CMake 3.29.0-rc1 is ready for testing
February 13, 2024
I am proud to announce the first CMake 3.29 release candidate.
https://cmake.org/download/
Documentation is available at:
https://cmake.org/cmake/help/v3.29
Release notes appear below and are also published at
https://cmake.org/cmake/help/v3.29/release/3.29.html
Release milestone is available at:
https://gitlab.kitware.com/cmake/cmake/-/milestones/136
Some of the more significant changes in CMake 3.29 are:
-
The LLVM/Clang GNU-like frontend on Windows (“clang++”) may now be
used to compile “CUDA” language sources. -
TI Clang-based compilers are now supported with compiler id
“TIClang”. -
The “cmake_language(EXIT)” sub-command was added to terminate “cmake
-P” scripts with a specified exit code. -
The “export(SETUP)” sub-command was added to configure export sets.
Its “PACKAGE_DEPENDENCY” option configures how “find_dependency()”
calls are exported. Its “TARGET” option’s “XCFRAMEWORK_LOCATION”
setting specifies the location of a “.xcframework” that can be
substituted for an installed target. -
“install(EXPORT)” and “export(EXPORT)” learned a new
“EXPORT_PACKAGE_DEPENDENCIES” argument, which can be used to
generate “find_dependency()” calls based on what targets the
exported targets depend on. -
The “CMAKE_LINKER_TYPE” variable and corresponding “LINKER_TYPE”
target property were added to specify what linker to use with some
toolchains. -
A “CMAKE_TEST_LAUNCHER” variable and corresponding “TEST_LAUNCHER”
target property were added to specify a launcher to be used by
executable targets when invoked by tests added by the “add_test()”
command.
CMake 3.29 Release Notes
************************
Changes made since CMake 3.28 include the following.
New Features
============
Command-Line
------------
* "cmake(1)" "-E cat" can now print the standard input by passing the
"-" argument.
Generators
----------
* Visual Studio Generators now support selecting between the Intel
oneAPI Fortran compiler ("ifx") and the Intel classic Fortran
compiler ("ifort") using a "fortran=" field in
"CMAKE_GENERATOR_TOOLSET".
File-Based API
--------------
* The "cmake-file-api(7)" "codemodel" version 2 "version" field has
been updated to 2.7.
* The "cmake-file-api(7)" "codemodel" version 2 "target" object gained
a new "launchers" field.
Compilers
---------
* The LLVM/Clang GNU-like frontend on Windows ("clang++") may now be
used to compile "CUDA" language sources.
* Compilers targeting the GNU ABI on Windows (MinGW) may now be used
to compile Objective C ("OBJC") and Objective C++ ("OBJCXX"). These
include GNU compilers ("gcc" and "g++") and the LLVM/Clang GNU-like
frontends ("clang" and "clang++").
* TI Clang-based compilers are now supported with compiler id
"TIClang".
Commands
--------
* The add_custom_command(TARGET) signature now supports adding build
events through Alias Targets.
* The "cmake_language(EXIT)" sub-command was added to terminate "cmake
-P" scripts with a specified exit code.
* The "export(SETUP)" sub-command was added to configure export sets.
Its "PACKAGE_DEPENDENCY" option configures how "find_dependency()"
calls are exported. Its "TARGET" option's "XCFRAMEWORK_LOCATION"
setting specifies the location of a ".xcframework" that can be
substituted for an installed target.
* The "if()" command gained new tests "IS_READABLE", "IS_WRITABLE" and
"IS_EXECUTABLE" to check file or directory permissions.
* "install(EXPORT)" and "export(EXPORT)" learned a new
"EXPORT_PACKAGE_DEPENDENCIES" argument, which can be used to
generate "find_dependency()" calls based on what targets the
exported targets depend on.
Variables
---------
* The "CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX" environment variable was added to provide
a default value for the "CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX" variable.
* The "CMAKE_LINKER_TYPE" variable and corresponding "LINKER_TYPE"
target property were added to specify what linker to use with some
toolchains.
* The "CMAKE__COMPILER_LINKER",
"CMAKE__COMPILER_LINKER_ID",
"CMAKE__COMPILER_LINKER_VERSION" and
"CMAKE__COMPILER_LINKER_FRONTEND_VARIANT" variables were added
to describe the linker used by the language's link step.
