I am happy to announce that CMake 3.17.0 is now available for download at:

https://cmake.org/download/

Documentation is available at:

https://cmake.org/cmake/help/v3.17

Release notes appear below and are also published at

https://cmake.org/cmake/help/v3.17/release/3.17.html

Some of the more significant changes in CMake 3.17 are:

“cmake(1)” gained a “Ninja Multi-Config” generator, which is similar

to the “Ninja” generator but can be used to build multiple

configurations at once.

Visual Studio Generators learned to support per-config sources.

Previously only Command-Line Build Tool Generators supported them.

The “Compile Features” functionality now offers meta-features for

the CUDA language standard levels (e.g. “cuda_std_03”,

“cuda_std_14”). See “CMAKE_CUDA_KNOWN_FEATURES”.

The “CMAKE_CUDA_RUNTIME_LIBRARY” variable and “CUDA_RUNTIME_LIBRARY”

target property were introduced to select the CUDA runtime library

used when linking targets that use CUDA.

The “FindCUDAToolkit” module was added to find the CUDA Toolkit

without enabling CUDA as a language.

“cmake(1)” gained a “–debug-find” command-line option to enable

additional human-readable output on where “find_*” commands search.

The “CMAKE_FIND_DEBUG_MODE” variable was introduced to print extra

“find_*” call information during the cmake run to standard error.

Output is designed for human consumption and not for parsing.

The “FindCURL” module learned to find CURL using the

“CURLConfig.cmake” package configuration file generated by CURL’s

cmake buildsystem. It also gained a new “CURL_NO_CURL_CMAKE” option

to disable this behavior.

The “FindPython” module has learned to find Python components in

active virtual environments managed by “conda”.

The “ctest(1)” tool gained a “–no-tests=<[error|ignore]>” option to

explicitly set and unify the behavior between direct invocation and

script mode if no tests were found.

The “ctest(1)” tool gained a “–repeat :” option to specify

conditions in which to repeat tests. This generalizes the existing

"–repeat-until-fail " option to add modes for “until-pass” and

“after-timeout”.

Target link properties “INTERFACE_LINK_OPTIONS”,

“INTERFACE_LINK_DIRECTORIES” and “INTERFACE_LINK_DEPENDS” are now

transitive over private dependencies on static libraries. See policy

“CMP0099”.

When using MinGW tools, the “find_library()” command no longer finds

“.dll” files by default. Instead, it expects “.dll.a” import

libraries to be available.

The “Ninja” generator now prefers the first ninja build tool to

appear in the “PATH” no matter whether it is called “ninja-build”,

“ninja”, or “samu”. Previously the first of those names to appear

anywhere in the “PATH” would be preferred.

“cmake(1)” gained a “-E rm” command-line tool that can be used to

remove directories and files. This supersedes the existing “-E

remove” and “-E remove_directory” tools and has better semantics.

CMake 3.17 Release Notes

Changes made since CMake 3.16 include the following.

New Features

Generators

“cmake(1)” gained a “Ninja Multi-Config” generator, which is similar

to the “Ninja” generator but can be used to build multiple

configurations at once.

Visual Studio Generators learned to support per-config sources.

Previously only Command-Line Build Tool Generators supported them.

Visual Studio Generators for VS 2010 and above now support

specifying the “VCTargetsPath” value for project files in

“CMAKE_GENERATOR_TOOLSET” setting.

Visual Studio Generators for VS 2010 and above learned to support

.NET Standard and .NET Core. See the “DOTNET_TARGET_FRAMEWORK”

target property and associated “CMAKE_DOTNET_TARGET_FRAMEWORK”

variable.

Languages

The “Compile Features” functionality now offers meta-features for

the CUDA language standard levels (e.g. “cuda_std_03”,

“cuda_std_14”). See “CMAKE_CUDA_KNOWN_FEATURES”.

Compilers

The IBM XL Fortran compiler is now supported by the “Ninja”

generator.

Command-Line

“cmake(1)” gained a “–debug-find” command-line option to enable

additional human-readable output on where “find_*” commands search.

“cmake(1)” gained a “–trace-format” command-line option that can be

used to set the “–trace” output format. Currently, the old human

readable and the new JSON format are supported. The new JSON format

is easier to parse automatically than the existing format.

“cmake(1)” gained a “-E rm” command-line tool that can be used to

remove directories and files. This supersedes the existing “-E

remove” and “-E remove_directory” tools and has better semantics.

Commands

The “add_custom_command()” command learned to interpret paths in

“DEPENDS” arguments that are specified relative to the current

binary directory.

The “foreach()” command learned a new “ZIP_LISTS” option to iterate

over multiple lists simultaneously.

The “load_cache(READ_WITH_PREFIX)” command mode is now allowed when

using “cmake -P” to Run a Script.

The “message()” command learned to output context provided in the

“CMAKE_MESSAGE_CONTEXT” variable for log levels “NOTICE” and below.

