Book Image

Modern CMake for C++

By : Rafał Świdziński
5 (2)
Book Image

Modern CMake for C++

5 (2)
By: Rafał Świdziński

Overview of this book

Creating top-notch software is an extremely difficult undertaking. Developers researching the subject have difficulty determining which advice is up to date and which approaches have already been replaced by easier, better practices. At the same time, most online resources offer limited explanation, while also lacking the proper context and structure. This book offers a simpler, more comprehensive, experience as it treats the subject of building C++ solutions holistically. Modern CMake for C++ is an end-to-end guide to the automatization of complex tasks, including building, testing, and packaging. You'll not only learn how to use the CMake language in CMake projects, but also discover what makes them maintainable, elegant, and clean. The book also focuses on the structure of source directories, building targets, and packages. As you progress, you’ll learn how to compile and link executables and libraries, how those processes work, and how to optimize builds in CMake for the best results. You'll understand how to use external dependencies in your project – third-party libraries, testing frameworks, program analysis tools, and documentation generators. Finally, you'll get to grips with exporting, installing, and packaging for internal and external purposes. By the end of this book, you’ll be able to use CMake confidently on a professional level.
Table of Contents (18 chapters)
1
Section 1: Introducing CMake
5
Section 2: Building With CMake
10
Section 3: Automating With CMake

Chapter 9: Program Analysis Tools

Producing high-quality code is not an easy task, even for very experienced developers. By adding tests to our solution, we reduce the risk of making obvious mistakes in the business code. But that won't be enough to avoid more intricate problems. Every piece of software consists of so many details that keeping track of them all becomes a full-time job. There are dozens of conventions and multiple special design practices agreed upon by teams maintaining the product.

Some questions relate to consistent coding style: should we use 80 or 120 columns in our code? Should we allow std::bind or commit to Lambda functions? Is it okay to use C-style arrays? Should small functions be defined in a single line? Should we insist on using auto always, or only when it increases readability?

Ideally, we also avoid any statements that are known to be incorrect in general: infinite loops, usage of identifiers reserved by a standard library, unintended loss...