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How to Hide Certain Targets In Cmake?

5 minutes read

In CMake, you can hide certain targets by setting their HIDE_FROM_START_MENU property to TRUE. This property determines whether a target should be hidden in IDEs such as Visual Studio or Xcode. By default, this property is set to FALSE, meaning the target will be visible in the IDE. However, setting it to TRUE will hide the target from the IDE's start menu, making it less visible to users. This can be useful for targets that are only meant to be used internally and should not be exposed to end-users. You can set this property in your CMakeLists.txt file using the set_target_properties() command.


What is the scope of hiding targets in cmake projects?

Hiding targets in CMake projects allows you to prevent certain targets from being built by default and make them inaccessible to users. This can be useful for targets that are used internally or are not meant to be directly built by users.


The scope of hiding targets in CMake projects is limited to the CMakeLists.txt file in which the target is created. By setting the EXCLUDE_FROM_ALL property on a target, you can prevent it from being built when users run the default build target. Additionally, if a target is marked as INTERNAL, it will not be visible to users when they list available targets in the project.


Hiding targets in CMake projects can help to improve the organization and usability of your project by making it clearer which targets are meant to be built by users and which are meant for internal use only.


How to manage hidden targets in a version-controlled environment using cmake?

One way to manage hidden targets in a version-controlled environment using CMake is to utilize the EXCLUDE_FROM_ALL property on the target. This property marks a target as an auxiliary target that is excluded from the default build target.


For example, consider a CMake project with multiple targets, one of which is a utility target that should not be included in the default build. To mark this target as hidden, you can use the EXCLUDE_FROM_ALL property when defining the target:

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add_executable(my_utility my_utility.cpp)
set_target_properties(my_utility PROPERTIES EXCLUDE_FROM_ALL TRUE)


By setting the EXCLUDE_FROM_ALL property to TRUE, the my_utility target will be excluded from the default build target. Users can still build the my_utility target explicitly by specifying it on the command line, but it will not be built by default.


Additionally, you can use CMake's conditionals to conditionally include or exclude certain targets based on build options or configurations. This allows for more flexibility in managing hidden targets in a version-controlled environment.


By using the EXCLUDE_FROM_ALL property and conditionals in your CMakeLists.txt file, you can effectively manage hidden targets in a version-controlled environment and control which targets are included in the default build.


What is cmake and how is it used?

CMake is an open-source, cross-platform build system that is used to control the software building process. It allows developers to specify how a software project should be built using a simple scripting language. CMake generates build files such as Makefiles for Unix systems or project files for IDEs like Visual Studio.


Developers use CMake to define the build settings and dependencies of their project in a platform-independent way. By using CMake, developers can easily generate build files for different operating systems and build systems without having to rewrite build scripts for each platform. This makes it easier to maintain and distribute software projects across different platforms.


How to hide targets on a per-directory basis in cmake?

To hide targets on a per-directory basis in CMake, you can use the set_target_properties command to set the FOLDER property to an empty string for the targets you want to hide. Here's an example:

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add_executable(my_target1 src/my_target1.cpp)
set_target_properties(my_target1 PROPERTIES FOLDER "HiddenTargets")

add_executable(my_target2 src/my_target2.cpp)
set_target_properties(my_target2 PROPERTIES FOLDER "SomeOtherFolder")


In this example, my_target1 will be hidden in the IDE by setting the FOLDER property to "HiddenTargets". Similarly, my_target2 will be placed in a different folder "SomeOtherFolder".


You can also use an empty string to hide a target in the IDE. Just set the FOLDER property to an empty string:

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set_target_properties(my_target1 PROPERTIES FOLDER "")


This way, my_target1 will not be visible in any folder in the IDE.


How to configure cmake to hide targets based on certain conditions?

To configure CMake to hide targets based on certain conditions, you can use the $<BOOL:condition> generator expression to conditionally include or exclude targets. Here's an example of how you can do this:

  1. Use the IF() command to set a condition that determines whether a target should be included or excluded:
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IF(HIDE_TARGET)
    # Do not add the target
ELSE()
    # Add the target
ENDIF()


  1. Use the add_library() or add_executable() command to create your target, and use the EXCLUDE_FROM_ALL option to exclude the target from the all target:
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IF(NOT HIDE_TARGET)
    add_library(my_library EXCLUDE_FROM_ALL my_source.cpp)
ENDIF()


  1. Add the target to the all target if the condition is not met:
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IF(NOT HIDE_TARGET)
    add_dependencies(all my_library)
ENDIF()


  1. Run CMake with the -DHIDE_TARGET=TRUE or -DHIDE_TARGET=FALSE flag to set the condition:
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cmake -DHIDE_TARGET=TRUE /path/to/source


By setting the HIDE_TARGET variable to TRUE or FALSE, you can control whether the target is included or excluded from the build. This allows you to dynamically hide targets based on certain conditions.


How to refactor existing code to accommodate hidden targets in cmake?

To refactor existing code to accommodate hidden targets in CMake, you can follow the below steps:

  1. Start by identifying the targets that you want to hide in CMake. These can be source files, libraries, executables, etc.
  2. Use the set_property command to set the HIDE_INTERNAL_PROPERTIES property to TRUE for the targets that you want to hide. For example: set_property(TARGET my_target PROPERTY HIDE_INTERNAL_PROPERTIES TRUE)
  3. Use the export() command to make the hidden targets available to other CMakeLists files in your project. For example: export(TARGETS my_target FILE MyTargets.cmake)
  4. In the root CMakeLists.txt file, include the exported targets file using the include() command. For example: include(MyTargets.cmake)
  5. Finally, update any references to the hidden targets in your CMakeLists files to use the exported targets instead of the original targets.


By following these steps, you can refactor your existing code to accommodate hidden targets in CMake. This will help improve the organization and readability of your CMake projects.

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