Enable this output with the new “–log-context” command-line option

or “CMAKE_MESSAGE_CONTEXT_SHOW” variable.

The “message()” command gained new keywords “CHECK_START”,

“CHECK_PASS” and “CHECK_FAIL”.

The “target_compile_options()” command now honors the “BEFORE”

keyword more consistently. See policy “CMP0101”.

Variables

A “CMAKE_CTEST_ARGUMENTS” variable was added to specify a list of

command-line arguments passed to CTest when running through the

“test” (or “RUN_TESTS”) target of the generated build system.

The following variables are now defined inside a “function()”: “CMAKE_CURRENT_FUNCTION” “CMAKE_CURRENT_FUNCTION_LIST_DIR” “CMAKE_CURRENT_FUNCTION_LIST_FILE” “CMAKE_CURRENT_FUNCTION_LIST_LINE”

The “CMAKE_CUDA_RUNTIME_LIBRARY” variable and “CUDA_RUNTIME_LIBRARY”

target property were introduced to select the CUDA runtime library

used when linking targets that use CUDA.

The “CMAKE_FIND_DEBUG_MODE” variable was introduced to print extra

“find_*” call information during the cmake run to standard error.

Output is designed for human consumption and not for parsing.

The “CMAKE_EXPORT_COMPILE_COMMANDS” variable now takes its initial

value from the “CMAKE_EXPORT_COMPILE_COMMANDS” environment variable

if no explicit configuration is given.

The “CMAKE_COMPILER_LAUNCHER" variable, if not set

explicitly, now takes its initial value from the

"CMAKE_COMPILER_LAUNCHER” environment variable.

The “CMAKE_MESSAGE_LOG_LEVEL” variable can now be used to persist a

log level between CMake runs, unlike the “–log-level” command line

option which only applies to that particular run.

The “CMAKE_XCODE_SCHEME_ENVIRONMENT” variable was added to

initialize the “XCODE_SCHEME_ENVIRONMENT” target property.

The “CMAKE_XCODE_SCHEME_WORKING_DIRECTORY” variable and associated

“XCODE_SCHEME_WORKING_DIRECTORY” target property were added to tell

the “Xcode” generator to set the value of the “Custom Working

Directory” schema option.

Properties

The “AIX_EXPORT_ALL_SYMBOLS” target property and associated

“CMAKE_AIX_EXPORT_ALL_SYMBOLS” variable were created to optionally

explicitly disable automatic export of symbols from shared libraries

on AIX.

The “DEPRECATION” target property was added to mark a target as

deprecated. If a linked target is marked as deprecated, a warning

with the deprecation message is issued at generate time.

The “INSTALL_NAME_DIR” target property now supports “generator

expressions”. In particular, the “$<INSTALL_PREFIX>” generator

expression can be used to set the directory relative to the install-

time prefix.

Target properties “MACHO_COMPATIBILITY_VERSION” and

“MACHO_CURRENT_VERSION” were added to set the

“compatibility_version” and “curent_version”, respectively, for

Mach-O binaries. For backwards compatibility, if these properties

are not set, “SOVERSION” and “VERSION” are used respectively as

fallbacks.

The “VS_DOTNET_DOCUMENTATION_FILE” target property was added to tell

Visual Studio Generators to generate a “DocumentationFile” reference

in “.csproj” files.

Modules

The “ExternalProject” module “ExternalProject_Add()” command gained

a “GIT_SUBMODULES_RECURSE” option to specify whether Git submodules

should be updated recursively. The default is on to preserve

existing behavior.

The “FindCUDAToolkit” module was added to find the CUDA Toolkit

without enabling CUDA as a language.

The “FindCURL” module learned to find CURL using the

“CURLConfig.cmake” package configuration file generated by CURL’s

cmake buildsystem. It also gained a new “CURL_NO_CURL_CMAKE” option

to disable this behavior.

The “FindFLEX” module’s “FLEX_TARGET” command now runs “flex” with

“CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR” as the working directory. See policy

“CMP0098”.

The “FindLibArchive” module now provides an imported target for

libarchive.

The “FindPython” module has learned to find Python components in

active virtual environments managed by “conda”.

The “FindPython3” and “FindPython” modules gained, respectively,

variable “Python3_SOABI” and “Python_SOABI” giving the standard

extension suffix for modules. Moreover, commands

“Python3_add_library()” and “Python_add_library()” gained the option

“WITH_SOABI” to prefix the library suffix with the value of “SOABI”.

The “FindLibXml2” module now provides an imported target for the

“xmllint” executable.

Autogen

“AUTOMOC” and “AUTOUIC” learned to process headers with a “.hh”

extension. See policy “CMP0100”.

CTest

The “CTEST_CONFIGURATION_TYPE” variable is now set from the command

line when “ctest(1)” is invoked with "-C ".

The “ctest(1)” tool gained support for Dr. Memory to run memcheck

runs.

