Re: [boost] cmake target and binary name mangling

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The target graphs are REGEXable via the pattern "<lib>_-<special>-<binary>" where:

* hl = header only library * sl = static library * dl = shared library There is no need for `hl` as it doesn’t produce binaries.

"hl" is necessary as a CMake logical target, not at as a build output.

Indeed. Paul seems to have a mental block regarding header only cmake targeting.

The problem I have with all those targets, is that they add a lot of overload to IDE solutions who will scan sources for every configuration and for people whose workflow is to build "all" or the whole solution for MSVC, which will build way too many versions.

You are correct - if the end user loads the base .vcxproj file. But be aware that consuming cmake projects will link against only the dependent targets that they use, and if you load those .vcxprojs they consist exactly of the minimum subset of targets used. So consider the base library level .vcxproj as a "database". For example, if I open a .vcxproj for an individual unit test, I will get only the minimum target set for that unit test to compile. You'd do the same thing for a release building project. It would bring in only the targets for doing a release distro. Users ought to open that one instead, and we can hide the base "database" .vcxproj file inside a subdirectory. You might now say why bother with a master "database" .vcxproj file then? A single file eases much of the remaining build scripting without needed to use custom cmake function logic, which I strongly recommend against, but am absolutely sure we will see proliferate with all the usual bad consequences in the Boost conversion (c.f. Paul's library of custom cmake function logic he's pushing). But it is true that as the database gets bigger, cmake takes longer to generate it, and eventually a tradeoff needs to be made. That said, cmake 3.9 got a lot faster at generating huge lists of target permutations into a single solution, and I expect that trend will continue as big cmake users like Google push harder on that. Niall -- ned Productions Limited Consulting http://www.nedproductions.biz/ http://ie.linkedin.com/in/nialldouglas/