path: root/Help/release/3.15.rst

CMake 3.15 Release Notes
************************

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Changes made since CMake 3.14 include the following.

New Features
============

Generators
----------

* The :generator:`Xcode` generator now supports per-target schemes.
  See the :variable:`CMAKE_XCODE_GENERATE_SCHEME` variable and
  :prop_tgt:`XCODE_GENERATE_SCHEME` target property.

* The :generator:`Green Hills MULTI` generator has been updated:

  * It now supports the :command:`add_custom_command` and
    :command:`add_custom_target` commands.

  * It is now available on Linux.

Languages
---------

* Preliminary support for the ``Swift`` language was added to the
  :generator:`Ninja` generator:

  * Use the :envvar:`SWIFTC` environment variable to specify a compiler.

  * The :prop_tgt:`Swift_DEPENDENCIES_FILE` target property and
    :prop_sf:`Swift_DEPENDENCIES_FILE` source file property were added
    to customize dependency files.

  * The :prop_tgt:`Swift_MODULE_NAME` target property was added to
    customize the Swift module name.

  * The :prop_sf:`Swift_DIAGNOSTICS_FILE` source property was added to
    indicate where to write the serialised Swift diagnostics.

  The Swift support is experimental, not considered stable, and may change
  in future releases of CMake.

Compilers
---------

* The ``Clang`` compiler variant on Windows that targets the MSVC ABI
  but has a GNU-like command line is now supported.

* Support for the Clang-based ARM compiler was added with compiler id
  ``ARMClang``.

* Support was added for the IAR compiler architectures Renesas RX,
  RL78, RH850 and Texas Instruments MSP430.

* Support was added for the IAR compilers built for Linux (IAR BuildLx).

Command-Line
------------

* The :envvar:`CMAKE_GENERATOR` environment variable was added
  to specify a default generator to use when :manual:`cmake(1)` is
  run without a ``-G`` option.  Additionally, environment variables
  :envvar:`CMAKE_GENERATOR_PLATFORM`, :envvar:`CMAKE_GENERATOR_TOOLSET`,
  and :envvar:`CMAKE_GENERATOR_INSTANCE` were created to configure
  the generator.

* The :manual:`cmake(1)` ``--build`` tool ``--target`` parameter gained support
  for multiple targets, e.g. ``cmake --build . --target Library1 Library2``.
  It now also has a short form ``-t`` alias, e.g.
  ``cmake --build . -t Library1 Library2``.

* The :manual:`cmake(1)` command gained a new ``--install`` option.
  This may be used after building a project to run installation without
  using the generated build system or the native build tool.

* The :manual:`cmake(1)` command learned a new CLI option ``--loglevel``.

* The :manual:`cmake(1)` ``-E remove_directory`` command-line tool learned
  to support removing multiple directories.

* The :manual:`cmake(1)` ``-E tar`` tool has been improved:

  * It now continues adding files to an archive even if some of the files
    are not readable.  This behavior is more consistent with the
    classic ``tar`` tool.

  * It now parses all flags, and if an invalid flag was provided, a
    warning is issued.

  * It now displays an error if no action flag was specified, along with a
    list of possible actions: ``t`` (list), ``c`` (create) or ``x`` (extract).

  * It now supports extracting (``-x``) or listing (``-t``) only specific
    files or directories.

  * It now supports Zstandard compression with a ``--zstd`` option.
    Zstandard was designed to give a compression ratio comparable to that
    of the DEFLATE (zip) algorithm, but faster, especially for decompression.

Commands
--------

* The :command:`add_custom_command` and :command:`add_custom_target` commands
  gained a new ``JOB_POOL`` option that works with the :generator:`Ninja`
  generator to set the pool variable on the build statement.

* The :command:`add_library` command ``ALIAS`` option learned to support
  import libraries of the ``UNKNOWN`` type.

* The :command:`cmake_parse_arguments` command gained an additional
  ``<prefix>_KEYWORDS_MISSING_VALUES`` output variable to report
  keyword arguments that were given by the caller with no values.

* The :command:`execute_process` command gained a ``COMMAND_ECHO`` option
  and supporting :variable:`CMAKE_EXECUTE_PROCESS_COMMAND_ECHO` variable
  to enable echoing of the command-line string before execution.

* The :command:`file(INSTALL)` command learned a new argument,
  ``FOLLOW_SYMLINK_CHAIN``, which can be used to recursively resolve and
  install symlinks.

* :command:`list` learned new sub-commands:
  ``PREPEND``, ``POP_FRONT`` and ``POP_BACK``.

* The :command:`message` command learned new types:
  ``NOTICE``, ``VERBOSE``, ``DEBUG`` and ``TRACE``.

* The :command:`string` learned a new sub-command ``REPEAT``.

