What is CMake?

CMake (Cross-Platform Makefile) is a build system that generates build files for various environments, such as Unix Makefiles, Visual Studio, and Xcode. It provides a platform-independent way to describe a project’s build process using a CMakeLists.txt file.

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Example

Let’s create a simple executable to better understand how CMake works. Suppose we have a project with a source file, main.cpp, that contains Hello, World!. Here’s how we can use CMake to build this project:

  1. We’ll create a directory for our project and navigate into it.

  2. We’ll create a CMakeLists.txt file with the following content:

cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.0)
project(HelloWorld)
add_executable(HelloWorld main.cpp)

This file can be explained as follows:

  • Line 1: Define the minimum required version of CMake.

  • Line 3: Define the name of our project.

  • Line 5: We define an executable target.

  1. We create a main.cpp file with the following content:

#include <iostream>
int main() {
std::cout << "Hello, World!" << std::endl;
return 0;
}
  1. We run CMake to generate build files as follows:

cmake .
  1. We build the project using the generated build system as follows:

cmake --build .
  1. Finally, we run the executable as follows:

./HelloWorld

We’ll see Hello, World! printed to the console. We can execute these commands in the terminal below:

#include <iostream>

int main() {
    std::cout << "Hello, World!" << std::endl;
    return 0;
}
Executable CMake example

Note: Enter commands from the fourth step provided above. The file and the directory navigation has been done in the widget already.

Features

The table below defines a few key features of CMake:

Features

Description

Platform Independence

Scripts are written in a platform-independent language, allowing developers to generate build files for various platforms.

Modular Design

CMake promotes modular project organization by allowing the creation of multiple executables and defining the dependencies between them.

Generator Expressions

It provides generator expressions that enable conditional configuration settings during the build process.

Customization

The build process can be customized with custom commands and variables tailored to the project requirements.

Conclusion

To conclude, CMake is a versatile build system for software projects. Its platform independence and extensibility give it several advantages when seeking a build solution. Mastering CMake can improve our build process, allowing for better build solutions.

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