3.8.rst

CMake 3.8 Release Notes

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Changes made since CMake 3.7 include the following.

New Features

Languages

C#

• CMake learned to support CSharp (C#) as a first-class language that can be enabled via the :command:`project` and :command:`enable_language` commands. It is currently supported by the :ref:`Visual Studio Generators` for VS 2010 and above.

  C# assemblies and programs can be added just like common C++ targets using the :command:`add_library` and :command:`add_executable` commands. References between C# targets in the same source tree may be specified by :command:`target_link_libraries` like for C++. References to system or 3rd-party assemblies may be specified by the target properties :prop_tgt:`VS_DOTNET_REFERENCE_<refname>` and :prop_tgt:`VS_DOTNET_REFERENCES`.

• More fine tuning of C# targets may be done using target and source file properties. Specifically the target properties related to Visual Studio (VS_*) are worth a look (for setting toolset versions, root namespaces, assembly icons, ...).

CUDA

• CMake learned to support CUDA as a first-class language that can be enabled via the :command:`project` and :command:`enable_language` commands.
• CUDA is currently supported by the :ref:`Makefile Generators` and the :generator:`Ninja` generator on Linux, macOS, and Windows. Support for the Visual Studio IDE is under development but not included in this release.
• The NVIDIA CUDA Toolkit compiler (nvcc) is supported.

C & C++

• The :manual:`Compile Features <cmake-compile-features(7)>` functionality now offers meta-features that request compiler modes for specific language standard levels (e.g. cxx_std_11). See :prop_gbl:`CMAKE_C_KNOWN_FEATURES` and :prop_gbl:`CMAKE_CXX_KNOWN_FEATURES`.
• The :manual:`Compile Features <cmake-compile-features(7)>` functionality is now aware of C++ 17. No specific features are yet enumerated besides the cxx_std_17 meta-feature.
• The :manual:`Compile Features <cmake-compile-features(7)>` functionality is now aware of the availability of C99 in gcc since version 3.4.

Platforms

• A new minimal platform file for Fuchsia was added.

Generators

• The :generator:`CodeBlocks` extra generator may now be used to generate with :generator:`NMake Makefiles JOM`.
• The :ref:`Visual Studio Generators` for VS 2013 and above learned to support a host=x64 option in the :variable:`CMAKE_GENERATOR_TOOLSET` value (e.g. via the :manual:`cmake(1)` -T option) to request use of a VS 64-bit toolchain on 64-bit hosts.
• The :ref:`Visual Studio Generators` learned to treat files passed to :command:`target_link_libraries` whose names end in .targets as MSBuild "targets" files to be imported into generated project files.

Commands

• The :command:`add_custom_command` and :command:`add_custom_target` commands learned the option COMMAND_EXPAND_LISTS which causes lists in the COMMAND argument to be expanded, including lists created by generator expressions.
• The :command:`execute_process` command gained an ENCODING option to specify on Windows which encoding is used for output from child process.
• The :command:`math(EXPR)` command gained support for unary + and - operators.
• The :command:`source_group` command gained TREE and PREFIX options to add groups following source tree directory structure.
• The :command:`string(TIMESTAMP)` command learned to treat %% as a way to encode plain %.
• The :command:`string(TIMESTAMP)` command will now honor the SOURCE_DATE_EPOCH environment variable and use its value instead of the current time.
• The :command:`try_compile` command source file signature gained new options to specify the language standard to use in the generated test project.
• The :command:`try_compile` command source file signature now honors language standard variables like :variable:`CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD`. See policy :policy:`CMP0067`.

Variables

• A :variable:`CMAKE_CODELITE_USE_TARGETS` variable was added to tell the :generator:`CodeLite` extra generator to change the generated project to have target-centric organization. The build, rebuild, and clean operations within CodeLite then work on a selected target rather than the whole workspace. (Note that the :generator:`Ninja` clean operation on a target includes its dependencies, though.)
• The :variable:`CMAKE_SUBLIME_TEXT_2_ENV_SETTINGS` variable was added to tell the :generator:`Sublime Text 2` extra generator to place specified environment variables in the generated .sublime-project.
• The :variable:`CMAKE_SUBLIME_TEXT_2_EXCLUDE_BUILD_TREE` variable was added to tell the :generator:`Sublime Text 2` extra generator whether to exclude the build tree from the .sublime-project when it is inside the source tree.
• A :variable:`CMAKE_VS_INCLUDE_PACKAGE_TO_DEFAULT_BUILD` variable was added to tell :ref:`Visual Studio Generators` for VS 2010 and above to include the PACKAGE target in the default build, similar to the existing :variable:`CMAKE_VS_INCLUDE_INSTALL_TO_DEFAULT_BUILD` variable for the INSTALL target.

