CMake 3.17.0-rc1 is ready for testing

Announcements
1

I am proud to announce the first CMake 3.17 release candidate.
https://cmake.org/download/

Documentation is available at:
https://cmake.org/cmake/help/v3.17

Release notes appear below and are also published at
https://cmake.org/cmake/help/v3.17/release/3.17.html

Some of the more significant changes in CMake 3.17 are:

  • “cmake(1)” gained a “Ninja Multi-Config” generator, which is similar
    to the “Ninja” generator but can be used to build multiple
    configurations at once.

  • Visual Studio Generators learned to support per-config sources.
    Previously only Command-Line Build Tool Generators supported them.

  • The “Compile Features” functionality now offers meta-features for
    the CUDA language standard levels (e.g. “cuda_std_03”,
    “cuda_std_14”). See “CMAKE_CUDA_KNOWN_FEATURES”.

  • The “CMAKE_CUDA_RUNTIME_LIBRARY” variable and “CUDA_RUNTIME_LIBRARY”
    target property were introduced to select the CUDA runtime library
    used when linking targets that use CUDA.

  • The “FindCUDAToolkit” module was added to find the CUDA Toolkit
    without enabling CUDA as a language.

  • “cmake(1)” gained a “–debug-find” command-line option to enable
    additional human-readable output on where find commands search.

  • The “CMAKE_FIND_DEBUG_MODE” variable was introduced to print extra
    find call information during the cmake run to standard error. Output
    is designed for human consumption and not for parsing.

  • The “FindCURL” module learned to find CURL using the
    “CURLConfig.cmake” package configuration file generated by CURL’s
    cmake buildsystem. It also gained a new “CURL_NO_CURL_CMAKE” option
    to disable this behavior.

  • The “FindPython” module has learned to find Python components in
    active virtual environments managed by “conda”.

  • The “ctest(1)” tool gained a “–no-tests=<[error|ignore]>” option to
    explicitly set and unify the behavior between direct invocation and
    script mode if no tests were found.

  • The “ctest(1)” tool gained a “–repeat :” option to specify
    conditions in which to repeat tests. This generalizes the existing
    "–repeat-until-fail " option to add modes for “until-pass” and
    “after-timeout”.

  • Target link properties “INTERFACE_LINK_OPTIONS”,
    “INTERFACE_LINK_DIRECTORIES” and “INTERFACE_LINK_DEPENDS” are now
    transitive over private dependencies on static libraries. See policy
    “CMP0099”.

  • When using MinGW tools, the “find_library()” command no longer finds
    “.dll” files by default. Instead it expects “.dll.a” import
    libraries to be available.

  • The “Ninja” generator now prefers the first ninja build tool to
    appear in the “PATH” no matter whether it is called “ninja-build”,
    “ninja”, or “samu”. Previously the first of those names to appear
    anywhere in the “PATH” would be preferred.

  • “cmake(1)” gained a “-E rm” command-line tool that can be used to
    remove directories and files. This supersedes the existing “-E
    remove” and “-E remove_directory” tools and has better semantics.

CMake 3.17 Release Notes

Changes made since CMake 3.16 include the following.

New Features

Generators

  • “cmake(1)” gained a “Ninja Multi-Config” generator, which is similar
    to the “Ninja” generator but can be used to build multiple
    configurations at once.

  • Visual Studio Generators learned to support per-config sources.
    Previously only Command-Line Build Tool Generators supported them.

  • Visual Studio Generators for VS 2010 and above now support
    specifying the “VCTargetsPath” value for project files in
    “CMAKE_GENERATOR_TOOLSET” setting.

  • Visual Studio Generators for VS 2010 and above learned to support
    .NET Standard and .NET Core. See the “DOTNET_TARGET_FRAMEWORK”
    target property and associated “CMAKE_DOTNET_TARGET_FRAMEWORK”
    variable.

Languages

  • The “Compile Features” functionality now offers meta-features for
    the CUDA language standard levels (e.g. “cuda_std_03”,
    “cuda_std_14”). See “CMAKE_CUDA_KNOWN_FEATURES”.

Compilers

  • The IBM XL Fortran compiler is now supported by the “Ninja”
    generator.

Command-Line

  • “cmake(1)” gained a “–debug-find” command-line option to enable
    additional human-readable output on where find commands search.

  • “cmake(1)” gained a “–trace-format” command-line option that can be
    used to set the “–trace” output format. Currently, the old human
    readable and the new JSON format are supported. The new JSON format
    is easier to parse automatically, than the existing format.

  • “cmake(1)” gained a “-E rm” command-line tool that can be used to
    remove directories and files. This supersedes the existing “-E
    remove” and “-E remove_directory” tools and has better semantics.

Commands

  • The “add_custom_command()” command learned to interpret paths in
    “DEPENDS” arguments that are specified relative to the current
    binary directory.

  • The “foreach()” learned a new option “ZIP_LISTS” to iterate over
    multiple lists simultaneously.

  • The “load_cache(READ_WITH_PREFIX)” command mode is now allowed when
    using “cmake -P” to Run a Script.

  • The “message()” command learned to output context provided in the
    “CMAKE_MESSAGE_CONTEXT” variable for log levels “NOTICE” and below.
    Enable this output with the new “–log-context” command-line option
    or “CMAKE_MESSAGE_CONTEXT_SHOW” variable.

  • The “message()” command gained new keywords “CHECK_START”,
    “CHECK_PASS” and “CHECK_FAIL”.

  • “target_compile_options()” command now honors the “BEFORE” keyword
    more consistently. See policy “CMP0101”.

  • The “FindCUDAToolkit” module was added to find the CUDA Toolkit
    without enabling CUDA as a language.

Variables

  • A “CMAKE_CTEST_ARGUMENTS” variable was added to specify a list of
    command-line arguments passed to CTest when running through the
    “test” (or “RUN_TESTS”) target of the generated build system.

  • The following variables are now defined inside a “function()”:

    • “CMAKE_CURRENT_FUNCTION”

    • “CMAKE_CURRENT_FUNCTION_LIST_DIR”

    • “CMAKE_CURRENT_FUNCTION_LIST_FILE”

    • “CMAKE_CURRENT_FUNCTION_LIST_LINE”

  • The “CMAKE_CUDA_RUNTIME_LIBRARY” variable and “CUDA_RUNTIME_LIBRARY”
    target property were introduced to select the CUDA runtime library
    used when linking targets that use CUDA.

  • The “CMAKE_FIND_DEBUG_MODE” variable was introduced to print extra
    find call information during the cmake run to standard error. Output
    is designed for human consumption and not for parsing.

  • The “CMAKE_EXPORT_COMPILE_COMMANDS” variable now takes its initial
    value from the “CMAKE_EXPORT_COMPILE_COMMANDS” environment variable
    if no explicit configuration is given.

  • The “CMAKE_COMPILER_LAUNCHER" variable, if not set
    explicitly, now takes its initial value from the
    "CMAKE    _COMPILER_LAUNCHER” environment variable.

  • The “CMAKE_MESSAGE_LOG_LEVEL” variable can now be used to persist a
    log level between CMake runs, unlike the “–log-level” command line
    option which only applies to that particular run.

  • The “CMAKE_XCODE_SCHEME_ENVIRONMENT” variable and
    “XCODE_SCHEME_ENVIRONMENT” target property were added to tell the
    “Xcode” generator to set the value of the “Custom Working Directory”
    schema option.

Properties

  • The “AIX_EXPORT_ALL_SYMBOLS” target property and associated
    “CMAKE_AIX_EXPORT_ALL_SYMBOLS” variable were created to optionally
    explicitly disbale automatic export of symbols from shared libraries
    on AIX.

  • The “DEPRECATION” target property was added to mark a target as
    deprecated. If a linked target is marked as deprecated, a warning
    with the deprecation message is issued at generate time.

  • The “INSTALL_NAME_DIR” target property now supports “generator
    expressions”. In particular, the “$<INSTALL_PREFIX>” generator
    expression can be used to set the directory relative to the install-
    time prefix.

  • Target properties “OSX_COMPATIBILITY_VERSION” and
    “OSX_CURRENT_VERSION” were added to set the “compatibility_version”
    and “curent_version” respectively on macOS. For backwards
    compatibility, if these properties are not set, “SOVERSION” and
    “VERSION” are used respectively as fallbacks.

  • The “VS_DOTNET_DOCUMENTATION_FILE” target property was added to tell
    Visual Studio Generators to generate a “DocumentationFile” reference
    in “.csproj” files.

Modules

  • The “ExternalProject” module “ExternalProject_Add()” command gained
    a “GIT_SUBMODULES_RECURSE” option to specify whether Git submodules
    should be updated recursively. The default is on to preserve
    existing behavior.

  • The “FindCUDAToolkit” module was added to find the CUDA Toolkit
    without enabling CUDA as a language.

  • The “FindCURL” module learned to find CURL using the
    “CURLConfig.cmake” package configuration file generated by CURL’s
    cmake buildsystem. It also gained a new “CURL_NO_CURL_CMAKE” option
    to disable this behavior.

  • The “FindFLEX” module’s “FLEX_TARGET” command now runs “flex” with
    “CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR” as the working directory. See policy
    “CMP0098”.

  • The “FindLibArchive” module now provides an imported target for
    libarchive.

  • The “FindPython” module has learned to find Python components in
    active virtual environments managed by “conda”.

  • The “FindPython3” and “FindPython” modules gained, respectively,
    variable “Python3_SOABI” and “Python_SOABI” giving the standard
    extension suffix for modules.

