[CMake] transitive linking topics

[Alan W. Irwin]

On 2011-11-23 10:44+0100 Michael Wild wrote:

> On 11/23/2011 10:25 AM, Alan W. Irwin wrote:
>> cmake-2.8.6 has the following documentation of the
>> LINK_INTERFACE_LIBRARIES property for targets:
>>
>>   LINK_INTERFACE_LIBRARIES
>>        List public interface libraries for a shared library or executable.
>>
>>        By default linking to a shared library target transitively links to
>>        targets with which the library itself was linked.  For an executable
>>        with exports (see the ENABLE_EXPORTS property) no default transitive
>>        link dependencies are used.  This property replaces the default
>>        transitive link dependencies with an explicit list.  When the target
>>        is linked into another target the libraries listed (and recursively
>>        their link interface libraries) will be provided to the other target
>>        also.  If the list is empty then no transitive link dependencies
>> will
>>        be incorporated when this target is linked into another target
>> even if
>>        the default set is non-empty.  This property is ignored for STATIC
>>        libraries.
>>
>> I believe the reference to executables above is just plain
>> wrong/misleading.  For example, the FAQ states that
>> LINK_INTERFACE_LIBRARIES simply lists "the libraries that should be
>> transitively included in the link by CMake" with the clear implication
>> (also confirmed by experiment below) that this target property affects
>> _everything that links to the target whose property is being set_.
>> But nothing links to an executable so why are executables mentioned at
>> all?
>
> That's not true. See the ENABLE_EXPORTS target property.

Oops.  You are right.  I had never ever heard of applications
exporting symbols before.  Live and learn.

Alan

__________________________
Alan W. Irwin

Astronomical research affiliation with Department of Physics and Astronomy,
University of Victoria (astrowww.phys.uvic.ca).

Programming affiliations with the FreeEOS equation-of-state
implementation for stellar interiors (freeeos.sf.net); the Time
Ephemerides project (timeephem.sf.net); PLplot scientific plotting
software package (plplot.sf.net); the libLASi project
(unifont.org/lasi); the Loads of Linux Links project (loll.sf.net);
and the Linux Brochure Project (lbproject.sf.net).
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