Re: Using CMake for building GCC

Re: Using CMake for building GCC

[LIU Hao]

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在 2022-09-11 22:29, Junk Trash via Gcc 写道:
> Hi,
> 
> I want to get the opinions of GCC developers regarding adding CMake as a build system for GCC. Is it something you would like, something you are neutral about, or something you are strongly against?
> 
> Thanks for your valuable feedback!
> 
> 

https://twdev.blog/2021/08/cmake/



-- 
Best regards,
LIU Hao

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Re: Using CMake for building GCC

[Jose E. Marchesi]

> On Sun, Sep 11, 2022, 10:30 Junk Trash via Gcc <gcc@gcc.gnu.org> wrote:
>
>> Hi,
>>
>> I want to get the opinions of GCC developers regarding adding CMake as a
>> build system for GCC. Is it something you would like, something you are
>> neutral about, or something you are strongly against?
>>
>> Thanks for your valuable feedback!
>>
>> Regards,
>>
>> JT
>>
>
> The high level premise of autotools is to make life harder for the build
> system maintainer of a project and easier for a user. This makes sense on
> several levels, including portability and familiarity. Cmake, on the other
> hand, makes life somewhat easier for the build system maintainer (I
> suppose) and harder for the user. This works for a pet project or something
> without wide distribution, but I don't personally find it to be a good
> design principle for usable and portable software.
>
> Autotools isn't perfect (configure steps are slow, for instance), but it's
> robust, reliable, portable, and trivial for an end user.

Very well said.  Distributed source tarballs are a blessing for both
distros and users.

Often people suggesting replacing autotools with CMake do so under the
assumption these two programs do the same thing: they don't.

I would very strongly oppose using CMake for building any program I
contribute to, and I would certainly never use it in any program I
maintain myself.

Re: Using CMake for building GCC

[Iru Cai]

In my opinion, the advantage of autotools is that it can generate a 
configure script that can be shipped with the source tarball, then any 
one with the source can run the configure script when the system has a 
POSIX shell and tools. If using CMake, meson, xmake, etc. the user will 
first need to install the build tool to build the source.

I still hope to have one such build tool which can generate a configure 
script, and have some better properties than autotools:

- implemented in a sane language (I don't like Perl)

- generate a single configure script for the whole project instead of 
running configure on subprojects when running make

- support building with ninja

If CMake, meson, xmake or some other build system support generating a 
POSIX shell configure script, I think it would be fine to use it to 
replace autotools.

On 2022/9/11 22:29, Junk Trash via Gcc wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I want to get the opinions of GCC developers regarding adding CMake as a build system for GCC. Is it something you would like, something you are neutral about, or something you are strongly against?
>
> Thanks for your valuable feedback!
>
> Regards,
>
> JT