CMake/Help/release/3.29.rst

CMake 3.29 Release Notes
************************

.. only:: html

  .. contents::

Changes made since CMake 3.28 include the following.

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

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

* :manual:`cmake(1)` :option:`-E cat <cmake-E cat>` can now print the standard
  input by passing the ``-`` argument.

Generators
----------

* :ref:`Visual Studio Generators` now support selecting between the
  Intel oneAPI Fortran compiler (``ifx``) and the Intel classic Fortran
  compiler (``ifort``) using a ``fortran=`` field in
  :variable:`CMAKE_GENERATOR_TOOLSET`.

File-Based API
--------------

* The :manual:`cmake-file-api(7)` "codemodel" version 2 ``version`` field has
  been updated to 2.7.

* The :manual:`cmake-file-api(7)` "codemodel" version 2 "target" object gained
  a new "launchers" field.

Compilers
---------

* The LLVM/Clang GNU-like frontend on Windows (``clang++``) may now be used
  to compile ``CUDA`` language sources.

* Compilers targeting the GNU ABI on Windows (MinGW) may now be used to
  compile Objective C (``OBJC``) and Objective C++ (``OBJCXX``).  These
  include GNU compilers (``gcc`` and ``g++``) and the LLVM/Clang GNU-like
  frontends (``clang`` and ``clang++``).

* TI Clang-based compilers are now supported with
  :variable:`compiler id <CMAKE_<LANG>_COMPILER_ID>` ``TIClang``.

Commands
--------

* The :ref:`add_custom_command(TARGET) <add_custom_command(TARGET)>`
  signature now supports adding build events through :ref:`Alias Targets`.

* The :command:`cmake_language(EXIT)` sub-command was added to terminate
  :option:`cmake -P` scripts with a specified exit code.

* The :command:`export(SETUP)` sub-command was added to configure export sets.
  Its ``TARGET`` option's ``XCFRAMEWORK_LOCATION`` setting specifies the
  location of a ``.xcframework`` that can be substituted for an installed
  target.

* The :command:`if` command gained new tests ``IS_READABLE``, ``IS_WRITABLE``
  and ``IS_EXECUTABLE`` to check file or directory permissions.

Variables
---------

* The :envvar:`CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX` environment variable was added to
  provide a default value for the :variable:`CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX` variable.

* The :variable:`CMAKE_LINKER_TYPE` variable and corresponding
  :prop_tgt:`LINKER_TYPE` target property were added to specify
  what linker to use with some toolchains.

* The :variable:`CMAKE_<LANG>_COMPILER_LINKER`,
  :variable:`CMAKE_<LANG>_COMPILER_LINKER_ID`,
  :variable:`CMAKE_<LANG>_COMPILER_LINKER_VERSION` and
  :variable:`CMAKE_<LANG>_COMPILER_LINKER_FRONTEND_VARIANT` variables
  were added to describe the linker used by the language's link step.

* The :variable:`CMAKE_PROJECT_INCLUDE`,
  :variable:`CMAKE_PROJECT_INCLUDE_BEFORE`,
  :variable:`CMAKE_PROJECT_<PROJECT-NAME>_INCLUDE`, and
  :variable:`CMAKE_PROJECT_<PROJECT-NAME>_INCLUDE_BEFORE` variables learned
  to support a :ref:`semicolon-separated list <CMake Language Lists>` of
  CMake language files to be included sequentially. These variables can also
  reference module names to be found in :variable:`CMAKE_MODULE_PATH` or
  builtin to CMake.

* The :variable:`CMAKE_SKIP_TEST_ALL_DEPENDENCY` variable was added
  to control whether the ``test`` (or ``RUN_TESTS``) buildsystem
  target depends on the ``all`` (or ``ALL_BUILD``) target.

* A :variable:`CMAKE_TEST_LAUNCHER` variable and corresponding
  :prop_tgt:`TEST_LAUNCHER` target property were added to specify
  a launcher to be used by executable targets when invoked by
  tests added by the :command:`add_test` command.

Properties
----------

* The :prop_tgt:`CROSSCOMPILING_EMULATOR` target property now
  supports :manual:`generator expressions <cmake-generator-expressions(7)>`.

