CMake Overview {#overview_cmake} ============== [TOC] CMake allows building wxWidgets on various platforms with your preferred build system. Most linux distributions contain CMake as a package on Windows and OS X you can download an installer at the [CMake Page](https://cmake.org). Using the CMake GUI {#cmake_gui} =================== 1. Start the CMake GUI 2. Specify the wxWidgets root as your source folder 3. Specify a path where the build files should be created. It's recommended to use a path outside the wxWidgets root folder. 4. Press the *Configure* button and you will be asked which IDE or build system you wish to use 5. *Optionally*: Customize any of the options 6. Press the *Generate* button 7. Open the wxWidgets project with your preferred IDE Using the CMake Command Line {#cmake_cli} ============================ 1. Create a folder where the build/project files should be created 2. Change into the created folder 3. Run `cmake -G "Unix Makefiles" path_to_wxWidgets_root` 4. After that you can run `cmake --build .` to start the build process or directly use your choosen build system. Run `cmake --help` to see a list of available generators on your platform. These can than be specified using the -G command line option. On Windows it is recommended to use Visual Studio and on OS X Xcode is recommended. Various build options can be specified using -D see [available options](#cmake_options). Command Line Examples {#cmake_cli_samples} --------------------- Building with tests using [Ninja](https://ninja-build.org/): ~~~{.sh} cmake -G "Ninja" ~/Downloads/wxWidgets_3.1 -DwxBUILD_TESTS=ALL cmake --build . ~~~ Building the minimal sample: ~~~{.sh} cmake ~/Downloads/wxWidgets_3.1 -DwxBUILD_SAMPLES=SOME cmake --build . --target minimal ~~~ Installing static libraries to some path: ~~~{.sh} cmake ~/Downloads/wxWidgets_3.1 \ -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=~/wx_install \ -DwxBUILD_SHARED=OFF cmake --build . --target install ~~~ Build options {#cmake_options} ======================= The following list of build options can either be configured in the CMake UI or specified via the -D command line option when running the cmake command. Option Name | Type | Default | Description ------------------------- | ----- | ------- | ---------------------------- wxBUILD_SHARED | BOOL | ON | Build shared libraries wxBUILD_TESTS | STRING | OFF | CONSOLE_ONLY, ALL or OFF wxBUILD_SAMPLES | STRING | OFF | SOME, ALL or OFF wxBUILD_DEMOS | BOOL | OFF | Build demo applications wxUSE_GUI | BOOL | ON | Build the UI libraries wxBUILD_COMPATIBILITY | STRING | 3.0 | 2.8, 3.0 or 3.1 API compatibility wxBUILD_PRECOMP | BOOL | ON | Use precompiled headers wxBUILD_MONOLITHIC | BOOL | OFF | Build a single library A complete list of options and advanced options can be found when using the CMake GUI. Recommendations {#cmake_recommendations} ======================= While CMake in wxWidgets aims to support most generators available in CMake the following generators are recommended: * Windows: Visual Studio (any supported version) * macOS: Xcode * Linux: Ninja or Makefiles CMake 3.10 or newer is recommended. The minimum version required is 2.8.12. Using CMake with your applications {#cmake_apps} ================================== If you are using CMake with your own application there are various ways to use wxWidgets: * Using an installed, binary or compiled version of wxWidgets using `find_package()` * wxWidgets as a sub directory. * CMake's [ExternalProject module](https://cmake.org/cmake/help/latest/module/ExternalProject.html). Using find_package {#cmake_find_package} ------------------ You can use `find_package(wxWidgets)` to use a compiled version of wxWidgets. Have a look at the [CMake Documentation](https://cmake.org/cmake/help/latest/module/FindwxWidgets.html) for detailed instructions. Your *CMakeLists.txt* would look like this: ~~~ ... find_package(wxWidgets REQUIRED COMPONENTS net core base) include(${wxWidgets_USE_FILE}) add_executable(myapp myapp.cpp) target_link_libraries(myapp ${wxWidgets_LIBRARIES}) ~~~ Using a sub directory {#cmake_subdir} --------------------- You can use wxWidgets as a subdirectory in your application's build tree e.g. as a git submodule. This way the wxWidgets libraries will be part of your applications build process. Your *CMakeLists.txt* would look like this: ~~~ ... add_subdirectory(libs/wxWidgets) add_executable(myapp myapp.cpp) target_link_libraries(myapp net core base) ~~~