Variables
---------

* The :variable:`CMAKE_CROSSCOMPILING_EMULATOR` variable and corresponding
  :prop_tgt:`CROSSCOMPILING_EMULATOR` target property learned to support
  arguments to the emulator.

* The :variable:`CMAKE_FIND_PACKAGE_PREFER_CONFIG` variable was added to tell
  :command:`find_package` calls to look for a package configuration
  file first even if a find module is available.

* The :variable:`CMAKE_FRAMEWORK` variable was added to initialize the
  :prop_tgt:`FRAMEWORK` property on all targets.

* The :variable:`CMAKE_VS_JUST_MY_CODE_DEBUGGING` variable and
  :prop_tgt:`VS_JUST_MY_CODE_DEBUGGING` target property were added to
  enable the Just My Code feature of the Visual Studio Debugger when
  compiling with MSVC cl 19.05 and higher.

* The :variable:`CMAKE_MSVC_RUNTIME_LIBRARY` variable and
  :prop_tgt:`MSVC_RUNTIME_LIBRARY` target property were introduced to
  select the runtime library used by compilers targeting the MSVC ABI.
  See policy :policy:`CMP0091`.

* The :variable:`CMAKE_PROJECT_INCLUDE` and
  :variable:`CMAKE_PROJECT_INCLUDE_BEFORE` variables were added to allow
  injection of custom code at the sites of :command:`project` calls
  without knowing the project name a priori.

Properties
----------

* The :prop_tgt:`ADDITIONAL_CLEAN_FILES` target property and
  :prop_dir:`ADDITIONAL_CLEAN_FILES` directory property were added.
  They allow to register additional files that should be removed during
  the clean stage.

* The :prop_tgt:`PUBLIC_HEADER` and :prop_tgt:`PRIVATE_HEADER` properties
  may now be set on :ref:`Interface Libraries`. The headers specified by those
  properties can be installed using the :command:`install(TARGETS)` command by
  passing the ``PUBLIC_HEADER`` and ``PRIVATE_HEADER`` arguments respectively.

* The :prop_tgt:`VS_PACKAGE_REFERENCES` target property was added to
  tell :ref:`Visual Studio Generators` to add references to ``nuget``
  packages.

* The :prop_tgt:`VS_PROJECT_IMPORT` target property was added to allow
  managed Visual Studio project files to import external ``.props`` files.

* The :prop_tgt:`VS_NO_SOLUTION_DEPLOY` target property was added to
  tell :ref:`Visual Studio Generators` whether to deploy an artifact
  to the WinCE or Windows Phone target device.

Modules
-------

* The :module:`FindBoost` module was reworked to expose a more consistent
  user experience between its "Config" and "Module" modes and with other
  find modules in general.

  * A new imported target ``Boost::headers`` is now defined (same
    as ``Boost::boost``).

  * New output variables ``Boost_VERSION_MACRO``,
    ``Boost_VERSION_MAJOR``, ``Boost_VERSION_MINOR``,
    ``Boost_VERSION_PATCH``, and ``Boost_VERSION_COUNT``
    were added.

  * The ``QUIET`` argument passed to :command:`find_package` is no
    longer ignored in config mode.  Note that the CMake package shipped with
    Boost ``1.70.0`` ignores the ``QUIET`` argument passed to
    :command:`find_package`.  This is fixed in the next Boost release.

  * The input switch ``Boost_DETAILED_FAILURE_MSG`` was removed.

  * ``Boost_VERSION`` now reports the version in ``x.y.z``
    format in module mode.  See policy :policy:`CMP0093`.

* The :module:`FindCups` module now provides imported targets.

* The :module:`FindEnvModules` module was added to use Lua- and TCL-based
  environment modules in :ref:`CTest Scripts <CTest Script>`.

* The :module:`FindGLEW` module now provides an interface more consistent
  with what upstream GLEW provides in its own CMake package files.

* The :module:`FindPkgConfig` now populates :prop_tgt:`INTERFACE_LINK_OPTIONS`
  property of imported targets with other (non-library) linker flags.

* The :module:`FindPostgreSQL` module learned to find debug and release
  variants separately.

* Modules :module:`FindPython3`, :module:`FindPython2` and :module:`FindPython`
  gained additional lookup strategies and controls, and a new default.
  See policy :policy:`CMP0094`.

* Modules :module:`FindPython`, :module:`FindPython2` and :module:`FindPython3`
  gain a new target (respectively ``Python::Module``, ``Python2::Module``
  and ``Python3::Module``) which can be used to develop Python modules.

* Modules :module:`FindPython3`, :module:`FindPython2` and :module:`FindPython`
  gain capability to control how virtual environments are handled.

* The :module:`UseSWIG` module learned to manage alternate library names
  by passing ``-interface <library_name>`` for ``python`` language or
  ``-dllimport <library_name>`` for ``CSharp`` language to the ``SWIG``
  compiler.

