CMake 3.3 Release Notes — CMake 4.2.6 Documentation

# CMake 3.3 Release Notes

Changes made since CMake 3.2 include the following.

## New Features

### Generators

- The Makefile Generators now add `.DELETE_ON_ERROR` to the makefiles that contain the actual build rules for files on disk. This tells GNU make to remove rule outputs when their recipe modifies an output but fails.

- The Visual Studio Generators learned to support `.xaml` source files and automatically associate them with corresponding `.h` and `.cpp` sources.

- A new experimental `Green Hills MULTI` generator was added on Windows. Green Hills MULTI is an IDE for embedded real-time systems.

### Commands

- The `add_dependencies()` command learned to allow dependencies to be added to interface libraries. Dependencies added to an interface library are followed transitively in its place since the target itself does not build.

- The `execute_process()` command learned to support specifying the same file for `OUTPUT_FILE` and `ERROR_FILE`.

- The `file(GLOB)` and `file(GLOB_RECURSE)` commands learned a new `LIST_DIRECTORIES <bool>` option to specify whether the glob result should include directories.

- The `find_library()`, `find_path()`, and `find_file()` commands now search in installation prefixes derived from the `PATH` environment variable.

- The `if()` command learned a new `IN_LIST` operator that evaluates to true if a given element is contained in a named list.

- The `install(EXPORT)` and `export()` commands learned to export targets that populate the `INTERFACE_SOURCES` target property.

- The `install(TARGETS)` command learned to support generator expressions in the `DESTINATION` value.

### Variables

- The version of some Fortran compilers is now detected and stored in the `CMAKE_Fortran_COMPILER_VERSION` variable.

- The Visual Studio Generators learned a new `CMAKE_VS_INCLUDE_INSTALL_TO_DEFAULT_BUILD` option to put the `INSTALL` target in the default build of a solution (`.sln`) file.

### Properties

- A `CROSSCOMPILING_EMULATOR` target property and supporting `CMAKE_CROSSCOMPILING_EMULATOR` variable were introduced to allow target platform binaries to run on the host during cross compiling.

- A `<LANG>_INCLUDE_WHAT_YOU_USE` target property and supporting `CMAKE_<LANG>_INCLUDE_WHAT_YOU_USE` variable were introduced to tell the Makefile Generators and the `Ninja` generator to run `include-what-you-use` along with the compiler for `C` and `CXX` languages.

- The `<LANG>_VISIBILITY_PRESET` and `VISIBILITY_INLINES_HIDDEN` target properties now affect compilation in sources of all target types. See policy `CMP0063`.

- The `XCODE_ATTRIBUTE_<an-attribute>` target property learned to support generator expressions.

### Modules

- The `CheckFortranCompilerFlag` module was introduced to check `Fortran` compiler flags, much like the `CheckCCompilerFlag` module already does for `C`.

- The `ExternalData` module learned a new `ExternalData_NO_SYMLINKS` option to disable use of symbolic links to populate the real data files and use copies instead.

- The `ExternalData` module learned a new `RECURSE:` option in `DATA{}` references specifying directories. This allows an entire directory tree of associated files to be matched.

- The `ExternalData` module learned a new URL template placeholder `%(algo:<key>)` to allow custom mapping from algorithm name to URL component through configuration of new `ExternalData_URL_ALGO_<algo>_<key>` variables. This allows more flexibility in remote URLs.

- The `ExternalProject` module learned to replace tokens like `<BINARY_DIR>` in the `BYPRODUCTS` of each step.

- The `ExternalProject` module APIs learned to support `generator expressions` when using `LOG_*` options and in CMake initial cache options.

- The `FindBoost` module now tracks the directories containing libraries separately for RELEASE and DEBUG configurations.

- The `FindCUDA` module now defaults to using the static CUDA runtime library if it is available. A new `CUDA_USE_STATIC_CUDA_RUNTIME` option is offered to control this behavior.

- The `FindMatlab` module was completely rewritten. It learned about versions and components and to find Matlab in a more precise and multiplatform way. The module now offers APIs to create mex extensions, documentation, and unit tests.

- The `FindPackageHandleStandardArgs` module `find_package_handle_standard_args()` command now always populates both the `<PackageName>_FOUND` and `<UPPERCASE_NAME>_FOUND` variables (the latter for backwards compatibility). The `FOUND_VAR` option is now ignored except to enforce its allowed values.

- The `InstallRequiredSystemLibraries` module learned a new `CMAKE_INSTALL_SYSTEM_RUNTIME_COMPONENT` option to specify the installation component.

### Generator Expressions

- A new `COMPILE_LANGUAGE` generator expression was introduced to allow specification of compile options for target files based on the `LANGUAGE` of each source file. Due to limitations of the underlying native build tools, this feature has varying support across generators. See the `cmake-generator-expressions(7)` manual for details.

