Re: [cmake-developers] Feature suggestion: auto-create missing files

[Petr Kmoch]

OK, I can see there's quite a few voices against and none for. Idea
scratched.

Thanks everyone for input.

Petr
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Re: [cmake-developers] Feature suggestion: auto-create missing files

[Ben Boeckel]

On Tue, Apr 11, 2017 at 21:28:40 +0200, Alexander Neundorf wrote:
> personally I'm not convinced.
> Technically it would violate the "the source dir is read-only" rule.
> A typo would generate files. With multiple build dirs the behaviour will be 
> slightly different in the two dirs.
> ...not very strong arguments, but OTOH touching the file manually is also not 
> too complicated.

On case-insensitive file systems, there's also the "what if it exists,
but not with matching case?" problem. What was intended. Sure, CMake
will currently just leave it alone, but does the file exist? Is the file
on disk a typo? I don't think CMake can make that decision.

--Ben
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Re: [cmake-developers] Feature suggestion: auto-create missing files

[Alexander Neundorf]

On 2017 M04 11, Tue 11:52:52 CEST Brad King wrote:
> On 04/11/2017 11:41 AM, Petr Kmoch wrote:
> > Currently, adding a new source file to a CMake-controlled project
> > means doing two things: creating the file on disk, and adding it
> > to the relevant CMakeList add_library() or add_executable() call.
> 
> I view this as a matching pair with an implicit sanity check.
> 
> > switch from current behaviour of "error out if source file is not found"
> > to "create empty source file if it's not found."
> 
> So a typo in the `CMakeLists.txt` file leads to silent creation of a
> source file instead of an error message?
> 
> That said, I can see how the proposed feature might be useful when
> iteratively developing in an IDE.  Add the file to `CMakeLists.txt`,
> reconfigure, and open the new (now existing) file to edit in the IDE.
> 
> > Is this something that would be acceptable into CMake? Any comments?
> 
> I'd like to hear more opinions from others before considering it
> upstream.  It feels like a pretty personal workflow right now, and
> can be implemented in CMake code already (perhaps with the `SOURCES`
> target property to avoid separate lists).

personally I'm not convinced.
Technically it would violate the "the source dir is read-only" rule.
A typo would generate files. With multiple build dirs the behaviour will be 
slightly different in the two dirs.
...not very strong arguments, but OTOH touching the file manually is also not 
too complicated.

Alex

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Re: [cmake-developers] Feature suggestion: auto-create missing files

[Ben Boeckel]

On Tue, Apr 11, 2017 at 11:52:52 -0400, Brad King wrote:
> If this were to be done I'd first like to see a policy introduced to
> get rid of the magic extension guessing we do now.  Without knowing
> the full file name with confidence we wouldn't be able to create it.

This is already an issue here:

https://gitlab.kitware.com/cmake/cmake/issues/15208

I have a branch which needs lots of work to be rebased properly; I can
dig it up if anyone is interested in taking it over before I get to it.

--Ben
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Re: [cmake-developers] Feature suggestion: auto-create missing files

[Petr Kmoch]

Thanks for the quick response, Brad.

On 11 April 2017 at 17:52, Brad King  wrote:

> On 04/11/2017 11:41 AM, Petr Kmoch wrote:
> > Currently, adding a new source file to a CMake-controlled project
> > means doing two things: creating the file on disk, and adding it
> > to the relevant CMakeList add_library() or add_executable() call.
>
> I view this as a matching pair with an implicit sanity check.
>

I sometimes have very deep directory hierarchies (files are 3+ directory
levels below the CMakeLists.txt), with interface header, implementation
header, and implementation source in three different paths down that
hierarchy. Adding one class means adding three very similar lines of CMake
code, and then having to navigate three separate directory paths for adding
the files.


>
> > switch from current behaviour of "error out if source file is not found"
> > to "create empty source file if it's not found."
>
> So a typo in the `CMakeLists.txt` file leads to silent creation of a
> source file instead of an error message?
>

That's why I would make it strictly opt-in. We could even get rid of the
initialisation variable and keep it under full control of the project.


>
> That said, I can see how the proposed feature might be useful when
> iteratively developing in an IDE.  Add the file to `CMakeLists.txt`,
> reconfigure, and open the new (now existing) file to edit in the IDE.
>

Yes, I'm coming from an IDE background (VS, to be precise). It would be
quite helpful there. I've bounced the idea with other people in my team,
and they agreed it would be useful.


>
> > Is this something that would be acceptable into CMake? Any comments?
>
> I'd like to hear more opinions from others before considering it
> upstream.  It feels like a pretty personal workflow right now, and
> can be implemented in CMake code already (perhaps with the `SOURCES`
> target property to avoid separate lists).
>
> If this were to be done I'd first like to see a policy introduced to
> get rid of the magic extension guessing we do now.  Without knowing
> the full file name with confidence we wouldn't be able to create it.
>

I'm perfectly fine waiting for broader comments. As to extension guessing,
right now the creation happens after that step in my prototype code, and
simply uses the name verbatim as supplied. I'm perfectly willing to create
such a guess-disabling policy, though. I've never used the guessing
functionality anyway.

Petr
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Re: [cmake-developers] Feature suggestion: auto-create missing files

[Brad King]

On 04/11/2017 11:41 AM, Petr Kmoch wrote:
> Currently, adding a new source file to a CMake-controlled project
> means doing two things: creating the file on disk, and adding it
> to the relevant CMakeList add_library() or add_executable() call.

I view this as a matching pair with an implicit sanity check.

> switch from current behaviour of "error out if source file is not found"
> to "create empty source file if it's not found."

So a typo in the `CMakeLists.txt` file leads to silent creation of a
source file instead of an error message?

That said, I can see how the proposed feature might be useful when
iteratively developing in an IDE.  Add the file to `CMakeLists.txt`,
reconfigure, and open the new (now existing) file to edit in the IDE.

> Is this something that would be acceptable into CMake? Any comments?

I'd like to hear more opinions from others before considering it
upstream.  It feels like a pretty personal workflow right now, and
can be implemented in CMake code already (perhaps with the `SOURCES`
target property to avoid separate lists).

If this were to be done I'd first like to see a policy introduced to
get rid of the magic extension guessing we do now.  Without knowing
the full file name with confidence we wouldn't be able to create it.

-Brad

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[cmake-developers] Feature suggestion: auto-create missing files

[Petr Kmoch]

Hi all,

I'd like to implement a feature for CMake which I miss there, and I'd like
to get approval for the idea & design before proceeding.

Currently, adding a new source file to a CMake-controlled project means
doing two things: creating the file on disk, and adding it to the relevant
CMakeList add_library() or add_executable() call. To me, this feels like
one operation too many. As a result, nearly all of my personal projects
using CMake end up with some sort of wrapper/pre-call which processes file
lists and creates any missing files before the list is passed to the
add_*() call.

I'd like this behaviour to become an option in CMake itself: allow the user
to switch from current behaviour of "error out if source file is not found"
to "create empty source file if it's not found." I've prototyped the
creation itself and it works, but I'd like to discuss the interface for
enabling this functionality. I was considering an inherited boolean
property on individual source file level, plus a variable which would
pre-initialise the property if set. This way, projects could control it on
the finest scope possible (or on broader scopes, since the prorepty would
recurse to directory & global level), while still providing a simple way to
set it centrally.

As far as naming is concerned, I was considering CREATE_SOURCES_IF_MISSING
for the property, and CMAKE_CREATE_SOURCES_IF_MISSING for the variable.

Is this something that would be acceptable into CMake? Any comments?

Thanks.

Petr
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