[CMake] Using find_package() portably?

[Johannes Zarl-Zierl]

Hi,

I thought you might want some context for the suggestions:

On Dienstag, 21. November 2017 11:45:43 CET Konstantin Tokarev wrote:
> 1) add instruction how to install dependencies

This is what many/most projects do, and it works reasonably well.
Advantages:
 - You don't clutter your project with dependencies
 - People on each platform already know how to install dependencies
 - You don't complicate things for package maintainers
Disadvantages:
 - No automatic dependency resolution

> 2) use hand-made script or more complex solution to automate dependency
> installation, or 

Hand-made scripts are often a maintenance nightmare and hard to get right for 
all platforms. The One True Way(TM) would be a so-called "super-build", i.e. a 
CMake project that uses external_project() to build your project along with 
its dependencies.

> 3) avoid using find_package() st all

That's the first time I've heard that suggestion. I'm not sure if this will 
ease your pain ;-)

4) Shipping the dependency with your project (not using external_project)
This can sometimes be useful, but you should carefully consider the 
implications beforehand to see if it's worth it for your project. As a rule of 
thumb: don't do this if the dependency is readily available and/or big.

Cheers,
  Johannes