The “ctest(1)” tool gained a “–no-tests=<[error|ignore]>” option to

explicitly set and unify the behavior between direct invocation and

script mode if no tests were found.

The “ctest(1)” tool gained a “–repeat :” option to specify

conditions in which to repeat tests. This generalizes the existing

"–repeat-until-fail " option to add modes for “until-pass” and

“after-timeout”.

The “ctest_test()” command gained a “REPEAT :” option to

specify conditions in which to repeat tests.

CPack

The “CPack DragNDrop Generator” learned to use the

“CPACK_DMG__FILE_NAME” variable to set a custom filename

when packaging components into their own DMGs.

The “CPack DragNDrop Generator” learned to handle RTF formatted

license files. When “CPACK_DMG_SLA_DIR” variable is set,

“.license.rtf” is considered, but only as a fallback when

the plaintext (".txt") file is not found in order to maintain

backwards compatibility.

The “CPack NSIS Generator” gained a new variable

“CPACK_NSIS_MUI_HEADERIMAGE” to set the header image. To not break

existing setups, it still defaults to “CPACK_PACKAGE_ICON” if the

new variable is not set.

The “CPack NSIS Generator” now supports “CPACK_NSIS_UNINSTALL_NAME”.

This can be used to specify the name of the Uninstall program.

The “CPack NSIS Generator” now supports “CPACK_NSIS_WELCOME_TITLE”

and “CPACK_NSIS_WELCOME_TITLE_3LINES”. These can be used to specify

the welcome page title and display it in 3 lines.

The “CPack NSIS Generator” now supports “CPACK_NSIS_FINISH_TITLE”

and “CPACK_NSIS_FINISH_TITLE_3LINES”. These can be used to specify

the finish page title and display it in 3 lines.

The “CPack productbuild Generator” gained support for a

“CPACK_PRODUCTBUILD_BACKGROUND” variable to specify a background

image for the macOS installer.

Other

“ccmake(1)” now displays cache values using colors based on the

entry type if the terminal supports color.

“ccmake(1)” now displays messages and a progress bar during

configure and generate. It will keep the output displayed if any

errors or warnings occurred.

Deprecated and Removed Features

An explicit deprecation diagnostic was added for policy “CMP0068”

and policy “CMP0069” (“CMP0067” and below were already deprecated).

The “cmake-policies(7)” manual explains that the OLD behaviors of

all policies are deprecated and that projects should port to the NEW

behaviors.

The “CPack PackageMaker Generator” generator has been deprecated

because Xcode no longer distributes the PackageMaker tools. The

undocumented “OSXX11” generator has also been deprecated.

The “cmake(1)” command-line “-E remove” and “-E remove_directory”

tools are deprecated in favor of the new “-E rm” tool. The older

tools always returned 0 if a named path did not exist even without

the force option and cannot be fixed without breaking compatibility,

and so have been superseded.

Other Changes

The “file API” index file now emits a “multiConfig” flag specifying

whether or not the generator supports multiple output

configurations.

Target link properties “INTERFACE_LINK_OPTIONS”,

“INTERFACE_LINK_DIRECTORIES” and “INTERFACE_LINK_DEPENDS” are now

transitive over private dependencies on static libraries. See policy

“CMP0099”.

When using MinGW tools, the “find_library()” command no longer finds

“.dll” files by default. Instead, it expects “.dll.a” import

libraries to be available.

The “MinGW Makefiles” generator no longer issues an error if

“sh.exe” is present in the environment’s “PATH”.

The “Ninja” generator now prefers the first ninja build tool to

appear in the “PATH” no matter whether it is called “ninja-build”,

“ninja”, or “samu”. Previously the first of those names to appear

anywhere in the “PATH” would be preferred.

With SDCC the “sdar” tool is now preferred over “sdcclib” as

librarian. The latter was deprecated by SDCC 3.2.0 and removed in

SDCC 3.8.6.

With SDCC the default flags no longer include any target-specific

flags. Previously the default flags were hard-coded for 8051.

The “CMAKE_VS_GLOBALS” variable value now applies during compiler

identification and in targets created by the “add_custom_target()”

command.

The “Xcode” generator no longer hard-codes “-Wmost”, “-Wno-four-

char-constants”, and “-Wno-unknown-pragmas” warning flags.

Changes made since CMake 3.16.0-rc3:

Brad King (2):

export: Fix use-after-free on multiple calls overwriting same FILE

CMake 3.17.0

Err0rC0deX (1):

GetPrerequisites: Classify vcruntime libraries as system

FeRD (Frank Dana) (2):

Help: Add missing word in AUTOGEN_TARGET_DEPENDS.rst

Help: Expand discussion of GENERATED / BYPRODUCTS

Kyle Edwards (2):

Help: Fix documentation of --trace-format parameter

cmake: List valid values for --trace-format on the command line

Marc Chevrier (1):

FindPython: fix regression on version validation

Michael Hirsch, Ph.D (1):

FindMatlab: Add R2020a=9.8

Rolf Eike Beer (1):