[CMake] cmake -E create_symlink for Windows

[Michael Wild]

On 11. Dec, 2009, at 14:27 , Marcel Loose wrote:

> Hi all,
> 
> I was browsing the CMake sources for a problem I was facing with the
> creation of symlinks (on Unix that is) and I noticed that the
> SystemTools::CreateSymlink function simply returns false when building
> on a Windows platform. 
> 
> Does that mean that I cannot use 'cmake -E create_symlink' on Windows.
> If that's the case I consider it a bug, because the documentation
> suggests that 'cmake -E create_symlink' provides a platform independent
> way of creating symbolic links. So, if the OS and/or filesystem does not
> support symbolic links, IMHO, it should just copy the file.
> 
> Best regards,
> Marcel Loose.
> 

Simply copying the file might be just as bad if people assume it really IS a symlink... IMHO, if the OS can't create a symlink, cmake -E create_symlink should fail loudly, not just silently ignore it. And somebody should implement this function for Windows >= Vista/2008 (i.e. WINVER >= 0x0600):

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa363866(VS.85).aspx

Michael