[CMake] open source project for CMake ports?

[Bill Hoffman]

Eric Noulard wrote:
> 2009/2/16 Bill Hoffman <bill.hoffman at kitware.com>:
>> Philip Lowman wrote:
>>> A tertiary goal would be convincing the 3rd party dependencies to switch
>>> to CMake for their native build systems.
> 
> I don't really like the "propaganda" idea :-)
> 
> Particularly for Open Source projects.
> 
> Open Source is about choice and openess.
> 
Of course they would have a choice, we just want to make it an easy one.

> I don't want to contribute to a voluntary CMake conversion.
> However I'll be glad (as usual) to help anyone requesting for help with CMake.
> 
Not quite sure what you are trying to say here???

>>> Does this sound interesting?
>>>
>> I think it might be more interesting to start a campaign to push the cmake
>> files into those projects.
> 
> If someone propose the cmake files to the project it's different, it's a
> potential project contribution :-)
That is what we are talking about here.  If we had a set of cmake files 
for various projects, it would be that much easier for a project to pick 
up cmake.
> 
>> Why shouldn't jpg,tiff,zlib, and friends not ship with good cmake files.
> 
> Because may be currently they don't need it?
> 
They do, they just do not know it yet. :)  If it was easy to build those 
packages or find them prebuilt on windows and other systems except for 
Linux distros that include them, we would not be having this conversation.
>> I guess if something like what you suggest was
>> created, it might push the developers of those projects to accept the CMake
>> files to avoid the partial fork in the project...
> 
> I'm not so sure that a project woul'd be forked because its build system
> is not cmake, even if valuable cmake user do "fork" because they need
> a cmake-ified version of the project.
> 
I am pretty sure it would be a mini-fork of sorts.  There will be minor 
fixes for warnings and other issues found by using a new set of compilers.
> My 2 cents about freedom.
> 
No one is talking about taking away freedom here.  We are just talking 
about a strategy that will make it much easier to build software cross 
platform.   For any of us to devote time to this effort the potential up 
side should be worked out.  I see them as this:

1.  Provide an easy way to incorporate some common libraries into CMake 
based projects.
2.  Increase the usage and user base of CMake.
3.  If the cmake build system is accepted upstream, then that is one 
less package that this group would have to maintain.

We are talking about freedom here.  The freedom to build software with 
the compiler, OS, and tool chain of your choice.  :)

-Bill