[CMake] Copying shared libraries in a post-build step

[J Decker]

>
>
> I'm now calling it out as a design problem in
> CMake, especially as the winds have shifted to more platforms focusing
> on shipping binaries than the former and now treat packaging as a
> first class citizen. It is an impediment to the natural workflow on
> those platforms, it is an impediment to people adopting CMake, and it
> is an impediment to people wanting to deal with native languages
> because build systems are too complicated.


Using cmake requires adaptation of workflow.  That in itself is already an
added complication for VS etc sort of developers that want to just use the
high level IDE functions to, say, add a source file...if you don't want to
'impede natural workflow' don't use cmake?

It was an impediment to me when first started, because the makefile system
I was coming from I already had targets going to the right locations... had
to adapt thinking to allow cmake to track its build products separately and
then add an install rule to gather them together.... but doing that once I
did I have no regrets.

I don't develop for Mac; so don't know issues with signing there.... but
then I've not seen a lot of complaints come across the list like 'sure
would wish that...'

even if you're just shipping binaries likely you also have additional
resources needed to be included.... and that the binary will be an
installable package.  Can still just zip the temp install location and
distribute that...


"I don't think this is true at all. My scripts do the "right" thing
when you build and they are efficient.  But I still respect INSTALL
and you can still install. I still use INSTALL and PACKAGE,
particularly the latter on Windows for creating an NSIS installer."

I used some macros to make implementation simpler so I can just do
"install_default( target_name)" and even that I don't really like, because
it's not 'native' so I found people had issues dealing with it, even if it
was just a matter of copy and paste and change a name... adding addtional
scripts with their own esoterics I don't think is a good thing either...

True; in the beginning, I thought I wanted lists of libraries etc that were
used to build an exectuable so I could just reference that and all
dependant files... but in reality I didn't really need that once they were
just all put in the same location.  My old make system used to do a
'program_copy' command which would read a target list of .exe and .dll  (or
.so on linux) and do a copy of all files that were actually referenced...
this failed for plugins though, since they are dynamically referenced
through code.


>
> Thanks,
> Eric
> --
> Beginning iPhone Games Development
> http://playcontrol.net/iphonegamebook/
>
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