cmake_default_cpp

A minimal CMake learning tool and template for C++ projects.

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📦 Requirements

• CMake (version 3.5 or newer) must be installed and available in your PATH.
• A C++ compiler must be installed and available in your PATH:
  • For C++ Compilers: Visit This Link

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📁 Project Structure

If you use this repository as a template, read this description!

• The src and utils folders are for organizing your .cpp files.
• Build directories (e.g., bin_native) are for your compiled output.
• Build directories must contain the string "bin" in their name to be excluded from source file discovery by this project's CMakeLists.txt. This is a specific setup for this repository, not a universal CMake rule.

.
├── src/            # Source files (e.g., calc.cpp)
├── utils/          # Utility source files (e.g., nPow.cpp)
│
├── bin_native/     # Default build output directory for native compilation
│
├── CMakeLists.txt  # Main CMake configuration file (required)
│
└── README.md       # This file

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🚀 How to Build and Run

Default Build (Native Compiler)

This is the standard way to build the project using the native g++ compiler that you likely already have on your system. This will compile the project for your current operating system and architecture. bin_native is just an example name for the build directory used in this repository.

1. Configure the Project

Open a terminal in the project root and run:

cmake -S . -B bin_native -DCMAKE_CXX_COMPILER=g++

• -S . : Source directory (where CMakeLists.txt is located)
• -B bin_native : Build directory (where build files and cache will be generated)

2. Build the Project

After configuration, build the project with:

cmake --build bin_native

• This uses the cached settings in bin_native from the previous step.
• The resulting executable (e.g., app or app.exe) will be placed in the bin_native directory.

3. Run the Application

From the project root, the execution command depends on your operating system and shell:

On Linux/macOS (Bash/Zsh):

./bin_native/app

Or, if you need to pass arguments:

./bin_native/app <base> <exponent>

On Windows (PowerShell):

.\bin_native\app.exe

Or, if you need to pass arguments:

.\bin_native\app.exe <base> <exponent>

On Windows (Command Prompt):

bin_native\app.exe

Or, if you need to pass arguments:

bin_native\app.exe <base> <exponent>

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🌐 Cross-Compilation

Cross-compilation is the process of building an executable that will run on a different operating system or architecture than the one you are building on.

aarch64 Linux

To build for aarch64 Linux from an x86_64 Linux machine, you will need the aarch64-linux-gnu-g++ cross-compiler.

cmake -S . -B binL_aarch64 -G "Unix Makefiles" -DCMAKE_CXX_COMPILER=aarch64-linux-gnu-g++
cmake --build binL_aarch64

x86_64 Windows (MinGW)

To build for x86_64 Windows from a Linux machine, you will need the MinGW-w64 toolchain, specifically the x86_64-w64-mingw32-g++ compiler.

cmake -S . -B binW_x86_64 -G "Unix Makefiles" -DCMAKE_CXX_COMPILER=x86_64-w64-mingw32-g++
cmake --build binW_x86_64

aarch64 Windows (MinGW)

Note: The toolchain for Windows on ARM64 is experimental and not yet available in official repositories. You will likely need to build it from source. A community effort to create this toolchain can be found at Windows-on-ARM-Experiments/mingw-woarm64-build.

Once the aarch64-w64-mingw32-g++ compiler is available on your system, you can use the following command:

cmake -S . -B binW_aarch64 -G "Unix Makefiles" -DCMAKE_CXX_COMPILER=aarch64-w64-mingw32-g++
cmake --build binW_aarch64

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🛠️ Notes

• You can change the build directory name (e.g., bin_native, binL_aarch64, etc.), but remember that it must contain the string "bin" due to this project's CMakeLists.txt configuration.
• To clean the build, simply delete the corresponding build directory (e.g., rm -rf bin_native).
• If you change the generator or toolchain, always delete the build directory and re-run the configuration step.
• NixOS Users: If you are using NixOS, you might need to specify the --sysroot flag to point to the correct system root when running cmake.

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💡 CMake Command Reference

• Configure:
  cmake -S <source_dir> -B <build_dir> -G <build_tool> -DCMAKE_CXX_COMPILER=<compiler>

  • -G <build_tool>: if not set by default CMake uses NMake (on Windows) or Unix Makefiles (on Linux/macOS).
  • Use -G "MinGW Makefiles" if you don't want to use NMake and prefer the default mingw32-make generator that comes with your MinGW compiler.

• Build:
  cmake --build <build_dir>

• Clean:
  cmake --build <build_dir> --target clean

• Verbose Build:
  cmake --build <build_dir> --verbose

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📚 Further Reading

• CMake Official Documentation
• Modern CMake Tutorial

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Happy Coding! 🚀