I am proud to announce the first CMake 3.25 release candidate.
https://cmake.org/download/
Documentation is available at:
https://cmake.org/cmake/help/v3.25
Release notes appear below and are also published at
https://cmake.org/cmake/help/v3.25/release/3.25.html
Some of the more significant changes in CMake 3.25 are:
-
The “find_file()”, “find_path()”, “find_library()”, and
“find_program()” commands gained a “VALIDATOR” option to specify a
function to be called for each candidate item to validate it. -
The “try_compile()” and “try_run()” commands gained new signatures
that more consistently use keyword dispatch and do not require a
binary directory to be specified. Additionally, these signatures
use a unique directory for each invocation, which allows multiple
outputs to be preserved when using “cmake --debug-trycompile”. -
The “add_subdirectory()” command gained a “SYSTEM” option to enable
the “SYSTEM” directory property in the subdirectory. -
The “block()” and “endblock()” commands were added to manage
specific scopes (policy or variable) for a contained block of
commands. -
The “return()” command gained a “PROPAGATE” option to propagate
variables to the scope to which control returns. See policy
“CMP0140”. -
The “BSD” and “CMAKE_HOST_BSD” variables are now set to a string
value when the target or host system is BSD, respectively. -
The “LINUX” and “CMAKE_HOST_LINUX” variables are now set to true
when the target or host system is Linux, respectively. -
The “CMAKE_MSVC_DEBUG_INFORMATION_FORMAT” variable and
“MSVC_DEBUG_INFORMATION_FORMAT” target property were introduced to
select the debug information format for compilers targeting the MSVC
ABI. See policy “CMP0141”.
CMake 3.25 Release Notes
Changes made since CMake 3.24 include the following.
New Features
Presets
-
The “cmake-presets(7)” schema version has been bumped to “6”.
-
The “cmake-presets(7)” format now supports a “packagePresets” field
to specify presets for “cpack --preset”. -
The “cmake-presets(7)” format now supports a “workflowPresets” field
to specify presets for “cmake --workflow”.
Languages
-
The “Compile Features” functionality is now aware of C++26, and
defines a “cxx_std_26” meta-feature. C++26 compiler modes may also
be specified via the “CXX_STANDARD”, “CUDA_STANDARD”,
“HIP_STANDARD”, or “OBJCXX_STANDARD” target properties. -
“CUDA” language support now includes device link-time optimization
when using “nvcc”. The “CMAKE_INTERPROCEDURAL_OPTIMIZATION”
variable and the associated “INTERPROCEDURAL_OPTIMIZATION” target
property will activate device LTO.
Command-Line
-
A “cmake --workflow --preset” mode was added to drive sequences of
configure, build, test, and package operations through a single
command. -
The “cmake -E capabilities” command gained a new “tls” field that
tells whether or not TLS is enabled. -
The “cmake -E env” command-line tool gained a “–modify” flag to
support “ENVIRONMENT_MODIFICATION” operations. -
The “cmake --debug-trycompile” option now prints log messages
reporting the directory in which each try-compile check is done.
Compilers
- Support for the Tasking compiler toolsets (SmartCode, TriCore,
Standalone: ARM, MCS, 8051) was added with compiler id “Tasking”.
See the “CMAKE_TASKING_TOOLSET” variable.
Commands
-
The “add_subdirectory()” command gained a “SYSTEM” option to enable
the “SYSTEM” directory property in the subdirectory. -
The “block()” and “endblock()” commands were added to manage
specific scopes (policy or variable) for a contained block of
commands. -
The “cmake_language()” command gained a new “GET_MESSAGE_LOG_LEVEL”
sub-command. It can be used to query the current message logging
level. -
The “find_file()”, “find_path()”, “find_library()”, and
“find_program()” commands gained a “VALIDATOR” option to specify a
function to be called for each candidate item to validate it. -
The “find_package()” command now considers paths of the form
“//(cmake|CMake)//” when searching for package
configuration files. -
The “return()” command gained a “PROPAGATE” option to propagate
variables to the scope to which control returns. See policy
“CMP0140”. -
The “try_compile()” and “try_run()” commands gained new signatures
that more consistently use keyword dispatch and do not require a
binary directory to be specified. Additionally, these signatures
use a unique directory for each invocation, which allows multiple
outputs to be preserved when using “cmake --debug-trycompile”. -
The “try_compile()” and “try_run()” commands gained the option
“NO_CACHE” to store results in normal variables. -
The “try_run()” command gained “RUN_OUTPUT_STDOUT_VARIABLE” and
“RUN_OUTPUT_STDERR_VARIABLE” options to capture stdout and stderr
separately from the output of the compiled program.
Variables
-
The “BSD” and “CMAKE_HOST_BSD” variables are now set to a string
value when the target or host system is BSD, respectively. -
The “LINUX” and “CMAKE_HOST_LINUX” variables are now set to true
when the target or host system is Linux, respectively. -
The “CMAKE_MSVC_DEBUG_INFORMATION_FORMAT” variable and
“MSVC_DEBUG_INFORMATION_FORMAT” target property were introduced to
select the debug information format for compilers targeting the MSVC
ABI. See policy “CMP0141”. -
The “CMAKE_XCODE_SCHEME_ENABLE_GPU_API_VALIDATION” variable and
corresponding “XCODE_SCHEME_ENABLE_GPU_API_VALIDATION” target
property were added to tell the “Xcode” generator what to put in the
scheme’s “Metal: API Validation” setting. -
The “CMAKE_XCODE_SCHEME_ENABLE_GPU_SHADER_VALIDATION” variable and
corresponding “XCODE_SCHEME_ENABLE_GPU_SHADER_VALIDATION” target
property were added to tell the “Xcode” generator what to put in the
scheme’s “Metal: Shader Validation” setting. -
The “CMAKE_XCODE_SCHEME_LAUNCH_MODE” variable and corresponding
“XCODE_SCHEME_LAUNCH_MODE” target property were added to tell the
“Xcode” generator what to put in the scheme’s “Launch” mode setting. -
The “CMAKE_XCODE_SCHEME_LAUNCH_CONFIGURATION” variable and
corresponding “XCODE_SCHEME_LAUNCH_CONFIGURATION” target property
were added to tell the “Xcode” generator what configuration to put
in the scheme’s Launch action.
Properties
-
The “_COMPILER_LAUNCHER” target property now supports
“generator expressions”. -
The “EXPORT_NO_SYSTEM” target property was added to specify that
“install(EXPORT)” and “export()” commands will generate an imported
target with “SYSTEM” property “OFF”. -
The “SYSTEM” target property was added to specify whether a target
should be treated as a system library (i.e. its include directories
are automatically “SYSTEM” when compiling consumers). If not set,
the default is the previous behavior: on for imported targets and
off for other targets. -
The “SYSTEM” directory property was added to initialize the “SYSTEM”
target property for targets created in that directory.
Modules
-
The “FetchContent” module “FetchContent_Declare()” command gained a
“SYSTEM” option to enable the “SYSTEM” directory property in the
subdirectory. -
The “FindCUDAToolkit” module now provides a target for nvtx3 for
CUDA 10.0+, which supersedes nvToolsExt. A deprecation warning is
emitted when using “nvToolsExt” if the project requires CMake 3.25
and CUDA 10.0+ is used. -
The “FindDoxygen” module’s version handling has been improved:
-
Multiple candidate installations will now be considered, if
needed, to satisfy version constraints. Previously, only the
first one encountered would be considered. -
Version ranges are supported.
-
Variations in the version format reported by Doxygen are now
tolerated (e.g. a trailing git commit hash).
-
-
The “FindOpenAL” module now provides an imported target.
-
The “FindOpenSP” module was added to find the OpenSP library.
-
The “FindVulkan” module gained support for new components:
“dxc”
DirectX Shader Compiler.“volk”
Volk open-source vulkan meta-loader.
CPack
-
The “CPack Archive Generator” gained a new
“CPACK_ARCHIVE_FILE_EXTENSION” variable to control the package file
name extension. -
The “CPack NSIS Generator” gained two new variables
“CPACK_NSIS_EXECUTABLE_PRE_ARGUMENTS” and
“CPACK_NSIS_EXECUTABLE_POST_ARGUMENTS” to provide arguments to the
nsis executable invocation. -
The “CPack” module gained the “CPACK_READELF_EXECUTABLE”,
“CPACK_OBJCOPY_EXECUTABLE”, and “CPACK_OBJDUMP_EXECUTABLE” variables
to control the locations of binutils used by “cpack(1)”.
Deprecated and Removed Features
-
The “IMPORTED_NO_SYSTEM” target property has been deprecated in
favor of “SYSTEM” and “EXPORT_NO_SYSTEM”. -
The “Visual Studio 10 2010” generator has been removed.
-
The “Visual Studio 11 2012” generator is now deprecated and will be
removed in a future version of CMake.
Other Changes
-
On Windows, when targeting the MSVC ABI, the “find_library()”
command now accepts “.a” file names after first considering “.lib”.
This is symmetric with existing behavior when targeting the GNU ABI,
in which the command accepts “.lib” file names after first
considering “.a”. -
The “SSL_CERT_FILE” and “SSL_CERT_DIR” environment variables can now
be used to override where to find certificate authorities for
TLS/SSL operations. -
If “_CLANG_TIDY” includes a “-p” argument, the full compiler
command line is no longer appended after “–”. -
The “Xcode” generator no longer adds the per-config suffix
“$(CONFIGURATION)$(EFFECTIVE_PLATFORM_NAME)” to library search
paths. See policy “CMP0142”.