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IDProjectCategoryView StatusDate SubmittedLast Update
0012398CMakeCMakepublic2011-08-12 08:132012-03-06 08:37
Reporterfreddie 
Assigned ToDavid Cole 
PrioritynormalSeveritymajorReproducibilityalways
StatusclosedResolutionno change required 
PlatformOSOS Version
Product VersionCMake 2.8.5 
Target VersionFixed in VersionCMake 2.8.6 
Summary0012398: "IF" infamous <variable/string> functionality fails to work with macro arguments
DescriptionThere is a problem with the "IF" command when it is used directly with macro arguments. Apparently, they are not considered variables and are used directly as strings.

However, if their contents can be construed as variables themselves (even though it is not desired), we have a problem when the only way to perform the test is to create another explicit variable assigning it to what the macro argument contains.

The problem doesn't appear to pertain to functions.
Steps To ReproducePlease use the attached CMakeLists.txt file with "cmake -Wno-dev .".
Additional InformationIt would really be a good idea to create a version of if/elseif/else/endif which does NOT attempt to treat its arguments as variables, either by creating a new name for the command or, better yet, by adding a new policy (possibly not associated with a version yet).

Otherwise, when trying to compare things which might be variables but should not be treated as such for the purposes of the comparison, one runs into subtle problems (when checks "randomly" fail) or has to create a level of indirection, by setting a new variable just for that.

I am sure you've heard this all before.
TagsNo tags attached.
Attached Filestxt file icon CMakeLists.txt [^] (850 bytes) 2011-08-12 08:13 [Show Content]

 Relationships
duplicate of 0009590closedDavid Cole IF(VARIABLE) doesn't work inside Makro 

  Notes
(0027198)
David Cole (manager)
2011-08-12 10:36

You're right... we've heard it before. :-)

It would be possible to change this via a cmake policy, but I'm not sure it's worth the effort.

Think of CMake macro expansion as analogous to C preprocessor #define macro expansion. The "arguments" to:

  #define m(x, y, z) ((x) < (y)) ? (z) : 0

are not C "variables", but that does not mean that such a construct is useless...

Similarly with CMake macros: the macro arguments are not "variables" but they are still useful to eliminate duplication when used appropriately.

As you've noted functions do have "real variables" as their arguments.

Use function if you need variables. If you must use a macro, and you must have CMake variables, then you must make the CMake variables with set, as you've noted...
(0027199)
freddie (reporter)
2011-08-12 14:49

Your comparison of macro with preprocessor macros makes sense. If only it worked that way. In cmake language, ${foo} expands a variable; if ARGV0 is not a variable, then you must either substitute ARGV0 for what was specified in the parameter list for the macro, or use a different expansion {#{ARGV0}, for instance); otherwise, people who can't be called stupid will keep running into these problems.

However, the analogy stops there; FUNCTION is not equivalent to functions or methods in C/C++ in the sense that variables are automatically local to the function, and setting a variable in a different scope is problematic. If I have a directory-specific variable that I set and append to in multiple places (I'd call it namespace-specific), I can't use it here because it's hard to say how many parent-scope levels up it is. So we end up using macros.

And about IF: I am not sure about this "worth the effort" statement. This behaviour is quite unusual (I don't know of any other language that does this) and, as it turns out, extremely inconvenient; forget that, after reading the manual on IF and MACRO (and the IF epilogue) several times, I still ran into problems as described in this bug. What about making it impossible to use the macro arguments with IF completely and calling it a feature? Making it easy to work with cmake and avoid peculiar bugs is probably more important.
(0027200)
David Cole (manager)
2011-08-12 15:30

I've posted a quick note on the CMake mailing list just now to ask others to chime in with their opinions here... Thanks.
(0027204)
David Cole (manager)
2011-08-15 11:27

Me, on the mailing list:

"I'll give this another week or so here on the mailing list (and in the
bug tracker) to gather feedback.

If I don't hear anything else, I'll consider changing some
documentation to clarify the existing situation, but I don't see a
reasonable way to accommodate this feature request *and* maintain
backwards compatibility with existing real world uses of macro and if
commands."

http://www.cmake.org/pipermail/cmake/2011-August/045884.html [^]
(0027515)
David Cole (manager)
2011-10-03 11:00

After giving sufficient time for feedback, resolving as "no change required" -- learning the idiosyncracies of CMake IF and MACRO is not as easy as it could be, but it is do-able.
(0028817)
David Cole (manager)
2012-03-06 08:37

Closing resolved issues that have not been updated in more than 4 months.

 Issue History
Date Modified Username Field Change
2011-08-12 08:13 freddie New Issue
2011-08-12 08:13 freddie File Added: CMakeLists.txt
2011-08-12 10:30 David Cole Assigned To => David Cole
2011-08-12 10:30 David Cole Status new => assigned
2011-08-12 10:36 David Cole Note Added: 0027198
2011-08-12 10:36 David Cole Relationship added duplicate of 0009590
2011-08-12 10:36 David Cole Status assigned => resolved
2011-08-12 10:36 David Cole Fixed in Version => CMake 2.8.6
2011-08-12 10:36 David Cole Resolution open => duplicate
2011-08-12 14:49 freddie Note Added: 0027199
2011-08-12 14:49 freddie Status resolved => feedback
2011-08-12 14:49 freddie Resolution duplicate => reopened
2011-08-12 15:30 David Cole Note Added: 0027200
2011-08-15 11:27 David Cole Note Added: 0027204
2011-10-03 11:00 David Cole Note Added: 0027515
2011-10-03 11:00 David Cole Status feedback => resolved
2011-10-03 11:00 David Cole Resolution reopened => no change required
2012-03-06 08:37 David Cole Note Added: 0028817
2012-03-06 08:37 David Cole Status resolved => closed


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