CMakePreset : include behavior

Usage
1

I have a project with a hierarchy of CMakePresets.json files:

- root
 - CMakePresets.json 
 - child1
    - CMakePresets.json 
    - child2
       - CMakePresets.json

The contents are roughly

root/CMakePresets.json

{
  "cmakeMinimumRequired": {
    "major": 3,
    "minor": 26,
    "patch": 4
  },
  "version": 6,
  "configurePresets": [
    {
      "name": "cc-ninja",
      "displayName": "Ninja Debug",
      "generator": "Ninja",
      "binaryDir": "build/ninja-debug-mingw",
      "cacheVariables": {
        "CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE": "Debug"
      },
      "warnings": {
        "dev": true,
        "deprecated": true
      },
      "debug": {
        "output": true
      },
      "vendor": {
        "jetbrains.com/clion": {
          "toolchain": "MinGW"
        }
      }
    }
  ],
  "include": [
    "./child1/CMakePresets.json"
  ],
  "buildPresets": [
    {
      "name": "base",
      "hidden": true,
      "configurePreset": "cc-ninja",
      "configuration": "Debug"
    },
    {
      "name": "cb-cmake",
      "inherits": "base",
      "inheritConfigureEnvironment": false,
      "targets": []
    }
  ],
  "workflowPresets": [
   {
      "name": "cw-general-stub",
      "steps": [
        {
          "type": "configure",
          "name": "cc-ninja"
        },
        {
          "type": "build",
          "name": "cb-cmake"
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

root/child1/CMakePresets.json

{
  "version": 6,
  "include": [
    "./child2/CMakePresets.json"
  ]
}

root/child1/child2/CMakePresets.json

{
  "version": 6,
  "buildPresets": [
    {
      "name": "cb-G-iface-algorithm",
      "configurePreset": "cc-ninja",
      "configuration": "Debug",
      "inheritConfigureEnvironment": false,
      "targets": [  ]
    }
  ]
}

I get the following error:

> C:\Users\feisele\Desktop\CMake\build\vs\bin\Debug\cmake.exe  --workflow --preset cw-general-stub
CMake Error: Could not read presets from C:/Users/feisele/Desktop/cts-3.x:
Configure preset "cb-G-iface-algorithm" is unreachable from preset's file

(I presume the error message is a bit off?)

Is “cb-G-iface-algorithm” not able to discover “cc-ninja”?
If so, why not?
How can I fix it?

2

I looked into this a bit more and it may be a bug.

In Source/cmCMakePresetsGraph.cxx you can find the following code:

    if (!it.second.Unexpanded.OriginFile->ReachableFiles.count(
          configurePreset->second.Unexpanded.OriginFile)) {
      cmCMakePresetErrors::CONFIGURE_PRESET_UNREACHABLE_FROM_FILE(
        it.first, &this->parseState);
      return false;
    }

This seems wrong.
Here is some code to illustrate my point.

    auto foo = it.second.Unexpanded.OriginFile;
    auto bar = configurePreset->second.Unexpanded.OriginFile;
    auto counter1 = foo->ReachableFiles.count(bar);
    auto counter2 = bar->ReachableFiles.count(foo);
    if (!counter2) {
      cmCMakePresetErrors::CONFIGURE_PRESET_UNREACHABLE_FROM_FILE(
        it.first, &this->parseState);
      return false;
    }

Specifically, the configurePreset->second.Unexpanded.OriginFile has many (in my case 73) reachable files; while the it.second.Unexpanded.OriginFile only has one reachable file (itself).

I suspect what was intended was…

    if (!configurePreset->second.Unexpanded.OriginFile->ReachableFiles.count(
          it.second.Unexpanded.OriginFile)) {
      cmCMakePresetErrors::CONFIGURE_PRESET_UNREACHABLE_FROM_FILE(
        it.first, &this->parseState);
      return false;
    }

That being said, I think the error message should report both the preset and the configurePreset; currently only the current preset is included.

This fragment is repeated for build, test, and package presets.

ref: commit showing debugging information

3

The cmake-presets(7) says…

If a preset file contains presets that inherit from presets in another file,
the file must include the other file either directly or indirectly.
Include cycles are not allowed among files. If a.json includes
b.json, b.json cannot include a.json. However, a file may be
included multiple times from the same file or from different files.

This preceding text has some pronoun problems.

The following attempts to correct those problems.

If a preset file, b.json, contains presets that inherits from (also configurePreset, workflowPresets:steps:name, …) presets in another file, a.json;
then, the file a.json, must either directly or indirectly include the file b.json.
(indirectly implying that there are intermediate inclusions, e.g., a.json includes c.json
in turn includes b.json.)
Include cycles are not allowed among files. If a.json includes
b.json, b.json cannot include a.json. However, a file may be
included multiple times from the same file or from different files.

