CMake introduction

CMake stands for Cross-platform make which is an open-source, cross-platform tool that is used for building, testing, and packaging software. It was first developed in 2000 by Andy Cedilnik at Kitware.
CMake is a build automation tool that works by generating native build files such as Makefiles, Visual Studio solution files, and Xcode project files based on a simple configuration file called CMakeLists.txt.

CMake is designed to be platform-independent, meaning it can generate build files for various build systems, such as Makefile for Unix-like systems and Visual Studio solution files for Windows.

How to use it

To use CMake, developers need to create a CMakeLists.txt file that describes the project and its dependencies. The file typically includes information such as the project name, the version number, the source files, and any external libraries that are required.
Once the CMakeLists.txt file is created, developers can run the cmake command to generate the build files for their platform and compiler.
They can then use the generated files to build and test their software.

CMake scripts

CMake scripts are written in the CMake language, which is designed to be simple and easy to understand. The syntax is based on a series of commands and variables that are used to define the build process.

These commands and variables are used to specify the source files, set compiler options, define dependencies, and generate the build files for the target platform.

CMakeLists.txt

# The minimum cmake version required to run this cmake file.
cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.12)

# The project name, version, and the used programming language.
project(My_project VERSION 1.0 LANGUAGES CXX)

# Make (Generate) a library from this source files.
add_library(my_lib STATIC my_lib_source.cpp)

# Ask cmake to use this directory to get the header files for the library.
target_include_directories(my_lib PUBLIC directory_has_headers)

# Make (Generate) an Executable from this source files.
add_executable(my_program main.cpp)

# Ask cmake to use these directories to get the header files for the executable.
target_include_directories(my_program PRIVATE
    first_dir/
    second_dir/)

# Ask cmake to link this external libraries.
target_link_libraries(my_program PRIVATE my_lib)