CMake/Help/manual/cmake-developer.7.rst

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ReStructuredText

.. cmake-manual-description: CMake Developer Reference
cmake-developer(7)
******************
.. only:: html or latex
.. contents::
Introduction
============
This manual is intended for reference by developers modifying the CMake
source tree itself.
Help
====
The ``Help`` directory contains CMake help manual source files.
They are written using the `reStructuredText`_ markup syntax and
processed by `Sphinx`_ to generate the CMake help manuals.
.. _`reStructuredText`: http://docutils.sourceforge.net/docs/ref/rst/introduction.html
.. _`Sphinx`: http://sphinx-doc.org
Markup Constructs
-----------------
In addition to using Sphinx to generate the CMake help manuals, we
also use a C++-implemented document processor to print documents for
the ``--help-*`` command-line help options. It supports a subset of
reStructuredText markup. When authoring or modifying documents,
please verify that the command-line help looks good in addition to the
Sphinx-generated html and man pages.
The command-line help processor supports the following constructs
defined by reStructuredText, Sphinx, and a CMake extension to Sphinx.
..
Note: This list must be kept consistent with the cmRST implementation.
CMake Domain directives
Directives defined in the `CMake Domain`_ for defining CMake
documentation objects are printed in command-line help output as
if the lines were normal paragraph text with interpretation.
CMake Domain interpreted text roles
Interpreted text roles defined in the `CMake Domain`_ for
cross-referencing CMake documentation objects are replaced by their
link text in command-line help output. Other roles are printed
literally and not processed.
``code-block`` directive
Add a literal code block without interpretation. The command-line
help processor prints the block content without the leading directive
line and with common indentation replaced by one space.
``include`` directive
Include another document source file. The command-line help
processor prints the included document inline with the referencing
document.
literal block after ``::``
A paragraph ending in ``::`` followed by a blank line treats
the following indented block as literal text without interpretation.
The command-line help processor prints the ``::`` literally and
prints the block content with common indentation replaced by one
space. We prefer the ``::`` to appear at the end of a paragraph
line instead of as its own line.
``note`` directive
Call out a side note. The command-line help processor prints the
block content as if the lines were normal paragraph text with
interpretation.
``parsed-literal`` directive
Add a literal block with markup interpretation. The command-line
help processor prints the block content without the leading
directive line and with common indentation replaced by one space.
``productionlist`` directive
Render context-free grammar productions. The command-line help
processor prints the block content as if the lines were normal
paragraph text with interpretation.
``replace`` directive
Define a ``|substitution|`` replacement.
The command-line help processor requires a substitution replacement
to be defined before it is referenced.
``|substitution|`` reference
Reference a substitution replacement previously defined by
the ``replace`` directive. The command-line help processor
performs the substitution and replaces all newlines in the
replacement text with spaces.
``toctree`` directive
Include other document sources in the Table-of-Contents
document tree. The command-line help processor prints
the referenced documents inline as part of the referencing
document.
Inline markup constructs not listed above are printed literally in the
command-line help output. We prefer to use inline markup constructs that
look correct in source form, so avoid use of \\-escapes in favor of inline
literals when possible.
Explicit markup blocks not matching directives listed above are removed from
command-line help output. Do not use them, except for plain ``..`` comments
that are removed by Sphinx too.
Note that nested indentation of blocks is not recognized by the
command-line help processor. Therefore:
* Explicit markup blocks are recognized only when not indented
inside other blocks.
* Literal blocks after paragraphs ending in ``::`` but not
at the top indentation level may consume all indented lines
following them.
Try to avoid these cases in practice.
CMake Domain
------------
CMake adds a `Sphinx Domain`_ called ``cmake``, also called the
"CMake Domain". It defines several "object" types for CMake
documentation:
``command``
A CMake language command.
``generator``
A CMake native build system generator.
See the :manual:`cmake(1)` command-line tool's ``-G`` option.
``manual``
A CMake manual page, like this :manual:`cmake-developer(7)` manual.
``module``
A CMake module.
See the :manual:`cmake-modules(7)` manual
and the :command:`include` command.
``policy``
A CMake policy.
See the :manual:`cmake-policies(7)` manual
and the :command:`cmake_policy` command.
