Install "contaminated" headers directory

Code
1

Hello there,

So here’s the deal. I’m managing this C(++ eventually)+CMake project.
This is the repo:

Problem is that the installation results in the following tree (here shown via cpack for simplicity):

lk@lk-vm:~/Development/AetherRadio/X6100Control_build/Debug/AetherX6100Control-0.1-Linux$ tree
.
├── include
│   └── aether_radio
│       ├── CMakeFiles
│       ├── cmake_install.cmake
│       ├── CMakeLists.txt
│       └── x6100_control
│           ├── api.h
│           ├── CMakeFiles
│           ├── cmake_install.cmake
│           ├── CMakeLists.txt
│           ├── control.h
│           ├── flow.h
│           └── gpio.h
└── lib
    ├── libaether_x6100_control.so -> libaether_x6100_control.so.0
    ├── libaether_x6100_control.so.0 -> libaether_x6100_control.so.0.1
    └── libaether_x6100_control.so.0.1

6 directories, 11 files

See all the CMakeLists.txt and cmake_install.cmake files, plus the CMakeFiles directories?
How can I remove them from the installed directories? Or rather, exclude them from being installed.
Preferably, without having to list the header files multiple times…

Any ideas?

Thanks.

2

You can put the header files into a variable and use it for the source list and the install(FILES) call. Or, if you’re using CMake 3.23+, you can put the headers into a FILE_SET and install the FILE_SET directly.

You can pass EXCLUDE arguments to install(FILES), but the set of files differs from generator to generator. I would encourage factoring out the list of headers in one of the ways described above.

3

Thank you for the answer.

I’ve been experimenting with the FILE_SETS feature.

But I have a question. I like having source filed being added on CMakeLists.txt files next to them.
So, I did this:

And installed simply like this:

As I was already expecting, this results in the following tree:

├── include
│   ├── control.h
│   ├── flow.h
│   └── gpio.h
└── lib
    ├── libaether_x6100_control.so -> libaether_x6100_control.so.0
    ├── libaether_x6100_control.so.0 -> libaether_x6100_control.so.0.1
    └── libaether_x6100_control.so.0.1

2 directories, 6 files

Which misses the sub-directories of the previous tree.

I understand I could add a BASE_DIRS agument, but then I’d have to specify FILES relative to that BASE_DIRS, right? Again re-writing stuff…

4

Well, I managed to find out you can do it, as this commit will reveal:

5

And managed to do the same for the api.h file :slight_smile: