# Abseil CMake Build Instructions
Abseil comes with a CMake build script ([CMakeLists.txt](../CMakeLists.txt))
that can be used on a wide range of platforms ("C" stands for cross-platform.).
If you don't have CMake installed already, you can download it for free from
<https://www.cmake.org/>.
CMake works by generating native makefiles or build projects that can
be used in the compiler environment of your choice.
For API/ABI compatibility reasons, we strongly recommend building Abseil in a
subdirectory of your project or as an embedded dependency.
## Incorporating Abseil Into a CMake Project
The recommendations below are similar to those for using CMake within the
googletest framework
(<https://github.com/google/googletest/blob/master/googletest/README.md#incorporating-into-an-existing-cmake-project>)
### Step-by-Step Instructions
1. If you want to build the Abseil tests, integrate the Abseil dependency
[Google Test](https://github.com/google/googletest) into your CMake
project. To disable Abseil tests, you have to pass either
`-DBUILD_TESTING=OFF` or `-DABSL_BUILD_TESTING=OFF` when configuring your
project with CMake.
2. Download Abseil and copy it into a subdirectory in your CMake project or add
Abseil as a [git submodule](https://git-scm.com/docs/git-submodule) in your
CMake project.
3. You can then use the CMake command
[`add_subdirectory()`](https://cmake.org/cmake/help/latest/command/add_subdirectory.html)
to include Abseil directly in your CMake project.
4. Add the **absl::** target you wish to use to the
[`target_link_libraries()`](https://cmake.org/cmake/help/latest/command/target_link_libraries.html)
section of your executable or of your library.<br>
Here is a short CMakeLists.txt example of an application project using Abseil.
```cmake
cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.16)
project(my_app_project)
# Pick the C++ standard to compile with.
# Abseil currently supports C++14, C++17, and C++20.
set(CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD 14)
set(CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD_REQUIRED ON)
add_subdirectory(abseil-cpp)
add_executable(my_exe source.cpp)
target_link_libraries(my_exe absl::base absl::synchronization absl::strings)
```
Note that if you are developing a library designed for use by other clients, you
should instead leave `CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD` unset (or only set if being built as
the current top-level CMake project) and configure the minimum required C++
standard at the target level. If you require a later minimum C++ standard than
Abseil does, it's a good idea to also enforce that `CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD` (which
will control Abseil library targets) is set to at least that minimum. For
example:
```cmake
cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.16)
project(my_lib_project)
# Leave C++ standard up to the root application, so set it only if this is the
# current top-level CMake project.
if(CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR STREQUAL my_lib_project_SOURCE_DIR)
set(CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD 17)
set(CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD_REQUIRED ON)
endif()
add_subdirectory(abseil-cpp)
add_library(my_lib source.cpp)
target_link_libraries(my_lib absl::base absl::synchronization absl::strings)
# Enforce that my_lib requires C++17. Important to document for clients that they
# must set CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD to 17 or higher for proper Abseil ABI compatibility
# (since otherwise, Abseil library targets could be compiled with a lower C++
# standard than my_lib).
target_compile_features(my_lib PUBLIC cxx_std_17)
if(CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD LESS 17)
message(FATAL_ERROR
"my_lib_project requires CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD >= 17 (got: ${CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD})")
endif()
```
Then the top-level application project that uses your library is responsible for
setting a consistent `CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD` that is sufficiently high.
### Running Abseil Tests with CMake
Use the `-DABSL_BUILD_TESTING=ON` flag to run Abseil tests. Note that
BUILD_TESTING must also be on (the default).
You will need to provide Abseil with a Googletest dependency. There are two
options for how to do this:
* Use `-DABSL_USE_GOOGLETEST_HEAD`. This will automatically download the latest
Googletest source into the build directory at configure time. Googletest will
then be compiled directly alongside Abseil's tests.
* Manually integrate Googletest with your build. See
https://github.com/google/googletest/blob/master/googletest/README.md#using-cmake
for more information on using Googletest in a CMake project.
For example, to run just the Abseil tests, you could use this script:
```
cd path/to/abseil-cpp
mkdir build
cd build
cmake -DABSL_BUILD_TESTING=ON -DABSL_USE_GOOGLETEST_HEAD=ON ..
make -j
ctest
```
Currently, we only run our tests with CMake in a Linux environment, but we are
working on the rest of our supported platforms. See
https://github.com/abseil/abseil-cpp/projects/1 and
https://github.com/abseil/abseil-cpp/issues/109 for more information.
### Available Abseil CMake Public Targets
Here's a non-exhaustive list of Abseil CMake public targets:
```cmake
absl::algorithm
absl::base
absl::debugging
absl::flat_hash_map
absl::flags
absl::memory
absl::meta
absl::numeric
absl::random_random
absl::strings
absl::synchronization
absl::time
absl::utility
```
## Traditional CMake Set-Up
For larger projects, it may make sense to use the traditional CMake set-up where you build and install projects separately.
First, you'd need to build and install Google Test:
```
cmake -S /source/googletest -B /build/googletest -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=/installation/dir -DBUILD_GMOCK=ON
cmake --build /build/googletest --target install
```
Then you need to configure and build Abseil. Make sure you enable `ABSL_USE_EXTERNAL_GOOGLETEST` and `ABSL_FIND_GOOGLETEST`. You also need to enable `ABSL_ENABLE_INSTALL` so that you can install Abseil itself.
```
cmake -S /source/abseil-cpp -B /build/abseil-cpp -DCMAKE_PREFIX_PATH=/installation/dir -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=/installation/dir -DABSL_ENABLE_INSTALL=ON -DABSL_USE_EXTERNAL_GOOGLETEST=ON -DABSL_FIND_GOOGLETEST=ON
cmake --build /temporary/build/abseil-cpp
```
(`CMAKE_PREFIX_PATH` is where you already have Google Test installed; `CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX` is where you want to have Abseil installed; they can be different.)
Run the tests:
```
ctest --test-dir /temporary/build/abseil-cpp
```
And finally install:
```
cmake --build /temporary/build/abseil-cpp --target install
```
# CMake Option Synopsis
## Enable Standard CMake Installation
`-DABSL_ENABLE_INSTALL=ON`
## Google Test Options
`-DABSL_BUILD_TESTING=ON` must be set to enable testing
- Have Abseil download and build Google Test for you: `-DABSL_USE_EXTERNAL_GOOGLETEST=OFF` (default)
- Download and build latest Google Test: `-DABSL_USE_GOOGLETEST_HEAD=ON`
- Download specific Google Test version (ZIP archive): `-DABSL_GOOGLETEST_DOWNLOAD_URL=https://.../version.zip`
- Use Google Test from specific local directory: `-DABSL_LOCAL_GOOGLETEST_DIR=/path/to/googletest`
- Use Google Test included elsewhere in your project: `-DABSL_USE_EXTERNAL_GOOGLETEST=ON`
- Use standard CMake `find_package(CTest)` to find installed Google Test: `-DABSL_USE_EXTERNAL_GOOGLETEST=ON -DABSL_FIND_GOOGLETEST=ON`
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