Re: [boost] A retrospect on 'CMakeLists.txt' policy review

Subject: Re: [boost] A retrospect on 'CMakeLists.txt' policy review
From: Paul Fultz II (pfultz2_at_[hidden])
Date: 2016-06-03 11:21:42

> On Jun 2, 2016, at 8:50 PM, Steven Watanabe <watanabesj_at_[hidden]> wrote:
> 
> AMDG
> 
> On 06/02/2016 07:26 PM, Louis Dionne wrote:
>> <snip>
>> IIUC, you suggest that we have both a CMakeLists.txt at the root and one in 
>> build/, with the one in build/ possibly doing the "real" stuff and the one at 
>> the root just forwarding to build/. Is this correct? If not, please completely
>> ignore the rest of my reply below.
>> 
>> If I understand correctly, however, then I might be inflexible but having a 
>> CMake file in the build/ directory is still a major annoyance, as it disturbs 
>> the usual CMake workflow. The build/ directory is normally used for products, 
>> and as such it contains no source files. This means that we can't put build/ 
>> in the .gitignore file, and that we can't simply delete the build/ directory 
>> to clean things up. That disturbs the usual CMake workflow, and I don't think 
>> this is acceptable.
>> 
> 
>  All of these arguments depend solely on the
> existence of build/, regardless of whether
> it contains a CMakeLists.txt or not.  For separately
> compiled libraries, build/ *must* exist because
> that's the layout that we've chosen for Boost.Build.

Thats the layout for Boost.Build, but what about cmake? Is it required by the guidelines to put a cmake in the build as well for building the library? It is odd for cmake files to build files that belong in the parent or sibling directories. I don’t think we should impose a Boost.Build layout on cmake build files as it makes it cubersome or confusing to cmake users.

> For header-only libraries, like hana, it's not needed
> and should not exist, making this point moot.
>  I just looked at your top-level CMakeLists.txt and it
> seems like it should be acceptable even by the strictest
> possible reading of the requirements.  It definitely
> does not belong in build/.
> 
> In Christ,
> Steven Watanabe
> 
> 
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