== Description == [http://www.cmake.org/ CMake] is a free multi-language multi-platform compilation tool (the name stands for cross-platform make). Although [[Autotools]] is the traditional tool used on Linux—by GNU projects among others—, various projects have changed to CMake during the last few years, for different reasons, including for example KDE and MySQL. Those who have already had difficulties with Autotools in their own project will probably find CMake much easier to use. In fact, according to KDE, the main reason for which they have changed from Autotools to CMake is that the compilation is a lot quicker and the build files are a lot easier to write. == Basic usage == CMake works in the same way as that Autotools requires to run a configure script, followed by a build with make. However, instead of calling ./configure, you call cmake directory. For example, if you are inside the directory where you would like to build the application, you run {{Command|cmake .}} Hence, to configure, build and install an application or a library, the simplest way to do this is with {{Command|cmake . && make && make install}} == Useful options on our clusters == Our clusters are configured such that compilation of a new software package will automatically add information to the resulting binary to ensure that it finds the libraries that it depends on. This is done through a mechanism called RUNPATH or RPATH. Some packages using CMake also do the same, through a feature provided by CMake. When both of these are used at the same time, it sometimes creates conflicts. In order to avoid errors related to this, you can add the option * -DCMAKE_SKIP_INSTALL_RPATH=ON to your command line. Moreover, our clusters have libraries installed in non-standard locations. This sometimes causes CMake not to find them easily. It can be useful to the following option to your cmake command invocation: * -DCMAKE_SYSTEM_PREFIX_PATH=$EBROOTGENTOO Sometimes, even this is not sufficient, and you may have to add more specific options for libraries that are used by your software package. For example: * -DCURL_LIBRARY=$EBROOTGENTOO/lib/libcurl.so -DCURL_INCLUDE_DIR=$EBROOTGENTOO/include * -DPYTHON_EXECUTABLE=$EBROOTPYTHON/bin/python * -DPNG_PNG_INCLUDE_DIR=$EBROOTGENTOO/include -DPNG_LIBRARY=$EBROOTGENTOO/lib/libpng.so * -DJPEG_INCLUDE_DIR=$EBROOTGENTOO/include -DJPEG_LIBRARY=$EBROOTGENTOO/lib/libjpeg.so * -DOPENGL_INCLUDE_DIR=$EBROOTGENTOO/include -DOPENGL_gl_LIBRARY=$EBROOTGENTOO/lib/libGL.so -DOPENGL_glu_LIBRARY=$EBROOTGENTOO/lib/libGLU.so * -DZLIB_ROOT=$EBROOTGENTOO == Customizing the configuration == Just like with autotools, it is possible to customize the configuration of an application or a library. This can be done by different command line options, but also using a command line interface with the ccmake command. === ccmake === You call ccmake in the same way as you call cmake, by giving the directory to build from. So if this is the current directory, you should call {{Command|ccmake .}} You should run ccmake after having ran cmake. So, generally you would do {{Command|cmake . && ccmake .