Properties

• A :prop_tgt:`BUILD_RPATH` target property and corresponding :variable:`CMAKE_BUILD_RPATH` variable were added to support custom RPATH locations to be added to binaries in the build tree.
• The :prop_sf:`COMPILE_FLAGS` source file property learned to support :manual:`generator expressions <cmake-generator-expressions(7)>`.
• The :prop_tgt:`FRAMEWORK` target property may now also be applied to static libraries on Apple targets. It will result in a proper Framework but with a static library inside.
• :ref:`Imported <Imported Targets>` :ref:`Interface Libraries` learned new :prop_tgt:`IMPORTED_LIBNAME` and :prop_tgt:`IMPORTED_LIBNAME_<CONFIG>` target properties to specify a link library name since interface libraries do not build their own library files.
• A :prop_tgt:`<LANG>_CPPLINT` target property and supporting :variable:`CMAKE_<LANG>_CPPLINT` variable were introduced to tell the :ref:`Makefile Generators` and the :generator:`Ninja` generator to run the cpplint style checker along with the compiler for C and CXX languages.
• A :prop_tgt:`MANUALLY_ADDED_DEPENDENCIES` target property has been added. It provides a read-only list of dependencies that have been added with the :command:`add_dependencies` command.
• The :prop_tgt:`MAP_IMPORTED_CONFIG_<CONFIG>` target property learned to interpret empty list elements as referring to the configuration-less imported location specified by :prop_tgt:`IMPORTED_LOCATION`.
• The :prop_tgt:`NO_SYSTEM_FROM_IMPORTED` target property is now supported on :ref:`Imported <Imported Targets>` :ref:`Interface Libraries`.
• New source file properties :prop_sf:`SKIP_AUTOMOC`, :prop_sf:`SKIP_AUTOUIC`, :prop_sf:`SKIP_AUTORCC`, and :prop_sf:`SKIP_AUTOGEN` were added to allow source files to be excluded from processing by :prop_tgt:`AUTOMOC`, :prop_tgt:`AUTOUIC`, and :prop_tgt:`AUTORCC` target properties.
• A :prop_sf:`VS_COPY_TO_OUT_DIR` source file property was added to tell :ref:`Visual Studio Generators` for VS 2010 and above whether or not a file should e copied to the output directory.
• A :prop_tgt:`VS_DEBUGGER_WORKING_DIRECTORY` target property was added to tell :ref:`Visual Studio Generators` for VS 2010 and above what debugger working directory should be set for the target.
• A :prop_tgt:`VS_DOTNET_REFERENCES_COPY_LOCAL` target property was added to specify whether to copy referenced assemblies to the output directory.
• A :prop_tgt:`VS_DOTNET_REFERENCE_<refname>` target property was added to tell :ref:`Visual Studio Generators` for VS 2010 and above to add a .NET reference with a given hint path.
• A :prop_sf:`VS_INCLUDE_IN_VSIX` source file property was added to tell :ref:`Visual Studio Generators` for VS 2010 and above whether to include the file in a Visual Studio extension package.
• A :prop_sf:`VS_RESOURCE_GENERATOR` source file property was added to give :ref:`Visual Studio Generators` for VS 2010 and above a setting for the resource generator (C# only).
• A :prop_tgt:`VS_USER_PROPS` target property was added to tell :ref:`Visual Studio Generators` for VS 2010 and above to use a custom MSBuild user .props file.
• A :prop_gbl:`XCODE_EMIT_EFFECTIVE_PLATFORM_NAME` global property was added to tell the :generator:`Xcode` generator whether to emit the EFFECTIVE_PLATFORM_NAME variable. This is useful when building with multiple SDKs like macosx and iphoneos in parallel.
• New :prop_tgt:`XCODE_PRODUCT_TYPE` and :prop_tgt:`XCODE_EXPLICIT_FILE_TYPE` target properties were created to tell the :generator:`Xcode` generator to use custom values of the corresponding attributes for a target in the generated Xcode project.

