[CMake] retraining Autoconf users on the command line

[Brandon Van Every]

On 8/10/07, Bill Hoffman <bill.hoffman at kitware.com> wrote:
> Basically this requires a paradigm shift for autotools users.

This discussion makes me think we need to see the fundamental problem
differently.  These are not "CMake is ugly, CMake lacks something"
problems.  Rather, CMake has a lot of things that a new user, coming
from an Autoconf background, simply doesn't know about.  We should be
working on how to retrain Autoconf users, not looking at how to give
them every capability that superficially, looks like what they want
and are used to.

I don't think it's reasonable to expect Autoconf users to read docs,
whitepapers, wikis, or mailing lists to get their retraining.
Autoconf users are, frankly, a lazy crowd.  Their honed instinct is to
go straight to the command line, and type "./configure; make; make
install".  They've done this thousands of times; it's not just second
nature, it's a right!  If it doesn't work, they howl.  If they have to
install or deploy something, if it isn't implemented in Bourne shell
script, they howl.

So I think we need to see the command line as the place where we have
an opportunity - indeed, an obligation - to retrain the Autoconf
users.  We should assume that if a user is mucking around on the
command line with CMake, they're an Autoconf user.  When such a user
types various commands, whether "./cmake" or "cmake -p" or "cmake -v"
or whatever, part of the output should be text that briefly makes 2
important points:

1) that we've anticipated their design concern, but CMake does it
differently for good reasons.  For instance, "CMake uses iterative
resolution of OPTIONS, you'll need to..."

2) that they really should be doing it the CMake way.  "Use
CMakeSetup|CCMake to configure..."

The command line is the retraining tool.


Cheers,
Brandon Van Every