### CTest

- The `ctest(1)` tool learned a new `--repeat-until-fail <n>` option to help find sporadic test failures.

- The `CTestCoverageCollectGCOV` module learned to support the same `CTEST_CUSTOM_COVERAGE_EXCLUDE` option as the `ctest_coverage()` command.

### CPack

- The `CPack IFW Generator` learned to support Qt Framework Installer 2.0 tools.

- The `CPack DEB Generator` learned a new `CPACK_DEBIAN_<COMPONENT>_PACKAGE_SHLIBDEPS` variable to specify per-component use of `dpkg-shlibdeps`.

- The `CPack DEB Generator` learned a new `CPACK_DEBIAN_<COMPONENT>_PACKAGE_DEPENDS` option to specify per-component dependencies.

- The `CPack RPM Generator` learned to package symbolic links more cleanly and now supports directory symlinks with recent `rpmbuild` versions.

- The `CPack RPM Generator` learned a new `CPACK_RPM_ADDITIONAL_MAN_DIRS` variable to specify directories containing man pages for the brp-compress RPM macro.

- The `CPack RPM Generator` learned a new `CPACK_RPM_<component>_PACKAGE_ARCHITECTURE` variable to specify a component-specific package architecture.

- The CPack WIX generator learned the new `CPACK_START_MENU_SHORTCUTS`, `CPACK_DESKTOP_SHORTCUTS` and `CPACK_STARTUP_SHORTCUTS` installed file properties which can be used to install shortcuts in the Start Menu, on the Desktop and in the Startup Folder respectively.

### Other

- The `Compile Features` functionality is now aware of features supported by GNU compilers on Windows, versions 4.4 through 5.0.

- The `cmake(1)` `-E tar` command learned a new `--format<format>` option to specify the archive format to be written.

- On OS X, CMake learned to create XCTest bundles to test Frameworks and App Bundles within Xcode. The `FindXCTest` module provides convenience functions to handle `XCTEST` bundles.

## Deprecated and Removed Features

- On OS X the `cmake-gui(1)` no longer has the `Install For Command Line Use` menu item. Instead there is a `How to Install For Command Line Use` menu item that shows an informational dialog box explaining how to make the command line tools available. For example:

      /Applications/CMake.app/Contents/bin/cmake-gui --install

- The `ctest_build()` and `build_command()` commands no longer tell `make` tools to ignore errors with the `-i` option. Previously this was done for Makefile Generators but not others. See policy `CMP0061`.

- The `Visual Studio 10 2010` generator no longer checks for running VS IDEs with the project open or asks them to reload. This was originally done for VS 10 because it had been done for VS 7 through 9 to avoid prompting for every project in a solution. Since VS >= 10 allow the whole solution to reload at once they do not need CMake to help them.

- The `Visual Studio 7` generator (.NET 2002) is now deprecated and will be removed in a future version of CMake.

- The `Visual Studio 6` generator is now deprecated and will be removed in a future version of CMake.

- The `find_package()` command no longer considers project build trees recently configured in a `cmake-gui(1)`. This was previously done only on Windows and is now never done. The `NO_CMAKE_BUILDS_PATH` option is now ignored if given and effectively always on. Projects may populate the User Package Registry to aid users building multiple dependent projects one after another.

- The `add_definitions()` command no longer causes a `DEFINITIONS` directory property to be populated. See policy `CMP0059`.

- With Visual Studio 7, 8, and 9 generators the value of the `$(OutDir)` placeholder no longer evaluates to the configuration name. Projects should use `$(ConfigurationName)` for that instead.

- Using the output of `export()` with the `install(FILES)` command is no longer allowed. See policy `CMP0062` for details.

## Other Changes

- The `Ninja` generator now requires that calls to the `add_custom_command()` and `add_custom_target()` commands use the `BYPRODUCTS` option to explicitly specify any files generated by the custom commands that are not listed as outputs (perhaps because their timestamps are allowed to be older than the inputs). See policy `CMP0058`.

- Build-time progress output of Makefile Generators has been improved. It no longer mixes progress and build rule messages during parallel builds. The link rule messages now have progress and are displayed as bold green instead of bold red (since red is often associated with an error message).

- The `CMAKE_CFG_INTDIR` variable value for Visual Studio 7, 8, and 9 is now `$(ConfigurationName)` instead of `$(OutDir)`. This should have no effect on the intended use cases of the variable.

- Linking to library files by a full path in an implicit linker search directory (e.g. `/usr/lib/libfoo.a`) no longer asks the linker to search for the library (e.g. `-lfoo`) and now links by full path. See policy `CMP0060`.