}} ccmake gives you then a list of options that are defined by the project. You will then see a relatively short list like this: {{Command |cmake . && ccmake . |result= Page 1 of 1 ARPACK_LIBRARIES ARPACK_LIBRARIES-NOTFOUND CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX /usr/local CMAKE_OSX_ARCHITECTURES CMAKE_OSX_DEPLOYMENT_TARGET CMAKE_OSX_SYSROOT /Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer/Platforms/MacOSX.platform/Developer/SDKs/MacOSX10.8.sdk GSL_CONFIG /opt/local/bin/gsl-config GSL_CONFIG_PREFER_PATH /bin;;/bin; GSL_EXE_LINKER_FLAGS -Wl,-rpath,/opt/local/lib NON_TEMPLATES_DISABLED ON NO_SQUACK_WARNINGS ON PRECOMPILED_TEMPLATES ON USE_GSL_OMP OFF USE_OMP OFF Press [enter] to edit option CMake Version 2.8.8 Press [c] to configure Press [h] for help Press [q] to quit without generating Press [t] to toggle advanced mode (Currently Off) }} As is written at the bottom of this display, you can edit a value by pressing the enter key. If you modify a value, you will want to press the c key to try out the configuration with this new value. If this new configuration succeeds with that new value, you will then have the option g to generate the Makefile with the new configuration, or you can quit using the q key. Lastly, you can activate advanced mode using the t key. You will then have a much longer list of variables which allows you to precisely configure the application. Here is a list of options {{ File |name=ccmake_output.txt |contents= ARPACK_LIBRARIES ARPACK_LIBRARIES-NOTFOUND BLAS_Accelerate_LIBRARY /System/Library/Frameworks/Accelerate.framework BLAS_acml_LIBRARY BLAS_acml_LIBRARY-NOTFOUND BLAS_acml_mp_LIBRARY BLAS_acml_mp_LIBRARY-NOTFOUND BLAS_complib.sgimath_LIBRARY BLAS_complib.sgimath_LIBRARY-NOTFOUND BLAS_cxml_LIBRARY BLAS_cxml_LIBRARY-NOTFOUND BLAS_dxml_LIBRARY BLAS_dxml_LIBRARY-NOTFOUND BLAS_essl_LIBRARY BLAS_essl_LIBRARY-NOTFOUND BLAS_f77blas_LIBRARY BLAS_f77blas_LIBRARY-NOTFOUND BLAS_goto2_LIBRARY BLAS_goto2_LIBRARY-NOTFOUND BLAS_scsl_LIBRARY BLAS_scsl_LIBRARY-NOTFOUND BLAS_sgemm_LIBRARY BLAS_sgemm_LIBRARY-NOTFOUND BLAS_sunperf_LIBRARY BLAS_sunperf_LIBRARY-NOTFOUND CMAKE_AR /opt/local/bin/ar CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE CMAKE_COLOR_MAKEFILE ON CMAKE_CXX_COMPILER /opt/local/bin/c++ CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS_DEBUG -g CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS_MINSIZEREL -Os -DNDEBUG CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS_RELEASE -O3 -DNDEBUG CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS_RELWITHDEBINFO -O2 -g CMAKE_C_COMPILER /opt/local/bin/gcc CMAKE_C_FLAGS CMAKE_C_FLAGS_DEBUG -g CMAKE_C_FLAGS_MINSIZEREL -Os -DNDEBUG CMAKE_C_FLAGS_RELEASE -O3 -DNDEBUG CMAKE_C_FLAGS_RELWITHDEBINFO -O2 -g CMAKE_EXE_LINKER_FLAGS CMAKE_EXE_LINKER_FLAGS_DEBUG CMAKE_EXE_LINKER_FLAGS_MINSIZE CMAKE_EXE_LINKER_FLAGS_RELEASE CMAKE_EXE_LINKER_FLAGS_RELWITH CMAKE_EXPORT_COMPILE_COMMANDS OFF CMAKE_INSTALL_NAME_TOOL /opt/local/bin/install_name_tool CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX /usr/local CMAKE_LINKER /opt/local/bin/ld CMAKE_MAKE_PROGRAM /Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer/usr/bin/make CMAKE_MODULE_LINKER_FLAGS CMAKE_MODULE_LINKER_FLAGS_DEBU CMAKE_MODULE_LINKER_FLAGS_MINS CMAKE_MODULE_LINKER_FLAGS_RELE CMAKE_MODULE_LINKER_FLAGS_RELW CMAKE_NM /opt/local/bin/nm CMAKE_OBJCOPY CMAKE_OBJCOPY-NOTFOUND CMAKE_OBJDUMP CMAKE_OBJDUMP-NOTFOUND CMAKE_OSX_ARCHITECTURES CMAKE_OSX_DEPLOYMENT_TARGET CMAKE_OSX_SYSROOT /Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer/Platforms/MacOSX.platform/Developer/SDKs/MacOSX10.8.sdk CMAKE_RANLIB /opt/local/bin/ranlib CMAKE_SHARED_LINKER_FLAGS CMAKE_SHARED_LINKER_FLAGS_DEBU CMAKE_SHARED_LINKER_FLAGS_MINS CMAKE_SHARED_LINKER_FLAGS_RELE CMAKE_SHARED_LINKER_FLAGS_RELW