Modules

• A :module:`CSharpUtilities` module was added to aid parameterization of Visual Studio C# targets. It provides functions to allow automated setting of source file properties to support Windows Forms, WPF/XAML or other technologies as needed.
• The :module:`ExternalData` module learned to support multiple content links for one data file using different hashes, e.g. img.png.sha256 and img.png.sha1. This allows objects to be fetched from sources indexed by different hash algorithms.
• The :module:`ExternalProject` module gained the GIT_PROGRESS option to force Git to show progress when cloning repositories.
• The :module:`ExternalProject` module gained a GIT_CONFIG option to pass --config options to Git when cloning repositories.
• The :module:`FeatureSummary` module :command:`feature_summary` command now accepts a new QUIET_ON_EMPTY option that suppresses the output when the list of packages that belong to the selected category is empty.
• The :module:`FeatureSummary` module :command:`add_feature_info` command now accepts lists of dependencies for deciding whether a feature is enabled or not.
• The package types accepted by the :module:`FeatureSummary` module can now be tweaked by changing the :variable:`FeatureSummary_PKG_TYPES`, :variable:`FeatureSummary_REQUIRED_PKG_TYPES` and :variable:`FeatureSummary_DEFAULT_PKG_TYPE` global properties.
• The :module:`FindOpenGL` module now provides imported targets OpenGL::GL and OpenGL::GLU when the libraries are found.
• The :module:`UseSWIG` module gained a swig_add_library command to give more flexibility over the old swig_add_module command.
• The :module:`UseSWIG` module swig_add_source_to_module command learned a new SWIG_OUTFILE_DIR option to control the output file location (swig -o).
• The :module:`WriteCompilerDetectionHeader` module gained the ALLOW_UNKNOWN_COMPILERS and ALLOW_UNKNOWN_COMPILER_VERSIONS options that allow creation of headers that will work also with unknown or old compilers by simply assuming they do not support any of the requested features.

CTest

• The :command:`ctest_memcheck` command gained a DEFECT_COUNT <var> option to capture the number of memory defects detected.
• The :command:`ctest_memcheck` command learned to read the location of suppressions files for sanitizers from the :variable:`CTEST_MEMORYCHECK_SUPPRESSIONS_FILE` variable.
• The :command:`ctest_memcheck` command learned to support LeakSanitizer independently from AddressSanitizer.
• The :command:`ctest_update` command CDASH_UPLOAD signature was taught to honor the RETRY_COUNT, RETRY_DELAY, and QUIET options.

CPack

• The :module:`CPackIFWConfigureFile` module was added to define a new :command:`cpack_ifw_configure_file` command to configure file templates prepared in QtIFW/SDK/Creator style.
• The :module:`CPackIFW` module :command:`cpack_ifw_configure_component` and :command:`cpack_ifw_configure_component_group` commands gained a new DEFAULT, VIRTUAL, FORCED_INSTALLATION, REQUIRES_ADMIN_RIGHTS, DISPLAY_NAME, UPDATE_TEXT, DESCRIPTION, RELEASE_DATE, AUTO_DEPEND_ON and TRANSLATIONS options to more specific configuration.
• The :module:`CPackIFW` module :command:`cpack_ifw_configure_component` command gained a new DEPENDENCIES alias for DEPENDS option.
• The :module:`CPackIFW` module :command:`cpack_ifw_configure_component_group` command gained a new DEPENDS option. The DEPENDENCIES alias also added.
• The :module:`CPackIFW` module :command:`cpack_ifw_configure_component` and :command:`cpack_ifw_configure_component_group` commands PRIORITY option now is deprecated and will be removed in a future version of CMake. Please use new SORTING_PRIORITY option instead.
• The :cpack_gen:`CPack IFW Generator` gained new :variable:`CPACK_IFW_PACKAGE_WATERMARK`, :variable:`CPACK_IFW_PACKAGE_BANNER`, :variable:`CPACK_IFW_PACKAGE_BACKGROUND`, :variable:`CPACK_IFW_PACKAGE_WIZARD_STYLE`, :variable:`CPACK_IFW_PACKAGE_WIZARD_DEFAULT_WIDTH`, :variable:`CPACK_IFW_PACKAGE_WIZARD_DEFAULT_HEIGHT`, and :variable:`CPACK_IFW_PACKAGE_TITLE_COLOR` variables to customize a QtIFW installer look.
• The :cpack_gen:`CPack productbuild Generator` gained options to sign packages. See the variables :variable:`CPACK_PRODUCTBUILD_IDENTITY_NAME`, :variable:`CPACK_PRODUCTBUILD_KEYCHAIN_PATH`, :variable:`CPACK_PKGBUILD_IDENTITY_NAME`, and :variable:`CPACK_PKGBUILD_KEYCHAIN_PATH`.
• The :cpack_gen:`CPack RPM Generator` learned to omit tags that are not supported by provided rpmbuild tool. If unsupported tags are set they are ignored and a developer warning is printed out.
• The :cpack_gen:`CPack RPM Generator` learned to generate main component package which forces generation of a rpm for defined component without component suffix in filename and package name. See :variable:`CPACK_RPM_MAIN_COMPONENT` variable.
• The :cpack_gen:`CPack RPM Generator` learned to generate a single debuginfo package on demand even if components packaging is used. See :variable:`CPACK_RPM_DEBUGINFO_SINGLE_PACKAGE` variable.
• The :cpack_gen:`CPack RPM Generator` learned to support multiple directives per file when using :variable:`CPACK_RPM_USER_FILELIST` variable.

