[CMake] CMake Feature list

[Bill Hoffman]

Brandon Van Every wrote:
> On Fri, Feb 15, 2008 at 9:59 AM, Bill Hoffman <bill.hoffman at kitware.com> wrote:
>>  http://www.cmake.org/Wiki/Really_Cool_CMake_Features
> 
> This is really important (good idea Bill) so I linked it as the 1st
> item under "Primary Resources."  In other words, almost the very 1st
> thing you'd look at on the wiki.  I figure, rather than expecting
> people to just download CMake and start playing with it, it would be a
> good idea to give them a feature list, so that they become interested
> and actually download.  I also redrafted the introductory statement to
> sound more confident and professional.  It would be good to sort the
> list as time goes on.  An unsorted list will do for now, but we don't
> need to be calling attention to the fact that it's unsorted, that
> sounds amateurish.  I think the feature list is already adequate as a
> pitch.  It can be improved, but by putting it front and center in
> people's minds, it is likely to improve faster.
> 
> The intro now explicitly directs people to extend the list.  I hope
> you all can live up to the standard of enumerating features that make
> CMake "a joy to program with."  :-)  That word "joy" is certainly a
> two-edged sword, but I suggest we keep it for now and see it as the
> mission statement.  Can we craft a feature list that actually
> justifies and validates the use of the word "joy?"  That appears
> professional and not a pile of self-inflated malarky?  Even if some
> cantankerous yet well-informed soul takes issue with the word in the
> sense of, "Oh JOY" (not), the feedback can only stimulate the CMake
> community and increase CMake's notoriety.
> 
Actually, I made it a bit obscure because I was hoping to flesh it out 
before putting it at the top of the wiki.   I guess the list is OK as 
is. The problem is there are so many little things that cmake does 
automatically that actually have lots of work behind them that people 
don't realize.  Eventually, I will move the list or parts of it from the 
wiki to the main web page.  Another reason we might not want it at the 
top yet is that I am listing CVS  features as well as 2.4 stuff.

-Bill