* The "CMAKE_PROJECT_INCLUDE", "CMAKE_PROJECT_INCLUDE_BEFORE",
"CMAKE_PROJECT__INCLUDE", and "CMAKE_PROJECT__INCLUDE_BEFORE" variables learned to support a semicolon-
separated list of CMake language files to be included sequentially.
These variables can also reference module names to be found in
"CMAKE_MODULE_PATH" or builtin to CMake.
* The "CMAKE_SKIP_TEST_ALL_DEPENDENCY" variable was added to control
whether the "test" (or "RUN_TESTS") buildsystem target depends on
the "all" (or "ALL_BUILD") target.
* A "CMAKE_TEST_LAUNCHER" variable and corresponding "TEST_LAUNCHER"
target property were added to specify a launcher to be used by
executable targets when invoked by tests added by the "add_test()"
command.
Properties
----------
* The "CROSSCOMPILING_EMULATOR" target property now supports
"generator expressions".
* The "EXPORT_FIND_PACKAGE_NAME" target property was added to allow
targets to specify what package name to pass when exporting
"find_dependency()" calls. This property is initialized with a new
"CMAKE_EXPORT_FIND_PACKAGE_NAME" variable.
* The "UNITY_BUILD" target property now supports the Objective C
("OBJC") and Objective C++ ("OBJCXX") languages.
* The "XCODE_EMBED_XPC_SERVICES" target property was added to tell the
"Xcode" generator what targets to put in the "Embed XPC Resources"
build phase.
Modules
-------
* The "CMakePackageConfigHelpers" module gained new
"generate_apple_platform_selection_file()" and
"generate_apple_architecture_selection_file()" functions, which can
be used to generate a file that includes another Apple-platform-
specific file or the includes an architecture-specific
implementation of a package for an Apple platform, respectively.
* The "FindOpenGL" module learned to find a GLU include directory
different than the GL include directory. A new
"OPENGL_INCLUDE_DIRS" result variable provides all include
directories.
CTest
-----
* "ctest(1)" gained a "--http-header" option to add custom headers on
submission to CDash.
* "ctest(1)" gained the "--tests-from-file" and "--exclude-from-file"
options to run or exclude tests named in a file.
* "ctest(1)" now supports job server integration on POSIX systems.
* The "ctest_test()" command gained options "INCLUDE_FROM_FILE" and
"EXCLUDE_FROM_FILE" to run or exclude tests named in a file.
CPack
-----
* The "CPack DEB Generator" "CPACK_DEBIAN_FILE_NAME" variable may now
be set without any suffix, and the ".deb" suffix will be added
automatically.
* The "CPack RPM Generator" "CPACK_RPM_FILE_NAME" variable may now be
set without any suffix, and the ".rpm" suffix will be added
automatically.
* The "CPack WIX Generator" gained a new variable,
"CPACK_WIX_INSTALL_SCOPE", to control the "InstallScope" property of
WiX MSI installers.
Other Changes
=============
* CMake learned to de-duplicate libraries on link lines based on
linker capabilities. See policy "CMP0156".
* The "add_test()" command now honors "CMAKE_CROSSCOMPILING_EMULATOR"
only when cross-compiling. See policy "CMP0158".
* "FetchContent_MakeAvailable()" now sets the
"CMAKE_EXPORT_FIND_PACKAGE_NAME" variable for CMake projects.
* On Windows, when targeting the MSVC ABI, the "find_library()"
command now accepts ".a" file names after first considering ".lib".
This is symmetric with existing behavior when targeting the GNU ABI,
in which the command accepts ".lib" file names after first
considering ".a".
* On Windows, when targeting the MSVC ABI, the "find_library()"
command now considers ".dll.lib" file names before ".lib". This is
the default suffix for DLL import libraries created by Rust
toolchains for the MSVC ABI.
* The "Ninja" and "NMake Makefiles" generators now use the
"-external:I" flag for system includes when using IntelLLVM as of
version 2021.4. The "-external:W0" flag is also used as of version
2022.2.
* The "create_test_sourcelist()" command now provides a full path to
the generated driver source file.
* The "CPACK_PRODUCTBUILD_DOMAINS" variable now defaults to true. See
policy "CMP0161".
* The "CPack WIX Generator" now produces WiX MSI installers that
create start menu and uninstall entries for all users by default, as
documented by the "CPACK_WIX_INSTALL_SCOPE" variable "perMachine"
value. Previously, without a custom WiX template, it produced
installers that would only create start menu and uninstall entries
for the current user, even though they install for all users.