  • The “FindLibXml2” module now provides an imported target for the
    “xmllint” executable

Autogen

  • “AUTOMOC” and “AUTOUIC” learned to process headers with a “.hh”
    extension. See policy “CMP0100”.

CTest

  • The “CTEST_CONFIGURATION_TYPE” variable is now set from the command
    line when “ctest(1)” is invoked with "-C ".

  • The “ctest(1)” gained support for Dr. Memory to run memcheck runs.

  • The “ctest(1)” tool gained a “–no-tests=<[error|ignore]>” option to
    explicitly set and unify the behavior between direct invocation and
    script mode if no tests were found.

  • The “ctest(1)” tool gained a “–repeat :” option to specify
    conditions in which to repeat tests. This generalizes the existing
    "–repeat-until-fail " option to add modes for “until-pass” and
    “after-timeout”.

  • The “ctest_test()” command gained a “REPEAT :” option to
    specify conditions in which to repeat tests.

CPack

  • The “CPack DragNDrop Generator” learned to use the
    “CPACK_DMG__FILE_NAME” variable to set a custom filename
    when packaging components into their own DMGs.

  • The “CPack DragNDrop Generator” learned to handle RTF formatted
    license files. When “CPACK_DMG_SLA_DIR” variable is set,
    “.license.rtf” is considered, but only as a fallback when
    the plaintext (".txt") file is not found in order to maintain
    backwards compatibility.

  • The “CPack NSIS Generator” gained a new variable
    “CPACK_NSIS_MUI_HEADERIMAGE” to set the header image. To not break
    existing setups, it still defaults to “CPACK_PACKAGE_ICON” if the
    new variable is not set.

  • The “CPack NSIS Generator” now supports “CPACK_NSIS_UNINSTALL_NAME”.
    This can be used to specify the name of the Uninstall program.

  • The “CPack NSIS Generator” now supports “CPACK_NSIS_WELCOME_TITLE”
    and “CPACK_NSIS_WELCOME_TITLE_3LINES”. These can be used to specify
    the welcome page title and display it in 3 lines.

  • The “CPack NSIS Generator” now supports “CPACK_NSIS_FINISH_TITLE”
    and “CPACK_NSIS_FINISH_TITLE_3LINES”. These can be used to specify
    the finish page title and display it in 3 lines.

  • The “CPack productbuild Generator” gained option
    “CPACK_PRODUCTBUILD_BACKGROUND” to specify a background image for
    the macOS installer.

Other

  • “ccmake(1)” now displays cache values using colors based on the
    entry type if the terminal supports color.

  • “ccmake(1)” now displays messages and a progress bar during
    configure and generate. It will keep the output displayed if any
    errors or warnings occurred.

Deprecated and Removed Features

  • An explicit deprecation diagnostic was added for policy “CMP0068”
    and policy “CMP0069” (“CMP0067” and below were already deprecated).
    The “cmake-policies(7)” manual explains that the OLD behaviors of
    all policies are deprecated and that projects should port to the NEW
    behaviors.

  • The “CPack PackageMaker Generator” generator has been deprecated
    because Xcode no longer distributes the PackageMaker tools. The
    undocumented “OSXX11” generator has also been deprecated.

  • The “cmake(1)” command-line “-E remove” and “-E remove_directory”
    tools are deprecated in favor of the new “-E rm” tool. The older
    tools always returned 0 if a named path did not exist even without
    the force option and cannot be fixed without breaking compatibility,
    and so have been superseded.

Other Changes

  • The “file API” index file now emits a “multiConfig” flag specifying
    whether or not the generator supports multiple output
    configurations.

  • Target link properties “INTERFACE_LINK_OPTIONS”,
    “INTERFACE_LINK_DIRECTORIES” and “INTERFACE_LINK_DEPENDS” are now
    transitive over private dependencies on static libraries. See policy
    “CMP0099”.

  • When using MinGW tools, the “find_library()” command no longer finds
    “.dll” files by default. Instead it expects “.dll.a” import
    libraries to be available.

  • The “MinGW Makefiles” generator no longer issues an error if
    “sh.exe” is present in the environment’s “PATH”.

  • The “Ninja” generator now prefers the first ninja build tool to
    appear in the “PATH” no matter whether it is called “ninja-build”,
    “ninja”, or “samu”. Previously the first of those names to appear
    anywhere in the “PATH” would be preferred.

  • With SDCC the “sdar” tool is now preferred over “sdcclib” as
    librarian. The latter was deprecated by SDCC 3.2.0 and removed in
    SDCC 3.8.6.

  • With SDCC the default flags no longer include any target-specific
    flags. Previously the default flags were hard-coded for 8051.

  • The “CMAKE_VS_GLOBALS” variable value now applies during compiler
    identification and in targets created by the “add_custom_target()”
    command.

  • The “Xcode” generator no longer hard-codes “-Wmost”, “-Wno-four-
    char-constants”, and “-Wno-unknown-pragmas” warning flags.