``prop_cache, prop_dir, prop_gbl, prop_sf, prop_test, prop_tgt``
A CMake cache, directory, global, source file, test, or target
property, respectively. See the :manual:`cmake-properties(7)` manual
and the :command:`set_property` command.
``variable``
A CMake language variable.
See the :manual:`cmake-variables(7)` manual
and the :command:`set` command.
Documentation objects in the CMake Domain come from two sources.
First, the CMake extension to Sphinx transforms every document named
with the form ``Help/<type>/<file-name>.rst`` to a domain object with
type ``<type>``. The object name is extracted from the document title,
which is expected to be of the form::
<object-name>
-------------
and to appear at or near the top of the ``.rst`` file before any other
lines starting in a letter, digit, or ``<``. If no such title appears
literally in the ``.rst`` file, the object name is the ``<file-name>``.
If a title does appear, it is expected that ``<file-name>`` is equal
to ``<object-name>`` with any ``<`` and ``>`` characters removed.
Second, the CMake Domain provides directives to define objects inside
other documents:
.. code-block:: rst
.. command:: <command-name>
This indented block documents <command-name>.
.. variable:: <variable-name>
This indented block documents <variable-name>.
Object types for which no directive is available must be defined using
the first approach above.
.. _`Sphinx Domain`: http://sphinx-doc.org/domains.html
Cross-References
----------------
Sphinx uses reStructuredText interpreted text roles to provide
cross-reference syntax. The `CMake Domain`_ provides for each
domain object type a role of the same name to cross-reference it.
CMake Domain roles are inline markup of the forms::
:type:`name`
:type:`text <name>`
where ``type`` is the domain object type and ``name`` is the
domain object name. In the first form the link text will be
``name`` (or ``name()`` if the type is ``command``) and in
the second form the link text will be the explicit ``text``.
For example, the code:
.. code-block:: rst
* The :command:`list` command.
* The :command:`list(APPEND)` sub-command.
* The :command:`list() command <list>`.
* The :command:`list(APPEND) sub-command <list>`.
* The :variable:`CMAKE_VERSION` variable.
* The :prop_tgt:`OUTPUT_NAME_<CONFIG>` target property.
produces:
* The :command:`list` command.
* The :command:`list(APPEND)` sub-command.
* The :command:`list() command <list>`.
* The :command:`list(APPEND) sub-command <list>`.
* The :variable:`CMAKE_VERSION` variable.
* The :prop_tgt:`OUTPUT_NAME_<CONFIG>` target property.
Note that CMake Domain roles differ from Sphinx and reStructuredText
convention in that the form ``a<b>``, without a space preceding ``<``,
is interpreted as a name instead of link text with an explicit target.
This is necessary because we use ``<placeholders>`` frequently in
object names like ``OUTPUT_NAME_<CONFIG>``. The form ``a <b>``,
with a space preceding ``<``, is still interpreted as a link text
with an explicit target.
Modules
=======
The ``Modules`` directory contains CMake-language ``.cmake`` module files.
Module Documentation
--------------------
To document CMake module ``Modules/<module-name>.cmake``, modify
``Help/manual/cmake-modules.7.rst`` to reference the module in the
``toctree`` directive, in sorted order, as::
/module/<module-name>
Then add the module document file ``Help/module/<module-name>.rst``
containing just the line::
.. cmake-module:: ../../Modules/<module-name>.cmake
The ``cmake-module`` directive will scan the module file to extract
reStructuredText markup from comment blocks that start in ``.rst:``.
Add to the top of ``Modules/<module-name>.cmake`` a
:ref:`Line Comment` block of the form:
.. code-block:: cmake
#.rst:
# <module-name>
# -------------
#
# <reStructuredText documentation of module>
or a :ref:`Bracket Comment` of the form:
.. code-block:: cmake
#[[.rst:
<module-name>
-------------
<reStructuredText documentation of module>
#]]
Any number of ``=`` may be used in the opening and closing brackets
as long as they match. Content on the line containing the closing
bracket is excluded if and only if the line starts in ``#``.
Additional such ``.rst:`` comments may appear anywhere in the module file.
All such comments must start with ``#`` in the first column.