Is this correct?

It appears that indirectly may be broader than what is described above.
It may include any included file not just those toward the root.

4

I introduced a CMakeUserPresets.json which uses the configure preset from CMakePresets.json.
This assumes that CMakePresets.json implicitly includes CMakeUserPresets.json.
With my patch an error is produced stating that the configurePreset cannot be found.
This leads me to believe that the CMakeUserPresets.json implicitly includes CMakePresets.json, this is opposite my expectation.

5

CMakeUserPresets.json implicitly includes CMakePresets.json. This is explicitly stated in the documentation:

If CMakePresets.json and CMakeUserPresets.json are both present, CMakeUserPresets.json implicitly includes CMakePresets.json, even with no include field, in all versions of the format.

6

Right, I had seen that.
I am not sure it gives the intended behavior.

I will update my original description to include CMakeUserPresets.json

Terms:
Suppose a includes b and b includes c. [a → b → c]

  • ancestor : a and b are ancestors of c, a is an ancestor of b.
  • descendant: b and c are descendants of c, c is an descendant of b.

The if b contains a configure preset, ‘bc’, should it be visible to a build preset, ‘ab’, in a?
I think the answer should be no, but in order to support the documented implementation I think it must be yes.

- root
 - CMakePresets.json 
 - CMakeUserPresets.json 
 - child1
    - CMakePresets.json 
    - child2
       - CMakePresets.json

CMakeUserPresets.json

{
  "version": 6,
  "include": [
    "./child1/CMakePresets.json"
  ],
  "buildPresets": [
    {
      "name": "cb-foo",
      "inherits": "base",
      "inheritConfigureEnvironment": false,
      "targets": [ "ALL" ]
    }
  ]
}
7

The answer is yes, and that is the intended behavior. When one preset points to another, either through inheritance or as a build/test/package preset associated with a configure preset, the file containing the build/test/package preset must include the file containing the configure preset.

8

Got it.
Then the issue can be closed.
I will see if I can rewrite my example in the style you outlined.
This will take a moment.

9 
- root
 - CMakePresets.json 
 - CMakeUserPresets.json 
 - commonConfigPresets.json
 - child1
    - CMakePresets.json 
    - child2
       - CMakePresets.json

root/CMakeUserPresets.json

{
  "version": 6,
  "buildPresets": [
    {
      "name": "cb-foo",
      "inherits": "base",
      "inheritConfigureEnvironment": false,
      "targets": [ "ALL" ]
    }
  ]
}

root/CMakePresets.json

{
  "cmakeMinimumRequired": {
    "major": 3,
    "minor": 26,
    "patch": 4
  },
  "version": 6,
  "include": [
    "./commonConfigPresets.json"
  ],
  "buildPresets": [
    {
      "name": "base",
      "hidden": true,
      "configurePreset": "cc-ninja",
      "configuration": "Debug"
    },
    {
      "name": "cb-cmake",
      "inherits": "base",
      "inheritConfigureEnvironment": false,
      "targets": []
    }
  ],
  "workflowPresets": [
   {
      "name": "cw-general-stub",
      "steps": [
        {
          "type": "configure",
          "name": "cc-ninja"
        },
        {
          "type": "build",
          "name": "cb-cmake"
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

“./commonConfigPresets.json”

{
  "version": 6,
  "configurePresets": [
    {
      "name": "cc-ninja",
      "displayName": "Ninja Debug",
      "generator": "Ninja",
      "binaryDir": "build/ninja-debug-mingw",
      "cacheVariables": {
        "CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE": "Debug"
      },
      "warnings": {
        "dev": true,
        "deprecated": true
      },
      "debug": {
        "output": true
      }
    }
  ]
}

root/child1/CMakePresets.json

{
  "version": 6,
  "include": [
    "./child2/CMakePresets.json"
  ]
}

root/child1/child2/CMakePresets.json

{
  "version": 6,
  "include": [
    "../../commonConfigPresets.json"
  ],
  "buildPresets": [
    {
      "name": "cb-G-iface-algorithm",
      "configurePreset": "cc-ninja",
      "configuration": "Debug",
      "inheritConfigureEnvironment": false,
      "targets": [ SOME1 SOME2 ]
    }
  ]
}

Does that look right?

If so, can I do anything about the relative paths on the “include” elements?
Maybe something with a macro?

10

I am generating a number of CMakePresets.json and will need to include the common-configure-presets.json from multiple places and at different levels in the hierarchy. I see that macros are supported for includes in version 7, will I be able to use “${sourceDir}/common-configure-presets.json” to anchor the include’d file name? or some type of “$penv{ROOT_DIR}/common-configure-presets.json”? Where ROOT_DIR is some environment variable set by cmake?

I presume $penv{} is used so that the variable will be sure to be set before the CMakePresets.json has been parsed.