[CMake] When should I use add_subdirectory and when ExternalProject?

[Benjamin Eikel]

Am Montag, 4. Februar 2013, 09:23:20 schrieb Ansis Māliņš:
> If I have a dependency (e.g. SDL2) that seems to work with add_subdirectory
> just fine, should I still use ExternalProject_Add instead? Given both ways
> work, what should I prefer? What are the tradeoffs?

Hello Ansis,

most of the time, you do not want to have external libraries (like SDL2) 
inside your source directory structure. Therefore, I do not think that 
add_subdirectory is the right way. For libraries installed on your system, you 
should use find_package.

ExternalProject_Add does not integrate so well into the build of the project. 
You can use it to bootstrap (download, patch, build, and install external 
dependences).

Kind regards
Benjamin