Advanced C++: Building Projects with CMake

Course details

This advanced course on CMake for C++ is designed to equip experienced C++ developers with the skills required to build and manage complex projects more effectively. Explore the essentials of CMake from the ground up, gaining hands-on experience with setting up, configuring, and optimizing build environments. Join instructor Károly Nyisztor as he covers everything from integrating third-party libraries to writing cross-platform scripts, with an emphasis on automation and scalability. By the end of this course, you’ll be prepared to use CMake to streamline the build process, improve efficiency, and handle complex project structures in any professional setting.

Learning objectives
Set up and configure CMake to manage C++ projects of varying complexity.
Write and manage cross-platform CMake scripts to support building on different operating systems.
Integrate external libraries into C++ projects using CMake, simplifying dependencies and project structure.
Utilize CMake to automate the build, testing, and packaging processes for C++ applications.
Troubleshoot and optimize CMake configurations for efficiency and scalability in large codebases.

Concepts

0. Introduction

01 - Advanced C++ - Building projects with CMake

1. Build Systems

02 - Why use a build system
03 - Why use CMake

2. CMake Fundamentals

04 - Setting up CMake
05 - Getting familiar with CMake
06 - What will be built in this course

3. Building Our CMake Project

07 - Creating custom commands and targets in CMake
08 - Integrating the core and filter libraries
09 - Adding external dependencies
10 - Creating custom targets
11 - Defining custom commands to generate output
12 - Pre-build and post-build commands

4. Advanced CMake Scripting

13 - Refactoring with functions and macros
14 - Target and directory-level properties
15 - Using generator expressions
16 - Handling build configuration-specific behavior
17 - Practical example - Implementing a debug only logging system

5. Managing Dependencies and Integrations

18 - Managing external libraries using FetchContent
19 - Advanced FetchContent options
20 - Platform-specific integrations
21 - Finding libraries and packages
22 - Conditionally including libraries based on platform

6. Build Automation with CMake

23 - Automating build tasks
24 - Managing build configurations
25 - Automated testing
26 - Continuous integration considerations

Next Steps

27 - Where to go from here

Advanced C++: Building Projects with CMake

Authors

Károly Nyisztor