* The :prop_tgt:`UNITY_BUILD` target property now supports the
  Objective C (``OBJC``) and Objective C++ (``OBJCXX``) languages.

* The :prop_tgt:`XCODE_EMBED_XPC_SERVICES <XCODE_EMBED_<type>>` target property
  was added to tell the :generator:`Xcode` generator what targets to put in
  the ``Embed XPC Resources`` build phase.

Modules
-------

* The :module:`CMakePackageConfigHelpers` module gained new
  :command:`generate_apple_platform_selection_file` and
  :command:`generate_apple_architecture_selection_file` functions, which can
  be used to generate a file that includes another Apple-platform-specific
  file or the includes an architecture-specific implementation of a package
  for an Apple platform, respectively.

* The :module:`FindOpenGL` module learned to find a GLU include
  directory different than the GL include directory.  A new
  ``OPENGL_INCLUDE_DIRS`` result variable provides all include
  directories.

CTest
-----

* :manual:`ctest(1)` gained a :option:`--http-header <ctest --http-header>`
  option to add custom headers on submission to CDash.

* :manual:`ctest(1)` gained the :option:`--tests-from-file <ctest
  --tests-from-file>` and :option:`--exclude-from-file <ctest
  --exclude-from-file>` options to run or exclude tests named in a file.

* :manual:`ctest(1)` now supports :ref:`job server integration
  <ctest-job-server-integration>` on POSIX systems.

* The :option:`ctest -j` option may now be given without a value to let
  ctest choose a default level of parallelism, or with ``0`` to let ctest
  use unbounded parallelism.  The corresponding :envvar:`CTEST_PARALLEL_LEVEL`
  environment variable, if set to the empty string, is now equivalent to
  passing ``-j`` with no value.

* The :command:`ctest_test` command gained options
  ``INCLUDE_FROM_FILE`` and ``EXCLUDE_FROM_FILE`` to run or exclude
  tests named in a file.

CPack
-----

* The :cpack_gen:`CPack DEB Generator` :variable:`CPACK_DEBIAN_FILE_NAME`
  variable may now be set without any suffix, and the ``.deb`` suffix
  will be added automatically.

* The :cpack_gen:`CPack RPM Generator` :variable:`CPACK_RPM_FILE_NAME`
  variable may now be set without any suffix, and the ``.rpm`` suffix
  will be added automatically.

* The :cpack_gen:`CPack WIX Generator` gained a new variable,
  :variable:`CPACK_WIX_INSTALL_SCOPE`, to control the
  ``InstallScope`` property of WiX MSI installers.

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

* CMake learned to de-duplicate libraries on link lines based on linker
  capabilities.  See policy :policy:`CMP0156`.

* The :command:`add_test` command now honors
  :variable:`CMAKE_CROSSCOMPILING_EMULATOR` only when cross-compiling.
  See policy :policy:`CMP0158`.

* On Windows, when targeting the MSVC ABI, the :command:`find_library` command
  now accepts ``.a`` file names after first considering ``.lib``.  This is
  symmetric with existing behavior when targeting the GNU ABI, in which the
  command accepts ``.lib`` file names after first considering ``.a``.

* On Windows, when targeting the MSVC ABI, the :command:`find_library` command
  now considers ``.dll.lib`` file names before ``.lib``.  This is the default
  suffix for DLL import libraries created by Rust toolchains for the MSVC ABI.

* The :generator:`Ninja` and :generator:`NMake Makefiles` generators now use
  the ``-external:I`` flag for system includes when using IntelLLVM as of
  version 2021.4. The ``-external:W0`` flag is also used as of version 2022.2.

* The :command:`create_test_sourcelist` command now provides a full path to
  the generated driver source file.

* The :variable:`CPACK_PRODUCTBUILD_DOMAINS` variable now defaults to true.
  See policy :policy:`CMP0161`.

* The :cpack_gen:`CPack WIX Generator` now produces WiX MSI installers
  that create start menu and uninstall entries for all users by default,
  as documented by the :variable:`CPACK_WIX_INSTALL_SCOPE` variable
  ``perMachine`` value.  Previously, without a custom WiX template,
  it produced installers that would only create start menu and uninstall
  entries for the current user, even though they install for all users.