For example, a ``Modules/Findxxx.cmake`` module may contain:
.. code-block:: cmake
#.rst:
# FindXxx
# -------
#
# This is a cool module.
# This module does really cool stuff.
# It can do even more than you think.
#
# It even needs two paragraphs to tell you about it.
# And it defines the following variables:
#
# * VAR_COOL: this is great isn't it?
# * VAR_REALLY_COOL: cool right?
<code>
#[========================================[.rst:
.. command:: xxx_do_something
This command does something for Xxx::
xxx_do_something(some arguments)
#]========================================]
macro(xxx_do_something)
<code>
endmacro()
Find Modules
------------
A "find module" is a ``Modules/Find<package>.cmake`` file to be loaded
by the :command:`find_package` command when invoked for ``<package>``.
We would like all ``FindXxx.cmake`` files to produce consistent variable
names. Please use the following consistent variable names for general use.
Xxx_INCLUDE_DIRS
The final set of include directories listed in one variable for use by client
code. This should not be a cache entry.
Xxx_LIBRARIES
The libraries to link against to use Xxx. These should include full paths.
This should not be a cache entry.
Xxx_DEFINITIONS
Definitions to use when compiling code that uses Xxx. This really shouldn't
include options such as (-DHAS_JPEG)that a client source-code file uses to
decide whether to #include <jpeg.h>
Xxx_EXECUTABLE
Where to find the Xxx tool.
Xxx_Yyy_EXECUTABLE
Where to find the Yyy tool that comes with Xxx.
Xxx_LIBRARY_DIRS
Optionally, the final set of library directories listed in one variable for
use by client code. This should not be a cache entry.
Xxx_ROOT_DIR
Where to find the base directory of Xxx.
Xxx_VERSION_Yy
Expect Version Yy if true. Make sure at most one of these is ever true.
Xxx_WRAP_Yy
If False, do not try to use the relevant CMake wrapping command.
Xxx_Yy_FOUND
If False, optional Yy part of Xxx sytem is not available.
Xxx_FOUND
Set to false, or undefined, if we haven't found, or don't want to use Xxx.
Xxx_NOT_FOUND_MESSAGE
Should be set by config-files in the case that it has set Xxx_FOUND to FALSE.
The contained message will be printed by the find_package() command and by
find_package_handle_standard_args() to inform the user about the problem.
Xxx_RUNTIME_LIBRARY_DIRS
Optionally, the runtime library search path for use when running an
executable linked to shared libraries. The list should be used by user code
to create the PATH on windows or LD_LIBRARY_PATH on unix. This should not be
a cache entry.
Xxx_VERSION_STRING
A human-readable string containing the version of the package found, if any.
Xxx_VERSION_MAJOR
The major version of the package found, if any.
Xxx_VERSION_MINOR
The minor version of the package found, if any.
Xxx_VERSION_PATCH
The patch version of the package found, if any.
You do not have to provide all of the above variables. You should provide
Xxx_FOUND under most circumstances. If Xxx is a library, then Xxx_LIBRARIES,
should also be defined, and Xxx_INCLUDE_DIRS should usually be defined (I
guess libm.a might be an exception)
The following names should not usually be used in CMakeLists.txt files, but
they may be usefully modified in users' CMake Caches to control stuff.
Xxx_LIBRARY
Name of Xxx Library. A User may set this and Xxx_INCLUDE_DIR to ignore to
force non-use of Xxx.
Xxx_Yy_LIBRARY
Name of Yy library that is part of the Xxx system. It may or may not be
required to use Xxx.
Xxx_INCLUDE_DIR
Where to find xxx.h, etc. (Xxx_INCLUDE_PATH was considered bad because a path
includes an actual filename.)
Xxx_Yy_INCLUDE_DIR
Where to find xxx_yy.h, etc.
For tidiness's sake, try to keep as many options as possible out of the cache,
leaving at least one option which can be used to disable use of the module, or
locate a not-found library (e.g. Xxx_ROOT_DIR). For the same reason, mark
most cache options as advanced.
If you need other commands to do special things then it should still begin
with ``Xxx_``. This gives a sort of namespace effect and keeps things tidy for the
user. You should put comments describing all the exported settings, plus
descriptions of any the users can use to control stuff.
