Creating distribution packages with CMake

CMake can automatically create packages for several distributions (e.g. Redhat/Fedora .rpm, Debian/Ubuntu .deb, etc), though the created packages will lack dependency information. To create these packages, add at the end of CMakeLists.txt:

   1 SET(CPACK_GENERATOR "DEB")
   2 SET(CPACK_PACKAGE_NAME ${CMAKE_PROJECT_NAME})
   3 SET(CPACK_SET_DESTDIR TRUE)
   4 SET(CPACK_DEBIAN_PACKAGE_MAINTAINER "me")
   5 SET(CPACK_PACKAGE_VERSION_MAJOR "0")
   6 SET(CPACK_PACKAGE_VERSION_MINOR "0")
   7 SET(CPACK_PACKAGE_VERSION_PATCH "1~alpha1")
   8 include(CPack)

Modify the variables to create an package with the appropriate name and metadata fields. After building the package, run:

   1 make package

Source: Harold Sitter's Checkinstall DEBs done the CMake way...

Good examples

https://github.com/videolan/x265

https://github.com/Qartar/qflags/blob/master/CMakeLists.txt

CMake, CPack, and Windows

Example of using WIX and CPack: https://cmaketools.codeplex.com/SourceControl/latest#CMakeLists.txt

Uses: https://cmake.org/cmake/help/latest/command/include_external_msproject.html

Installing the MS Visual Studio runtime dependencies w/ WiX:http://stackoverflow.com/questions/34592378/redistributables-for-deploying-c-exe-developed-with-visual-studio-2015-on-wind

Tutorials

C++Now 2017: Daniel Pfeifer “Effective CMake"

Modern CMake: presentation.

External links

Create dlls on Windows without declspec() using new CMake export all feature: have CMake already export symbols for DLLs. https://gcc.gnu.org/wiki/Visibility provides an alternative.

Difference between PRIVATE, PUBLIC, and INTERFACE

CMake: dependencies between targets and files and custom commands

CMakeModularizationStatus – Boost C++ Libraries: Building Boost w/ CMake

nerdvegas/vfxcmake: Cmake Find modules for common vfx software, and general Cmake utility code: Modules for finding Nuke's SDK, Arnold, Houdini, OpenEXR, etc.

CategoryCheatSheet