We are doing one of those list posts again! This time, I will share some tips and insights on better CMake. Number four will surprise you! Let’s hop right in:

Tip #1

model dependencies with target_link_libraries

I have written about this before, and this is still my number one tip on CMake. In short: Do not use the old functions that force properties down the file hierarchy such as include_directories. Instead set properties on the targets via target_link_libraries and its siblings target_compile_definitions, target_include_directories and target_compile_options and “inherit” those properties via target_link_libraries from different modules.

Tip #2

always use find_package with REQUIRED

Sure, having optional dependencies is nice, but skipping on REQUIRED is not the way you want to do it. In the worst case, some of your features will just not work if those packages are not found, with no explanation whatsoever. Instead, use explicit feature-toggles (e.g. using option()) that either skip the find_package call or use it with REQUIRED, so the user will know that another lib is needed for this feature.

Tip #3

follow the physical project structure

You want your build setup to be as straight forward as possible. One way to simplify it is to follow the file system and and the artifact structure of your code. That way, you only have one structure to maintain. Use one “top level” file that does your global configuration, e.g. find_package calls and CPack configuration, and then only defers to subdirectories via add_subdirectory. Only for direct subdirectories though: if you need extra levels, those levels should have their own CMake files. Then build exactly one artifact (e.g. add_executable or add_library) per leaf folder.

Tip #4

make install() an option()

It is often desirable to include other libraries directly into your build process. For example, we usually do this with googletest for our unit test. However, if you do that and use your install target, it will also install the googletest headers. That is usually not what you want! Some libraries handle this automagically by only doing the install() calls when they are the top level project. Similar to the find_package tip above, I like to do this with an option() for explicit user control!

Generating done

That is it for today! I hope this is helps and we will all see better CMake code in the future.