Modern CMake for C++ - Second Edition

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First Steps with CMake

There is something magical about software creation. We’re not only creating a working mechanism that gets brought to life but we’re also often authoring the very idea behind the functionality of the solution.

To cast our ideas into existence, we work in the following loop: design, code, and test. We invent changes, we phrase them in a language that the compiler understands, and we check whether they work as intended. To create proper, high-quality software from our source code, we need to meticulously execute repetitive, error-prone tasks: invoking the correct commands, checking the syntax, linking binary files, running tests, reporting issues, and more.

It takes great effort to remember each step every single time. ...