought me: Most of the time it is a bad idea.
48

51. just don’t
1 magic_project(<name> ...)
49

52. why no custom functions?
∙ Remember what I said about the project() command?
∙ The signature of project() was extended recently.
50

53. just don’t
1 magic_add_library(<name>
2 SOURCES
3 <list of sources>
4 LIBRARIES
5 <list of libraries>
6 )
51

54. why no custom functions?
∙ How to add platform specific libraries?
∙ Harder to get started for contributors.
∙ Maintenance!
52

55. so you wrote a custom function ...
∙ Contribute it to CMake!
∙ If it is accepted, it is no longer a custom function.
∙ Otherwise, the reason for rejection should give you a hint.
∙ The maintainers are very helpful and experienced.
53

56. summary

57. summary
∙ CMake is widely used, fast, cross-platform.
∙ Build system generator plus platform abstraction.
∙ Manage build targets with usage requirements.
∙ Goal: No custom variables.
∙ Goal: No custom functions.
55

58. Thank you!
56