Re: [boost] Status of the CMake-ification

Subject: Re: [boost] Status of the CMake-ification
From: Jürgen Hunold (jhunold_at_[hidden])
Date: 2015-11-18 14:39:50

Hi Robert,

Am Tuesday 17 November 2015, 14:41:07 schrieb Robert Ramey:
> On 11/17/15 1:52 PM, Stephen Kelly wrote:
> > Vladimir Prus wrote:
> >> On 17-Nov-15 11:37 AM, Stephen Kelly wrote:
> >>> Note that for users of boost, there would be a great benefit if
> >>> boost.build would generate cmake packages with imported targets.
> >>> 
> >>> I can help if someone who maintains boost.build wants to pursue that.
> >> 
> >> FWIW, this proposal is something that can be actually implemented, and
> >> probably will help users.
> 
> I appreciate your efforts to improve boost, but I would like to
> discourage you from pursuing this.  Boost Build is already too complex
> for most of us to understand.  

Using Boost.Build is usually simple. And I don't think that a CMake solution 
for all of Boost would be simple. I've closely followed the first CMake 
attempt. I've been really impressed by lots of boilerplate macros needed back 
then. I guess CMake 3.x has lots of improvements, but it will still need some 
tweaking. At least the modularisation code can be omitted now.

> This idea follows the strategy - build it
> all in so that it works automagically.  But the problem is that the job
> is too varied and to complex for this to work.  We then end up with
> something that usually works - until it doesn't.

Well, in the end we need an "automagic" solution for all of Boost. Although I 
agree that small steps are better.

> Please consider a different approach.
> 
> Make a Boost/CMake cheat sheet which would serve as a "template" for
> library authors to use to make their own CMakeList.text files.  Then be
> available to help out anyone who asks for it.  

That would be a nice addition. 
But I'd prefer some immediate improvements for Boost users working with CMake  
now.

> I believe it would be
> more effective in getting Boost to work better with CMake.  I already
> spent some time on this for the inclubator.  But my effort isn't
> complete - it addresses only the running of test on header only
> libraries.  So there is lots of opportunity to make an impact here.

As always.

Yours,

Jürgen
-- 
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