[CMake] Invoke a target on a separate project in a generic way?

[Hugo Heden]

2008/12/4 Bill Hoffman <bill.hoffman at kitware.com>:
> Hugo Heden wrote:
>>
>> Good day all,
>>
>> I am looking for a way within a CMakeLists.txt make sure that:
>>
>> -- at *build* time
>>
>> -- cmake is invoked on a *separate* project, and then also the
>> "all"-target is invoked
>>
>> How do I do that?
>>
>> The following is a first rough sketch (that is not good enough, I
>> believe):
>>
>> ADD_CUSTOM_TARGET(
>>  build_separate_project
>>  WORKING_DIRECTORY separate_project/build
>>  COMMAND ${CMAKE_COMMAND} ../src
>>  COMMAND ${CMAKE_BUILD_TOOL} all
>> )
>>
>> -- The above only works for a ${CMAKE_BUILD_TOOL} that happens to
>> accept a commandline that contains a target and nothing else (like
>> GNU-make does).
>>
>> So is there a more *generic* way to, at build time, invoke cmake and
>> then the "all"-target on a separate project?
>>
>> (The following is a bit of background: We have a project called "FOO"
>> that generates source code that eventually also needs to be compiled.
>> The generated source files end up in a *directory* that is known
>> CMake-time, but the *filenames* are not known until *build*-time. Thus
>> there is no way with in project "FOO" to create a target to compile
>> the generated source-code. (Doing FILE(GLOB...) within project FOO
>> will not work, because the globbing will take place at cmake-time, at
>> which time there are no files there). Therefore, together with the
>> generated source files we generate a CMakeLists.txt that defines a
>> *separate* project called "BAR" that contains a target to compile the
>> generated source code. Hence the question above -- how do I invoke the
>> all target in the BAR project in a way that works for all build-tools,
>> not only GNU-make?)
>>
>
> You should look at ctest --build-and-test.  It can do what you want, and
> invoke all build systems supported by CMake.  It is used in the testing of
> CMake.  See CMake/Tests/CMakeLists.txt, and ctest --help for information.
>

Aha, yes, that's it! Thank you!

/Hugo Heden