CMake

CMake is the most common build system for C++. Instead of using the compiler directly, CMake controls the compilation process through platform independent configuration files.

Install CMake

CMake can be downloaded from cmake.org or from a package manager:

apt-getHomebrew

1	`sudo apt-get -y install cmake`

1	`brew install cmake`

Configuration files

There should be a file named CMakeLists.txt in the root directory of your project. A starting point is:

cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.10)

# set the project name
project(my_project_name)

# add the executable
add_executable(my_project_name main.cpp)

Building with CMake

Create a build directory:

1	`mkdir build`

Navigate to the build directory and run CMake:

1 2	`cd build cmake ..`

This will configure the project and generate a native build system scripts.

Then call that build system to actually compile/link the project:

1	`cmake --build .`

The executable file must have been generated. Note how CMake abstracts the differences between compilers and platforms.

Configure compiler

Set the variable CMAKE_CXX_COMPILER from the command line to let CMake know what compiler to use:

1	`cmake -D CMAKE_C_COMPILER="/path/to/your/c/compiler/executable" -D CMAKE_CXX_COMPILER "/path/to/your/cpp/compiler/executable" /path/to/directory/containing/CMakeLists.txt`

If you want this to be your default compiler, you can set the CXX environment variable:

1	`export CXX=/path/to/your/cpp/compiler/executable`

If you want to use this compiler in a single project, always run CMake with these options:

1	`-DCMAKE_C_COMPILER=/path/to/your/c/compiler/executable -DCMAKE_CXX_COMPILER=/path/to/your/cpp/compiler/executable`

Or tell your IDE to pass these options to CMake: