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diff --git a/Help/guide/tutorial/Adding a Library.rst b/Help/guide/tutorial/Adding a Library.rst new file mode 100644 index 0000000..a56c327 --- /dev/null +++ b/Help/guide/tutorial/Adding a Library.rst @@ -0,0 +1,459 @@ +Step 2: Adding a Library +======================== + +At this point, we have seen how to create a basic project using CMake. In this +step, we will learn how to create and use a library in our project. We will +also see how to make the use of our library optional. + +Exercise 1 - Creating a Library +^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ + +To add a library in CMake, use the :command:`add_library` command and specify +which source files should make up the library. + +Rather than placing all of the source files in one directory, we can organize +our project with one or more subdirectories. In this case, we will create a +subdirectory specifically for our library. Here, we can add a new +``CMakeLists.txt`` file and one or more source files. In the top level +``CMakeLists.txt`` file, we will use the :command:`add_subdirectory` command +to add the subdirectory to the build. + +Once the library is created, it is connected to our executable target with +:command:`target_include_directories` and :command:`target_link_libraries`. + +Goal +---- + +Add and use a library. + +Helpful Resources +----------------- + +* :command:`add_library` +* :command:`add_subdirectory` +* :command:`target_include_directories` +* :command:`target_link_libraries` +* :variable:`PROJECT_SOURCE_DIR` + +Files to Edit +------------- + +* ``CMakeLists.txt`` +* ``tutorial.cxx`` +* ``MathFunctions/CMakeLists.txt`` + +Getting Started +--------------- + +In this exercise, we will add a library to our project that contains our own +implementation for computing the square root of a number. The executable can +then use this library instead of the standard square root function provided by +the compiler. + +For this tutorial we will put the library into a subdirectory called +``MathFunctions``. This directory already contains a header file, +``MathFunctions.h``, and a source file ``mysqrt.cxx``. We will not need to +modify either of these files. The source file has one function called +``mysqrt`` that provides similar functionality to the compiler's ``sqrt`` +function. + +From the ``Help/guide/tutorial/Step2`` directory, start with ``TODO 1`` and +complete through ``TODO 6``. + +First, fill in the one line ``CMakeLists.txt`` in the ``MathFunctions`` +subdirectory. + +Next, edit the top level ``CMakeLists.txt``. + +Finally, use the newly created ``MathFunctions`` library in ``tutorial.cxx`` + +Build and Run +------------- + +Run the :manual:`cmake <cmake(1)>` executable or the +:manual:`cmake-gui <cmake-gui(1)>` to configure the project and then build it +with your chosen build tool. + +Below is a refresher of what that looks like from the command line: + +.. code-block:: console + + mkdir Step2_build + cd Step2_build + cmake ../Step2 + cmake --build . + +Try to use the newly built ``Tutorial`` and ensure that it is still +producing accurate square root values. + +Solution +-------- + +In the ``CMakeLists.txt`` file in the ``MathFunctions`` directory, we create +a library target called ``MathFunctions`` with :command:`add_library`. The +source file for the library is passed as an argument to +:command:`add_library`. This looks like the following line: + +.. raw:: html + + <details><summary>TODO 1: Click to show/hide answer</summary> + +.. literalinclude:: Step3/MathFunctions/CMakeLists.txt + :caption: TODO 1: MathFunctions/CMakeLists.txt + :name: MathFunctions/CMakeLists.txt-add_library + :language: cmake + :end-before: # TODO 1 + +.. raw:: html + + </details> + +To make use of the new library we will add an :command:`add_subdirectory` +call in the top-level ``CMakeLists.txt`` file so that the library will get +built. + +.. raw:: html + + <details><summary>TODO 2: Click to show/hide answer</summary> + +.. code-block:: cmake + :caption: TODO 2: CMakeLists.txt + :name: CMakeLists.txt-add_subdirectory + + add_subdirectory(MathFunctions) + +.. raw:: html + + </details> + +Next, the new library target is linked to the executable target using +:command:`target_link_libraries`. + +.. raw:: html + + <details><summary>TODO 3: Click to show/hide answer</summary> + +.. code-block:: cmake + :caption: TODO 3: CMakeLists.txt + :name: CMakeLists.txt-target_link_libraries + + target_link_libraries(Tutorial PUBLIC MathFunctions) + +.. raw:: html + + </details> + +Finally we need to specify the library's header file location. Modify +:command:`target_include_directories` to add the ``MathFunctions`` subdirectory +as an include directory so that the ``MathFunctions.h`` header file can be +found. + +.. raw:: html + + <details><summary>TODO 4: Click to show/hide answer</summary> + +.. code-block:: cmake + :caption: TODO 4: CMakeLists.txt + :name: CMakeLists.txt-target_include_directories-step2 + + target_include_directories(Tutorial PUBLIC + "${PROJECT_BINARY_DIR}" + "${PROJECT_SOURCE_DIR}/MathFunctions" + ) + +.. raw:: html + + </details> + +Now let's use our library. In ``tutorial.cxx``, include ``MathFunctions.h``: + +.. raw:: html + + <details><summary>TODO 5: Click to show/hide answer</summary> + +.. code-block:: c++ + :caption: TODO 5 : tutorial.cxx + :name: tutorial.cxx-include_MathFunctions.h + + #include "MathFunctions.h" + +.. raw:: html + + </details> + +Lastly, replace ``sqrt`` with our library function ``mysqrt``. + +.. raw:: html + + <details><summary>TODO 6: Click to show/hide answer</summary> + +.. code-block:: c++ + :caption: TODO 6 : tutorial.cxx + :name: tutorial.cxx-call_mysqrt + + const double outputValue = mysqrt(inputValue); + +.. raw:: html + + </details> + +Exercise 2 - Making Our Library Optional +^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ + +Now let us make the MathFunctions library optional. While for the tutorial +there really isn't any need to do so, for larger projects this is a common +occurrence. + +CMake can do this using the :command:`option` command. This gives users a +variable which they can change when configuring their cmake build. This +setting will be stored in the cache so that the user does not need to set +the value each time they run CMake on a build directory. + +Goal +---- + +Add the option to build without ``MathFunctions``. + + +Helpful Resources +----------------- + +* :command:`if` +* :command:`list` +* :command:`option` +* :command:`cmakedefine <configure_file>` + +Files to Edit +------------- + +* ``CMakeLists.txt`` +* ``tutorial.cxx`` +* ``TutorialConfig.h.in`` + +Getting Started +--------------- + +Start with the resulting files from Exercise 1. Complete ``TODO 7`` through +``TODO 13``. + +First create a variable ``USE_MYMATH`` using the :command:`option` command +in the top-level ``CMakeLists.txt`` file. In that same file, use that option +to determine whether to build and use the ``MathFunctions`` library. + +Then, update ``tutorial.cxx`` and ``TutorialConfig.h.in`` to use +``USE_MYMATH``. + +Build and Run +------------- + +Since we have our build directory already configured from Exercise 1, we can +rebuild by simply calling the following: + +.. code-block:: console + + cd ../Step2_build + cmake --build . + +Next, run the ``Tutorial`` executable on a few numbers to verify that it's +still correct. + +Now let's update the value of ``USE_MYMATH`` to ``OFF``. The easiest way is to +use the :manual:`cmake-gui <cmake-gui(1)>` or :manual:`ccmake <ccmake(1)>` +if you're in the terminal. Or, alternatively, if you want to change the +option from the command-line, try: + +.. code-block:: console + + cmake ../Step2 -DUSE_MYMATH=OFF + +Now, rebuild the code with the following: + +.. code-block:: console + + cmake --build . + +Then, run the executable again to ensure that it still works with +``USE_MYMATH`` set to ``OFF``. Which function gives better results, ``sqrt`` +or ``mysqrt``? + +Solution +-------- + +The first step is to add an option to the top-level ``CMakeLists.txt`` file. +This option will be displayed in the :manual:`cmake-gui <cmake-gui(1)>` and +:manual:`ccmake <ccmake(1)>` with a default value of ``ON`` that can be +changed by the user. + +.. raw:: html + + <details><summary>TODO 7: Click to show/hide answer</summary> + +.. literalinclude:: Step3/CMakeLists.txt + :caption: TODO 7: CMakeLists.txt + :name: CMakeLists.txt-option + :language: cmake + :start-after: # should we use our own math functions + :end-before: # configure a header file to pass some of the CMake settings + +.. raw:: html + + </details> + +Next, make building and linking the ``MathFunctions`` library +conditional. + +Start by creating a :command:`list` of the optional library targets for our +project. At the moment, it is just ``MathFunctions``. Let's name our list +``EXTRA_LIBS``. + +Similarly, we need to make a :command:`list` for the optional includes which +we will call ``EXTRA_INCLUDES``. In this list, we will ``APPEND`` the path of +the header file needed for our library. + +Next, create an :command:`if` statement which checks the value of +``USE_MYMATH``. Inside the :command:`if` block, put the +:command:`add_subdirectory` command from Exercise 1 with the additional +:command:`list` commands. + +When ``USE_MYMATH`` is ``ON``, the lists will be generated and will be added to +our project. When ``USE_MYMATH`` is ``OFF``, the lists stay empty. With this +strategy, we allow users to toggle ``USE_MYMATH`` to manipulate what library is +used in the build. + +The top-level CMakeLists.txt file will now look like the following: + +.. raw:: html + + <details><summary>TODO 8: Click to show/hide answer</summary> + +.. literalinclude:: Step3/CMakeLists.txt + :caption: TODO 8: CMakeLists.txt + :name: CMakeLists.txt-USE_MYMATH + :language: cmake + :start-after: # add the MathFunctions library + :end-before: # add the executable + +.. raw:: html + + </details> + +Now that we have these two lists, we need to update +:command:`target_link_libraries` and :command:`target_include_directories` to +use them. Changing them is fairly straightforward. + +For :command:`target_link_libraries`, we replace the written out +library names with ``EXTRA_LIBS``. This looks like the following: + +.. raw:: html + + <details><summary>TODO 9: Click to show/hide answer</summary> + +.. literalinclude:: Step3/CMakeLists.txt + :caption: TODO 9: CMakeLists.txt + :name: CMakeLists.txt-target_link_libraries-EXTRA_LIBS + :language: cmake + :start-after: add_executable(Tutorial tutorial.cxx) + :end-before: # TODO 3 + +.. raw:: html + + </details> + +Then, we do the same thing with :command:`target_include_directories` and +``EXTRA_INCLUDES``. + +.. raw:: html + + <details><summary>TODO 10: Click to show/hide answer</summary> + +.. literalinclude:: Step3/CMakeLists.txt + :caption: TODO 10 : CMakeLists.txt + :name: CMakeLists.txt-target_link_libraries-EXTRA_INCLUDES + :language: cmake + :start-after: # so that we will find TutorialConfig.h + +.. raw:: html + + </details> + +Note that this is a classic approach when dealing with many components. We +will cover the modern approach in the Step 3 of the tutorial. + +The corresponding changes to the source code are fairly straightforward. +First, in ``tutorial.cxx``, we include the ``MathFunctions.h`` header if +``USE_MYMATH`` is defined. + +.. raw:: html + + <details><summary>TODO 11: Click to show/hide answer</summary> + +.. literalinclude:: Step3/tutorial.cxx + :caption: TODO 11 : tutorial.cxx + :name: tutorial.cxx-ifdef-include + :language: c++ + :start-after: // should we include the MathFunctions header + :end-before: int main + +.. raw:: html + + </details> + +Then, in the same file, we make ``USE_MYMATH`` control which square root +function is used: + +.. raw:: html + + <details><summary>TODO 12: Click to show/hide answer</summary> + +.. literalinclude:: Step3/tutorial.cxx + :caption: TODO 12 : tutorial.cxx + :name: tutorial.cxx-ifdef-const + :language: c++ + :start-after: // which square root function should we use? + :end-before: std::cout << "The square root of + +.. raw:: html + + </details> + +Since the source code now requires ``USE_MYMATH`` we can add it to +``TutorialConfig.h.in`` with the following line: + +.. raw:: html + + <details><summary>TODO 13: Click to show/hide answer</summary> + +.. literalinclude:: Step3/TutorialConfig.h.in + :caption: TODO 13 : TutorialConfig.h.in + :name: TutorialConfig.h.in-cmakedefine + :language: c++ + :lines: 4 + +.. raw:: html + + </details> + +With these changes, our library is now completely optional to whoever is +building and using it. + +Bonus Question +-------------- + +Why is it important that we configure ``TutorialConfig.h.in`` +after the option for ``USE_MYMATH``? What would happen if we inverted the two? + +Answer +------ + +.. raw:: html + + <details><summary>Click to show/hide answer</summary> + +We configure after because ``TutorialConfig.h.in`` uses the value of +``USE_MYMATH``. If we configure the file before +calling :command:`option`, we won't be using the expected value of +``USE_MYMATH``. + +.. raw:: html + + </details> |
