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-rw-r--r--Help/manual/cmake-policies.7.rst1
-rw-r--r--Help/policy/CMP0114.rst85
-rw-r--r--Help/release/dev/ExternalProject-steps-refinement.rst5
3 files changed, 91 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/Help/manual/cmake-policies.7.rst b/Help/manual/cmake-policies.7.rst
index 3821dc3..0392325 100644
--- a/Help/manual/cmake-policies.7.rst
+++ b/Help/manual/cmake-policies.7.rst
@@ -57,6 +57,7 @@ Policies Introduced by CMake 3.19
.. toctree::
:maxdepth: 1
+ CMP0114: ExternalProject step targets fully adopt their steps. </policy/CMP0114>
CMP0113: Makefile generators do not repeat custom commands from target dependencies. </policy/CMP0113>
CMP0112: Target file component generator expressions do not add target dependencies. </policy/CMP0112>
CMP0111: An imported target with a missing location fails during generation. </policy/CMP0111>
diff --git a/Help/policy/CMP0114.rst b/Help/policy/CMP0114.rst
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1bc1216
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Help/policy/CMP0114.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,85 @@
+CMP0114
+-------
+
+.. versionadded:: 3.19
+
+:module:`ExternalProject` step targets fully adopt their steps.
+
+The :command:`ExternalProject_Add` ``STEP_TARGETS`` option, and the
+:command:`ExternalProject_Add_StepTargets` function, can be used to
+create build targets for individual steps of an external project.
+
+In CMake 3.18 and below, step targets have some limitations:
+
+* Step targets always depend on targets named by the
+ :command:`ExternalProject_Add` ``DEPENDS`` option even though
+ not all steps need them. In order to allow step targets to be created
+ without those dependencies, the :command:`ExternalProject_Add`
+ ``INDEPENDENT_STEP_TARGETS`` option or the
+ :command:`ExternalProject_Add_StepTargets` ``NO_DEPENDS`` option may
+ be used. However, adding such "independent" step targets makes sense
+ only for specific steps such as ``download``, ``update``, and ``patch``
+ because they do not need any of the external project's build dependencies.
+ Furthermore, it does not make sense to create independent step targets
+ for steps that depend on non-independent steps. Such rules are not
+ enforced, and projects that do not follow them can generate build systems
+ with confusing and generator-specific behavior.
+
+* Step targets hold copies of the custom commands implementing their
+ steps that are separate from the copies in the primary target created
+ by :command:`ExternalProject_Add`, and the primary target does not
+ depend on the step targets. In parallel builds that drive the primary
+ target and step targets concurrently, multiple copies of the steps'
+ commands may run concurrently and race each other.
+
+ Also, prior to policy :policy:`CMP0113`, the step targets generated
+ by :ref:`Makefile Generators` also contain all the custom commands
+ on which their step depends. This can lead to repeated execution of
+ those steps even in serial builds.
+
+In CMake 3.19 and above, the :module:`ExternalProject` module prefers
+a revised design to address these problems:
+
+* Each step is classified as "independent" if it does not depend
+ on other targets named by the :command:`ExternalProject_Add` ``DEPENDS``.
+ The predefined steps are automatically classified by default:
+
+ * The ``download``, ``update``, and ``patch`` steps are independent.
+ * The ``configure``, ``build``, ``test``, and ``install`` steps are not.
+
+ For custom steps, the :command:`ExternalProject_Add_Step` command provies
+ an ``INDEPENDENT`` option to mark them as independent. It is an error to
+ mark a step as independent if it depends on other steps that are not. Note
+ that this use of the term "independent" refers only to independence from
+ external targets and is orthogonal to a step's dependencies on other steps.
+
+* Step targets created by the :command:`ExternalProject_Add` ``STEP_TARGETS``
+ option or the :command:`ExternalProject_Add_Step` function are now
+ independent if and only if their steps are marked as independent.
+ The :command:`ExternalProject_Add` ``INDEPENDENT_STEP_TARGETS`` option
+ and :command:`ExternalProject_Add_StepTargets` ``NO_DEPENDS`` option
+ are no longer allowed.
+
+* Step targets, when created, are fully responsible for holding the
+ custom commands implementing their steps. The primary target created
+ by :command:`ExternalProject_Add` depends on the step targets, and the
+ step targets depend on each other. The target-level dependencies match
+ the file-level dependencies used by the custom commands for each step.
+
+ When the :command:`ExternalProject_Add` ``UPDATE_DISCONNECTED`` or
+ ``TEST_EXCLUDE_FROM_MAIN`` option is used, or the
+ :command:`ExternalProject_Add_Step` ``EXCLUDE_FROM_MAIN`` option is used
+ for a custom step, some step targets may be created automatically.
+ These are needed to hold the steps commonly depended upon by the primary
+ target and the disconnected step targets.
+
+Policy ``CMP0114`` provides compatibility for projects that have not been
+updated to expect the new behavior. The ``OLD`` behavior for this policy
+is to use the above-documented behavior from 3.18 and below. The ``NEW``
+behavior for this policy is to use the above-documented behavior preferred
+by 3.19 and above.
+
+This policy was introduced in CMake version 3.19. CMake version
+|release| warns when the policy is not set and uses ``OLD`` behavior.
+Use the :command:`cmake_policy` command to set it to ``OLD`` or ``NEW``
+explicitly.
diff --git a/Help/release/dev/ExternalProject-steps-refinement.rst b/Help/release/dev/ExternalProject-steps-refinement.rst
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9762927
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Help/release/dev/ExternalProject-steps-refinement.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+ExternalProject-steps-refinement
+--------------------------------
+
+* The :module:`ExternalProject` module handling of step target dependencies
+ has been revised. See policy :policy:`CMP0114`.