[CMake] add_custom_target

[Mark De Wit]

Hi Cameron,

For boost integration into our cmake project, we're using this (slightly customised for our use):
https://github.com/Orphis/boost-cmake

It unzips boost into your build folder, and builds the required packages on demand (not all of boost, just the boost modules you use).  

It works well for incremental builds (doesn't rebuild unless you clear your build folder), and for clean builds the individual boost modules build fast enough to be insignificant.  I'd also point out that the build time increase is somewhat balanced out by not fetching tens of thousands files from source control...

This may help shape your thinking?   

Mark

-----Original Message-----
From: CMake [mailto:cmake-bounces at cmake.org] On Behalf Of Cameron Palmer
Sent: 02 March 2018 11:22
To: cmake at cmake.org
Subject: [CMake] add_custom_target

I’m using ExternalProject_Add to download a Git project that is a pre-requisite of my project. For the sake of the discussion I’ve wrapped OpenSSL and Boost in this manner placing tagged version of the source in my repo.

Building them isn’t really a problem, they run, take a long time compiling. The thing is, they should only compile once unless the tag changes. From the source it seems once you’ve used git you’ll always trigger the whole External Build sequence which is a pain since it is slow. So… I’ve been trying to create an external build just for the Git checkout and a second for the compilation. Which goes well enough, but I still need the glue to signal that he source is ‘dirty’ and it should recompile the project.

The glue I’m trying to use is add_custom_command and add_custom_target, but add_custom_target seems… broken if only in concept. I’ve been trying to write a file to the system with the SHA tag and only touch it when it changes, but I cannot convince the ExternalProject that builds the library to not run.

Any tips that might make this work?
-- 

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