CMake, to compile easy!

Why to lose time to shape CMake instead using the old beloved compilation method, exactly Make? For two reasons: CMake is easier to use and is cross-platform, that is works on Linux, Windows, OS X, beyond that on Solaris, FreeBSD etc…

CMake can exactly generate Makefile for all these platforms, and, at the same time, rows of plan using KDevelop (KDE Integrated Development Environment), XCode (Mac OS X) and MS Visual Study (Windows).

This renders that it easy to use is the fact that not nozzle the compilation on behalf own, but it is limited to generate the rows demands in order to compile the code, and this that renders it portabile, is its ability to use practically any system of compilation wants to employ. The rows from which CMake it receives the instructions, practically what the sviluppatori must insert in the folder of the code source, is CMakeLists.txt and regarding Makefile.am it introduces some advantages: It is less complex (demands the name of the rows once single, with the exception of Makefile where there are three various voices for single rows), faster, the error messages supply better indications for the correction of same, the lightest one.
We make an example. We create a eseguibile called “helloworld” (or “helloworld.exe” on Windows) from the rows source main.cpp:
add_executable (helloworld main.cpp)
We put these rows within directory the source and type:
cmake <path_to_the_source_dir>

It marks it near: