[cmake-developers] Ninja generator on Windows

[Nicolas Desprès]

On Tue, Jan 31, 2012 at 10:32 PM, Peter Kümmel <syntheticpp at gmx.net> wrote:
> On 31.01.2012 16:19, Peter Collingbourne wrote:
>>
>> On Tue, Jan 31, 2012 at 12:15:59AM +0100, Peter Kümmel wrote:
>>>
>>> I played a bit with the Ninja generator on Windows,
>>> and added some hacks to make it a bit running:
>>>
>>>
>>> https://github.com/syntheticpp/CMake/commit/0a55b61271106eb7c3319340f2c54f6bab3c0f8b
>>>
>>> Here are the problems I found so far:
>>>
>>> - Paths like 'c:\' - Ninja now supports colon escaping "c:" ->  "c$:"
>>>   Is there a single place where the escaping could be done?
>>
>>
>> ':' only needs to be escaped in identifiers.  So
>> cmGlobalNinjaGenerator::EncodeIdent is the correct place.
>
>
> Also the colons in drive names must be "escaped". For instance,
> when you wanna configure ninja to build the tests with gtest
> at C:\gtest-1.6.0, you have to call
>
>     python configure.py --with-gtest=c$:\gtest-1.6.0
>
> this generates the rule:
>
> build $builddir\gtest_main.o: cxx $
>     c$:\gtest-1.6.0\src/gtest_main.cc
>
> Without the $: the build script does not work.
>
>
>>
>> I don't think your changes to that function are correct though.
>
>
> Yes, it was only a wild guess where I could escape the colon in paths.
>
>
>
>> The old code would have correctly "escaped" colons by placing them in a
>> variable -- perhaps it could be made smarter by doing the replacement
>> if the only non-identifier character in the string is ':' (or ' '
>> or some other ident-escapable characters).
>
>
> So there is no pace where we know the string is a path and where we
> can prepare it for the script?
>
>
>
>>
>>> - Finding the msvc compiler fails because TARGET_IMPLIB is empty
>>>   and to the linker /implib: is passed without an argument.
>>>   Why is TARGET_IMPLIB empty?
>>
>>
>> Probably because cmLocalGenerator::TargetImplib is not being
>> set.  Look at how the makefile generator does it.
>>
>
> Do you think much win32 stuff is missing? I ask, because you've based
> the ninja generator on a Makefile generator, or I'm wrong?
>

Yes, it is mostly inspired by the "Unix Makefiles" generator. But it
also takes a bit from the Visual Studio generators as CMake
maintainers advised me at the beginning of the project. Since Peter
works is based on mine I think my remark is still up to date.

>
>
>>> - Some targets have the .exe extension, but the rule misses the .exe.
>>
>>
>> Can you show an example of what you mean?  The generator should be
>> using cmTarget::GetFullPath to build paths to targets which seems
>> to append CMAKE_EXECUTABLE_SUFFIX (i.e. ".exe" on Windows) where
>> necessary.
>
>
> Is was a bug in my CMakeLists.txt because MSVC_IDE was set, even when I use
> the Ninja generator.
>
> Currently I use "CMAKE_GENERATOR STREQUAL Ninja" the check for the ninja
> generator.
> Is there a simpler way? Couldn't we set NINJA or CMAKE_NINJA?
>
>
>
>>
>>> - When&&  is used for calling multiple command a 'cmd.exe /c' call is
>>> necessary.
>>
>>
>> Correct.  That will need to be prepended in
>> cmLocalNinjaGenerator::BuildCommandLine if the vector contains more
>> than one command.
>
>
> When there are no PRE and POST steps the cmd and && could be dropped
> completely
> (also the "cd ." nop, which I've used instead of ":")
>
>
> Peter
>
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-- 
Nicolas Desprès