CMake

CMake is a build automation and testing platform for portably building C/C++ software. It’s the standard way to build any software based on C/C++, especially because it can hook up to native compilation tools (i.e., Makefiles on Linux systems).

CMake relies on a custom scripting language (like many other build automation tools). The core part of any CMake project is the CMakeLists.txt file. This specifies the parameters of the project.

Quick links:

• An Introduction to Modern CMake

Build file

Some key characteristics we should define:

• cmake_minimum_required(VERSION x.xx...x.xx) — is a required part of the file. We should ideally be using newer versions of CMake if possible. Starting in CMake 3.12, we’re allowed to use a range of values. Newer versions should use a range of values.
• project() identifies specific project parameters.

project(MyProject VERSION 1.0
                  DESCRIPTION "Very nice project"
                  LANGUAGES CXX)

Some additional commands we can use:

• set(VARNAME "value") — sets a local variable with identifier VARNAME.