CMake and C++ Project Templates

Hi there! This repository contains 10 basic CMake project templates which you can use as a learning resource or as a starting point for your own projects. Each of the directories prefixed with Exe contains a root CMakeLists.txt file which generates an executable ExeA to ExeJ based on different projects structures. Starting very simple with only one main.cpp file to slightly more complex examples that fetch other CMake projects which again depend on other CMake projects.

Prerequisites

In order to build the projects you need:

• CMake 3.20 or higher
• a C++ compiler
• Python, accessible through CMake (config, system path)

I tested it using:

• Windows 10
• CMake 3.27
• MingGW 13.1.0 Installer
• Python 3.10.10
• VS Code 1.79.2

However, other versions and build tools, such as MSVC should work.

Usage

Please navigate to the respective CMake project directory, e.g.:

cd ./ExeE-incl-transitive-libs

Execute the following code in that directory to configure, generate and build the CMake project.

rm -r build
mkdir build
cd .\build
cmake ..
cmake --build .

Run the executable, e.g.:

./ExeE

Projects

If you want to learn CMake, I recommend going through each project, one by one. Execute the commands above and inspect the CMakeLists.txt and the other files and folders. The projects are made as easy as possible. They are not more complex than necessary to achieve the goal of building simple projects and projects with (external) dependencies.

ExeA

Consists only of a single main.cpp.

ExeB

Contains a header and source file in an include and a src directory respectively.

ExeC

Contains a header-only library as a second built target.

ExeC
└──LibA (header-only)

ExeD

Contains a header and source file library with include and src directories as a second built target.

ExeD
└──LibB (include and src directory)

ExeE

Include transitive libraries i.e. multiple built targets.

ExeE
└──LibC
   ├──LibA
   └──LibB

ExeF

Fetches a header-only library LibA from the dependencies directory.

ExeF
...
dependencies
└──LibA     (fetched)

ExeG

Fetches a library with header and source files LibB.

ExeG
...
dependencies
└──LibB     (fetched)

ExeH

Fetches transitive libraries LibC/LibA and LibC/LibB.

ExeH
...
dependencies
└──LibC     (fetched)
   ├──LibA  
   └──LibB

ExeI

Fetches a transitive libraries LibD which itself fetches Libraries LibA and LibB.

ExeI
...
dependencies
└──LibC     (fetched)
   ├──LibA  (fetched by LibC)
   └──LibB  (fetched by LibC)

ExeJ

Fetch online repositories with CMake support: GLFW and GLAD

ExeJ
...
dependencies
├──GLFW  (fetched)
└──GLAD  (fetched)