MantisBT - CMake
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IDProjectCategoryView StatusDate SubmittedLast Update
0006647CMakeCMakepublic2008-03-24 23:022016-06-10 14:30
ReporterPhilip Lowman 
Assigned ToBill Hoffman 
PrioritynormalSeverityfeatureReproducibilityN/A
StatusclosedResolutionmoved 
PlatformOSOS Version
Product Version 
Target VersionFixed in Version 
Summary0006647: A "distclean" target that removes ALL CMake generated files
DescriptionThis seems to come up on the mailing list quite often as autotools users are used to it. From time to time I've been stuck with using an in-source builds and wanted the ability to do make "distclean" to clean up the source tree. This is clearly a desired feature.

Technically, I don't think this would be that hard to implement, just time consuming.

1. Find everywhere in the code where a file or directory is created or copied.
2. Log each file/folder to a list (singleton for created files)
3. Append the list to a file prior to CMake exiting
4. Make a distclean target which depends on "clean" but also proceeds to remove all files/directories in the list. This could be done through a scripted CMake flag.
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Issue History
Date ModifiedUsernameFieldChange
2008-03-24 23:02Philip LowmanNew Issue
2008-03-25 02:47Akos MaroyNote Added: 0010901
2008-08-19 14:34Bill HoffmanStatusnew => assigned
2008-08-19 14:34Bill HoffmanAssigned To => Bill Hoffman
2008-08-19 14:43Brad KingNote Added: 0013073
2008-08-19 15:03Brad KingNote Deleted: 0013073
2008-08-19 15:23Brad KingNote Added: 0013078
2008-08-19 22:44Philip LowmanNote Added: 0013103
2008-08-20 09:36Brad KingNote Added: 0013111
2008-08-29 19:53Philip LowmanNote Added: 0013243
2008-10-01 12:53Bill HoffmanAssigned ToBill Hoffman => David Cole
2009-12-11 18:04David ColeNote Added: 0018834
2009-12-11 18:04David ColeAssigned ToDavid Cole => Bill Hoffman
2009-12-14 08:54Brad KingNote Added: 0018843
2016-06-10 14:27Kitware RobotNote Added: 0041417
2016-06-10 14:27Kitware RobotStatusassigned => resolved
2016-06-10 14:27Kitware RobotResolutionopen => moved
2016-06-10 14:30Kitware RobotStatusresolved => closed

Notes
(0010901)
Akos Maroy   
2008-03-25 02:47   
yes, it would be very very handy & nice to have this feature..
(0013078)
Brad King   
2008-08-19 15:23   
Can anyone give me a real use case in which out-of-source builds are less desireable than in-source? What do you mean by "stuck" with in-source?
(0013103)
Philip Lowman   
2008-08-19 22:44   
We have an application that comes with a bunch of configuration files packaged in the source tree. It's annoying to have to do an out-of-source build because then your configuration files aren't where they normally are (at least on Win32 where there are no symlinks).
(0013111)
Brad King   
2008-08-20 09:36   
Can't you just configure the location of the source tree into a header file and include it in the build? I've done this several times in the past. The application, if configured to run from the build tree, memorizes the build and source locations.
(0013243)
Philip Lowman   
2008-08-29 19:53   
Sorry for the delay, I thought I responded to this already.

We've already considered the idea of configuring source tree locations into the source code during developer builds and rejected it.

There are other use cases though where an in-source build makes sense but they are more focused on "user choice" and not technical needs.

1. User doesn't like to constantly change directories or deal with having two windows/tabs open (source and build tree). (yes I've heard this complaint)
2. User only has one development platform and it supports multiple build solutions.

There is also the "pragmatic" reason to better support in-source builds (it's what most people are used to)...

Don't worry though, you can sleep easy. I probably won't have time to implement this feature. :)
(0018834)
David Cole   
2009-12-11 18:04   
I don't think we should do this feature request either. Re-assigning to Bill - Bill, I think we should resolve this one as "Won't Fix"...
(0018843)
Brad King   
2009-12-14 08:54   
As far as "make distclean" functionality, I think such a feature belongs in the hands of the version control tool. It knows exactly which files are source, which to ignore, and that all others can be removed safely. Modern version control tools have simple commands to clean out the entire source tree. If there is no version control tool, then it is a matter of removing the directory and re-extracting the tarball.
(0041417)
Kitware Robot   
2016-06-10 14:27   
Resolving issue as `moved`.

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