Other

• CMake functionality using cryptographic hashes now supports SHA-3 algorithms.
• A new generator expression $<IF:cond,true-value,false-value> was added. It resolves to the true-value if the condition is 1 and resolves to the false-value if the condition is 0.

Deprecated and Removed Features

• The :module:`FeatureSummary` module commands :command:`set_package_info`, :command:`set_feature_info`, :command:`print_enabled_features`, and :command:`print_disabled_features` are now deprecated.
• The :module:`UseSWIG` module swig_add_module command is now deprecated in favor of swig_add_library.

Other Changes

• If a command specified by the :prop_tgt:`<LANG>_CLANG_TIDY` target property returns non-zero at build time this is now treated as an error instead of silently ignored.
• The :command:`ctest_memcheck` command no longer automatically adds leak_check=1 to the options used by AddressSanitizer. The default behavior of AddressSanitizer is to run LeakSanitizer to check leaks unless leak_check=0.
• The :command:`ctest_memcheck` command was fixed to correctly append extra sanitizer options read from the :variable:`CTEST_MEMORYCHECK_SANITIZER_OPTIONS` variable to the environment variables used internally by the sanitizers.
• The :module:`FeatureSummary` module :command:`set_package_properties` command no longer forces the package type to OPTIONAL when the type is not explicitly set.
• The :manual:`Compile Features <cmake-compile-features(7)>` functionality is now aware of features supported by Intel C++ compilers versions 12.1 through 17.0 on UNIX and Windows platforms.
• Calls to the :module:`FindPkgConfig` module :command:`pkg_check_modules` command following a successful call learned to re-evaluate the cached values for a given prefix after changes to the parameters to the command for that prefix.
• When using :prop_tgt:`AUTOMOC` or :prop_tgt:`AUTOUIC`, generated moc_*, *.moc and ui_* are placed in the <CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR>/<TARGETNAME>_autogen/include directory which is automatically added to the target's :prop_tgt:`INCLUDE_DIRECTORIES`. It is therefore not necessary anymore to have :variable:`CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR` in the target's :prop_tgt:`INCLUDE_DIRECTORIES`.
• The :generator:`Sublime Text 2` generator no longer runs the native build command (e.g. ninja or make) with verbose build output enabled.
• The :command:`try_compile` command source file signature now honors the :variable:`CMAKE_WARN_DEPRECATED` variable value in the generated test project.
• The :ref:`Visual Studio Generators` for VS 2010 and above now place per-source file flags after target-wide flags when they are classified as raw flags with no project file setting (AdditionalOptions). This behavior is more consistent with the ordering of flags produced by other generators, and allows flags on more-specific properties (per-source) to override those on more general ones (per-target).
• The precompiled Windows binary MSI package provided on cmake.org now records the installation directory in the Windows Registry under the key HKLM\Software\Kitware\CMake with a value named InstallDir.