I want Help Understanding Some Build Issues in CMake Development

Hey everyone,

I have been spending some time experimenting with CMake for one of my projects & I am facing situations that I can not wrap my head around. I understand the basics of creating simple CMakeLists & linking libraries but when it comes to more complex builds, things start getting a little confusing for me. For example, handling multiple targets or setting up custom commands often feels such as trial and error rather than a clear approach.

Also I tried looking through the docs & examples but I am not sure when to use certain properties or how to structure things for larger projects. I want to know how others learned these advanced parts of CMake; Did you just dive into source code or are there guides you would suggest?

By the way, while doing some research I also came across something related to a CSM Course & it made me wonder if structured training helps in understanding tools such as CMake better. Also i have check this Is it possible to hide targets/commands when running `cmake --build build --target help`? still need help.

Thank you..:slight_smile:

It’s mostly reading docs. You’re not “doing it wrong”, some stuff is complicated.

After that it’s mostly good taste, which develops with time. You read and write a lot of CMake and you learn how things should and shouldn’t be done.

There’s no update on private targets, AFAIK no one is working on it.