Agenda: CMake (2023-11-27)

Toolchain Introduction

What are the problems that CMake solves?

  • Compiler

  • Linker

  • Search paths: header files, libraries

  • Dependencies

How are these solved by CMake? Present a trivial one-level-only CMake project where compilation and linking happens.

Project Structure, Dependencies

As projects become larger, structure is in order. Present a typical project structure where there are separate directories for

  • Libraries/Modules

  • Executables

  • Data files

External Dependencies

CMake has so-called “Find Modules” to incorporate code that is not built by the project, but only used by it.

  • Quickly introduce what that is

  • Provide a number of examples

  • See how a project can react if one such external dependency is not found (optional code)

Code Generators

Traditionally, lexers and parser generators (just as a typical example) generate code that has to be built by the project.

  • Show what problems arise when such generators are used naively

  • Show how generators are integrated in a CMake project

Automatic Testing

Today’s software standards dictate that a project use unit testing (see for example Unit Testing With googletest). See how that can be integrated with CMake.

Installation And Deployment

  • Installation is referred to as locally building code inside the build directory, and that transferring the artifact (executables and libraries, usually) into a well-known location where they are found by others.

  • Deployment usually means packaging a project, and making it available for installation on other machines - often together with cross compiliation