Generator Expressions
---------------------

* The :manual:`generator expressions <cmake-generator-expressions(7)>`
  ``C_COMPILER_ID``, ``CXX_COMPILER_ID``, ``CUDA_COMPILER_ID``,
  ``Fortran_COMPILER_ID``, ``COMPILE_LANGUAGE``, ``COMPILE_LANG_AND_ID``, and
  ``PLATFORM_ID`` learned to support matching one value from a comma-separated
  list.

* The ``$<CUDA_COMPILER_ID:...>`` and ``$<CUDA_COMPILER_VERSION:...>``
  :manual:`generator expressions <cmake-generator-expressions(7)>` were added.

* The ``$<COMPILE_LANG_AND_ID:...>`` generator expression was introduced to
  allow specification of compile options for target files based on the
  :variable:`CMAKE_<LANG>_COMPILER_ID` and :prop_sf:`LANGUAGE` of
  each source file.

* A ``$<FILTER:list,INCLUDE|EXCLUDE,regex>``
  :manual:`generator expression <cmake-generator-expressions(7)>`
  has been added.

* A ``$<REMOVE_DUPLICATES:list>``
  :manual:`generator expression <cmake-generator-expressions(7)>`
  has been added.

* The ``$<SHELL_PATH:...>`` :manual:`generator expression
  <cmake-generator-expressions(7)>` gained support for a list of paths.

* New ``$<TARGET_FILE*>`` :manual:`generator expressions
  <cmake-generator-expressions(7)>` were added to retrieve the prefix, base
  name, and suffix of the file names of various artifacts:

  * ``$<TARGET_FILE_PREFIX:...>``
  * ``$<TARGET_FILE_BASE_NAME:...>``
  * ``$<TARGET_FILE_SUFFIX:...>``
  * ``$<TARGET_LINKER_FILE_PREFIX:...>``
  * ``$<TARGET_LINKER_FILE_BASE_NAME:...>``
  * ``$<TARGET_LINKER_FILE_SUFFIX:...>``
  * ``$<TARGET_PDB_FILE_BASE_NAME:...>``

* The ``$<TARGET_OBJECTS:...>`` :manual:`generator expression
  <cmake-generator-expressions(7)>` is now supported on ``SHARED``,
  ``STATIC``, ``MODULE`` libraries and executables.

CTest
-----

* The :command:`ctest_submit` command learned a new option: ``BUILD_ID``.
  This can be used to store the ID assigned to this build by CDash to a
  variable.

* The :command:`ctest_update` command learned to honor a new variable:
  :variable:`CTEST_UPDATE_VERSION_OVERRIDE`. This can be used to specify
  the current version of your source tree rather than using the update
  command to discover the current version that is checked out.

CPack
-----

* The :cpack_gen:`CPack IFW Generator` gained a new
  :variable:`CPACK_IFW_PACKAGE_STYLE_SHEET` variable to customize the
  installer stylesheet.

Deprecated and Removed Features
===============================

* The :manual:`cmake-server(7)` mode has been deprecated and will be
  removed from a future version of CMake.  Please port clients to use
  the :manual:`cmake-file-api(7)` instead.

* The :prop_dir:`ADDITIONAL_MAKE_CLEAN_FILES` directory property is now
  deprecated.  Use the :prop_dir:`ADDITIONAL_CLEAN_FILES` directory property
  instead.

* The variable :variable:`CMAKE_AUTOMOC_RELAXED_MODE` is considered
  deprecated.  Support still exists but will be removed in future versions.

* The :command:`export(PACKAGE)` command now does nothing unless
  enabled via :variable:`CMAKE_EXPORT_PACKAGE_REGISTRY`.
  See policy :policy:`CMP0090`.

* The :generator:`Xcode` generator now requires at least Xcode 5.

* An explicit deprecation diagnostic was added for policy ``CMP0066``
  (``CMP0065`` and below were already deprecated).
  The :manual:`cmake-policies(7)` manual explains that the OLD behaviors
  of all policies are deprecated and that projects should port to the
  NEW behaviors.

Other Changes
=============

* CMake learned how to compile C++14 with the IBM AIX XL compiler
  and the SunPro compiler and to compile C++20 with the AppleClang compiler.

* With MSVC-like compilers the value of :variable:`CMAKE_<LANG>_FLAGS`
  no longer contains warning flags like ``/W3`` by default.
  See policy :policy:`CMP0092`.

* IBM Clang-based XL compilers that define ``__ibmxl__`` now use the
  compiler id ``XLClang`` instead of ``XL``.  See policy :policy:`CMP0089`.

* The :command:`file(REMOVE)` and :command:`file(REMOVE_RECURSE)` commands
  were changed to ignore empty arguments with a warning instead of treating
  them as a relative path and removing the contents of the current directory.