[CMake] open source project for CMake ports?

[Alan W. Irwin]

On 2009-02-17 00:41+0100 Luigi Calori wrote:

>> I think also the KDE-on-Windows developer cmakeified a few projects.
>> 
> I' ve checked out the [KDE-on-Windows] project, it is really inetresting, I' ve tried their 
> emerge utility (a kind of a port of the Gentoo portage tools on windows)
> It seems it is able to keep a list of packeges and their dependencies and can 
> handle different compiler platforms like mingw, msvc8, msvc9
> Regarding CMake, it use it for some libs but not all (libcurl,libjasper is 
> built with cmake, tiff, and jpeg seems not).
>
> [...]KDE-on-Windows keeps the cmake separated, in the package definition, that 
> keep the url to where get thezipped source.
> The process is then to get, uncompress, patch ,configure, build and install.
> These step are described and implemented in python scripts. It seems that the 
> CMakeList are added in the expanded package.

In my view a SF project that just collects and maintains CMake-based build
system patches for the more important free software projects that are still
struggling with autotools would be worthwhile.  Of course, the eventual goal
would be to integrate individual patches to implement a CMake-based build
system for a particular software project in with that project, but the SF
project would provide facilities to work on such patches and make them
available for those who would like to try them. I think the availability of
working patches would be a big help in convincing parent projects to adopt
the work for themselves especially if you make clear that you are not
interfering with their existing build system at all, and your patches will
peacefully coexist with it as an added feature.

Of course, you can debate forever whether such a SF project would be
successful or not, but the only way to really know is to try it and see.
That is, start with something small and expand from there. I don't have time
to help with such a SF project myself at this time, but I think it is a good
idea that has a reasonable chance of success, and I would certainly be
cheering from the sidelines.

Alan
__________________________
Alan W. Irwin

Astronomical research affiliation with Department of Physics and Astronomy,
University of Victoria (astrowww.phys.uvic.ca).

Programming affiliations with the FreeEOS equation-of-state implementation
for stellar interiors (freeeos.sf.net); PLplot scientific plotting software
package (plplot.org); the libLASi project (unifont.org/lasi); the Loads of
Linux Links project (loll.sf.net); and the Linux Brochure Project
(lbproject.sf.net).
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Linux-powered Science
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