[cmake-developers] Adding macro cmake_print_variables(var1 var2 ... varN) ?

[Alexander Neundorf]

Hi,

I have a small macro/function which I need often during buildsystem debugging:

function(PRINT_VARIABLES)
   set(msg "")
   foreach(var ${ARGN})
      if(msg)
         set(msg "${msg} ; ")
      endif()
      set(msg "${msg}${var}=\"${${var}}\"")
   endforeach()
   message(STATUS "${msg}")
endfunction()


it prints the values of the variables given as arguments.
Example:

print_variables(CMAKE_C_COMPILER
                CMAKE_MAJOR_VERSION
                THIS_ONE_DOES_NOT_EXIST)

Gives:
-- CMAKE_C_COMPILER="/usr/bin/gcc" ; CMAKE_MAJOR_VERSION="2" ; 
THIS_ONE_DOES_NOT_EXIST=""


Ok to add to git ?
Or should this better be 
message(VARIABLES CMAKE_C_COMPILER
                  CMAKE_MAJOR_VERSION
                  THIS_ONE_DOES_NOT_EXIST)

Or not at all ?
Then I'll put it in extra-cmake-modules, but it seems to generic that I think 
it makes sense to have it in cmake directly.

Alex