You really should also provide backwards compatibility any old settings that
were actually in use. Make sure you comment them as deprecated, so that
no-one starts using them.
To add a module to the CMake documentation, follow the steps in the
`Module Documentation`_ section above. Test the documentation formatting
by running ``cmake --help-module FindXxx``, and also by enabling the
``SPHINX_HTML`` and ``SPHINX_MAN`` options to build the documentation.
Edit the comments until generated documentation looks satisfactory.
To have a .cmake file in this directory NOT show up in the modules
documentation, simply leave out the ``Help/module/<module-name>.rst`` file
and the ``Help/manual/cmake-modules.7.rst`` toctree entry.
After the documentation, leave a *BLANK* line, and then add a
copyright and licence notice block like this one::
#=============================================================================
# Copyright 2009-2011 Your Name
#
# Distributed under the OSI-approved BSD License (the "License");
# see accompanying file Copyright.txt for details.
#
# This software is distributed WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the
# implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
# See the License for more information.
#=============================================================================
# (To distribute this file outside of CMake, substitute the full
# License text for the above reference.)
The layout of the notice block is strictly enforced by the ``ModuleNotices``
test. Only the year range and name may be changed freely.
A FindXxx.cmake module will typically be loaded by the command::
FIND_PACKAGE(Xxx [major[.minor[.patch[.tweak]]]] [EXACT]
[QUIET] [[REQUIRED|COMPONENTS] [components...]])
If any version numbers are given to the command it will set the following
variables before loading the module:
Xxx_FIND_VERSION
full requested version string
Xxx_FIND_VERSION_MAJOR
major version if requested, else 0
Xxx_FIND_VERSION_MINOR
minor version if requested, else 0
Xxx_FIND_VERSION_PATCH
patch version if requested, else 0
Xxx_FIND_VERSION_TWEAK
tweak version if requested, else 0
Xxx_FIND_VERSION_COUNT
number of version components, 0 to 4
Xxx_FIND_VERSION_EXACT
true if EXACT option was given
If the find module supports versioning it should locate a version of
the package that is compatible with the version requested. If a
compatible version of the package cannot be found the module should
not report success. The version of the package found should be stored
in "Xxx_VERSION..." version variables documented by the module.
If the QUIET option is given to the command it will set the variable
Xxx_FIND_QUIETLY to true before loading the FindXxx.cmake module. If
this variable is set the module should not complain about not being
able to find the package. If the
REQUIRED option is given to the command it will set the variable
Xxx_FIND_REQUIRED to true before loading the FindXxx.cmake module. If
this variable is set the module should issue a FATAL_ERROR if the
package cannot be found.
If neither the QUIET nor REQUIRED options are given then the
FindXxx.cmake module should look for the package and complain without
error if the module is not found.
FIND_PACKAGE() will set the variable CMAKE_FIND_PACKAGE_NAME to
contain the actual name of the package.
A package can provide sub-components.
Those components can be listed after the COMPONENTS (or REQUIRED) or
OPTIONAL_COMPONENTS keywords. The set of all listed components will be
specified in a Xxx_FIND_COMPONENTS variable.
For each package-specific component, say Yyy, a variable Xxx_FIND_REQUIRED_Yyy
will be set to true if it listed after COMPONENTS and it will be set to false
if it was listed after OPTIONAL_COMPONENTS.
Using those variables a FindXxx.cmake module and also a XxxConfig.cmake
package configuration file can determine whether and which components have
been requested, and whether they were requested as required or as optional.
For each of the requested components a Xxx_Yyy_FOUND variable should be set
accordingly.
The per-package Xxx_FOUND variable should be only set to true if all requested
required components have been found. A missing optional component should not
keep the Xxx_FOUND variable from being set to true.
If the package provides Xxx_INCLUDE_DIRS and Xxx_LIBRARIES variables, the
include dirs and libraries for all components which were requested and which
have been found should be added to those two variables.
To get this behaviour you can use the FIND_PACKAGE_HANDLE_STANDARD_ARGS()
macro, as an example see FindJPEG.cmake.
For internal implementation, it's a generally accepted convention that
variables starting with underscore are for temporary use only. (variable
starting with an underscore are not intended as a reserved prefix).