CMAKE_SKIP_INSTALL_RPATH OFF CMAKE_SKIP_RPATH OFF CMAKE_STRIP /opt/local/bin/strip CMAKE_USE_RELATIVE_PATHS OFF CMAKE_VERBOSE_MAKEFILE OFF CMAKE_XCODE_SELECT /usr/bin/xcode-select DOXYGEN_DOT_EXECUTABLE /usr/local/bin/dot DOXYGEN_DOT_PATH /usr/local/bin DOXYGEN_EXECUTABLE /Applications/Doxygen.app/Contents/Resources/doxygen GSL_CONFIG /opt/local/bin/gsl-config GSL_CONFIG_PREFER_PATH /bin;;/bin; GSL_EXE_LINKER_FLAGS -Wl,-rpath,/opt/local/lib GSL_INCLUDE_DIR /opt/local/include GTEST_INCLUDE_DIR /opt/local/include GTEST_LIBRARY /opt/local/lib/libgtest.dylib GTEST_LIBRARY_DEBUG GTEST_LIBRARY_DEBUG-NOTFOUND GTEST_MAIN_LIBRARY /opt/local/lib/libgtest_main.dylib GTEST_MAIN_LIBRARY_DEBUG GTEST_MAIN_LIBRARY_DEBUG-NOTFOUND LAPACK_Accelerate_LIBRARY /System/Library/Frameworks/Accelerate.framework LAPACK_goto2_LIBRARY LAPACK_goto2_LIBRARY-NOTFOUND NON_TEMPLATES_DISABLED ON NO_SQUACK_WARNINGS ON PRECOMPILED_TEMPLATES ON USE_GSL_OMP OFF USE_OMP OFF }} As you can see, ccmake in advanced mode displays equally well the libraries that were found as those that were not found. If you would like to use a specific version of [[BLAS and LAPACK/en|BLAS]] for example, you will immediately know which one was found by CMake, and modify this if necessary. ccmake also displays the list of flags that are passed to the C, C++, and other compilers, to the linker, depending on the build type. === Command line options === All command line options that are displayed by ccmake can be modified on the command line, using the following syntax: {{Command|cmake . -DVARIABLE{{=}}VALUE}} For example, to specify the install location: {{Command|cmake . -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX{{=}}/home/user/my_directory}} To configure the compilation, you might want to change the following values: {| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%; text-align: center;" !Option !Description |- !CMAKE_C_COMPILER |Change the C compiler |- !CMAKE_CXX_COMPILER |Change the C++ compiler |- !CMAKE_LINKER |Change the linker |- !CMAKE_C_FLAGS |Change the flags passed to the C compiler |- !CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS |Change the flags passed to the C++ compiler |- !CMAKE_SHARED_LINKER_FLAGS |Change the flags passed to the linker |- |} A more exhaustive list option is available [http://www.cmake.org/Wiki/CMake_Useful_Variables on the official CMake page]. If you do not want to get into adventures with these specific options, CMake also provides a simpler option, called CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE. This option defines which compilation type must be used. Possible values are {| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%; text-align: center;" !Option !Description |- ! - | No value |- ! Debug | Activate debugging options, deactivate optimization options |- ! Release | Deactivate debugging options, activate usual optimizations |- ! MinSizeRel | Deactivate debugging options, activate optimization options that minimize the binary's size |- ! RelWithDebInfo | Activate debugging options and usual optimizations |- |} These different compilation types define compiler options that vary from compiler to compiler. So you do not need to check which exact compiler flags have to be used. == References == * [http://www.cmake.org/cmake/help/examples.html A simple example] on the official site. * [http://www.cmake.org/cmake/help/cmake_tutorial.html A tutorial] that is more complete on the official site.