An Introduction to CMake

GameDev.net recently published a four-part series on writing cross-platform build systems with CMake. The series first covers the very basics of CMake, followed by a tutorial on how to add unit-tests to your codebase using googlemock. Parts 1, 2, 3, 4.

(Edit: with the release of CMake 2.8.11, a fifth part was recently added.)

I consider myself lucky that I don’t have to work with C++ code very often. It’s not that I dislike the language, it’s just that I dislike working with build systems. All build systems are terrible and, much worse, poorly documented. I can never figure out how to accomplish the simplest of tasks with any of them. CMake happens to be the least bad of all build systems I’ve had the profound displeasure of having used, and this series of tutorials is the best I’ve encountered on the use of CMake.