# CMake for Boost Developers

## Header-only Libraries

### Automatic Generation with Boostdep

The easiest way to add CMake support to a header-only Boost library is
to generate a `CMakeLists.txt` file with
[Boostdep](https://www.boost.org/doc/libs/release/tools/boostdep/doc/html/index.html)
using the command `boostdep --cmake <libname>`, where `<libname>` is the
name of the repository (or the directory name).

For example, a `CMakeLists.txt` file for Boost.Core can be generated with
`boostdep --cmake core`, and the result will be, as of this writing,

```cmake
# Generated by `boostdep --cmake core`
# Copyright 2020 Peter Dimov
# Distributed under the Boost Software License, Version 1.0.
# https://www.boost.org/LICENSE_1_0.txt

cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.5...3.16)

project(boost_core VERSION "${BOOST_SUPERPROJECT_VERSION}" LANGUAGES CXX)

add_library(boost_core INTERFACE)
add_library(Boost::core ALIAS boost_core)

target_include_directories(boost_core INTERFACE include)

target_link_libraries(boost_core
  INTERFACE
    Boost::assert
    Boost::config
    Boost::static_assert
)

if(BUILD_TESTING AND EXISTS "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/test/CMakeLists.txt")

  add_subdirectory(test)

endif()
```

Most header-only libraries require no modification to this `boostdep` output.

You are not required to use this exact file, but if you can, there are benefits
for doing so:

* You can regenerate the file at any time, to pick up style changes as the
  Boost CMake infrastructure evolves and Boostdep is updated to match;
* Boostdep computes the library dependencies automatically (as this is its
  primary purpose as a tool), and if you make changes to the library that
  cause its dependencies to change, a simple regeneration can keep the list
  up to date;
* You can add a CI job that compares the output of Boostdep to your current
  CMakeLists.txt file, which will inform you if the file needs to be
  regenerated.

Even if you decide to make changes to your `CMakeLists.txt` file, the
generated output provides a useful starting point. Its contents are explained
below.

### Version Requirement
```cmake
cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.5...3.16)
```

This directive sets the minimum required version of CMake and must be the
first thing in it. If CMake is older than 3.5, the result will be a fatal
error at configure time, and inability to proceed with building.

In addition, this number changes the behavior of newer CMake versions to
attempt to be compatible with the stated version. If this only said
```cmake
cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.5)
```
a newer version of CMake would have emulated version 3.5. The additional
`...3.16` suffix, however, requests newer versions to emulate 3.16 instead.
This is typically the latest version of CMake with which the `CMakeLists.txt`
file has been tested. If you make changes to the file for other reasons, you
may want to update the directive to, say,
```cmake
cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.5...3.20)
```
You should avoid increasing the minimal CMake requirement above the Boost
minimum, which is at present tentatively and conservatively set to 3.5, but
will likely be increased in the near future. If you use a higher minimum,
configuring Boost will fail with earlier CMake versions, even if the user
is not interested in your library. He will then be forced to manually exclude
your library from the build with `-DBOOST_EXCLUDE_LIBRARIES`, which is not
an ideal user experience.

### Project Declaration
```cmake
project(boost_core VERSION "${BOOST_SUPERPROJECT_VERSION}" LANGUAGES CXX)
```

The project declaration must generally be preceded only by the above
version requirement directive, and sets the project name, the project
version, and the languages (C, C++) that the source files will use.

Boost projects by convention are named `boost_libname`, in lowercase,
as in the above. (Libraries in `numeric` such as `numeric/conversion`
use an underscore in place of the slash: `boost_numeric_conversion`.)

The version is set to match the variable `BOOST_SUPERPROJECT_VERSION`,
which the Boost superproject `CMakeLists.txt` file sets to the current
Boost version (such as `1.77.0`.)

If your library is included directly in a user project with
`add_subdirectory`, `BOOST_SUPERPROJECT_VERSION` will not be set and
the project version will be empty, as if it weren't given:
```cmake
project(boost_core LANGUAGES CXX)
```
This is usually what one wants. Since manually maintaining a version
is time consuming and doesn't bring much, most libraries that do
include one fail to maintain it properly. It's better to leave it empty;
the version is of no significance in an `add_subdirectory` workflow.

The `LANGUAGES` portion should be left at the default `CXX`, which
enables the C++ language. If removed, CMake will configure both C and
C++. C is only needed if the library has C source files, which a
header-only library does not have.

### Library Target Declaration
```cmake
add_library(boost_core INTERFACE)
```

The first `add_library` declares the library target, which by convention
is `boost_libname`, same as the project name. `INTERFACE` means that
this library is header-only and requires no building.

```cmake
add_library(Boost::core ALIAS boost_core)
```

The second `add_library` declares an alternative name for the library,
which by convention is `Boost::libname`. It's good CMake practice to
only link to targets of this form (more specifically, to targets containing
`::`), because they are unambiguously CMake target names, whereas the
alphanumeric `boost_core` may refer to either a target or to a library
on disk named f.ex. `libboost_core.so`.

### Include Directory Declaration
```cmake
target_include_directories(boost_core INTERFACE include)
```

This directive declares the directory containing the library headers, which
for Boost libraries is the `include` subdirectory. (A relative path is
interpreted as relative to `CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR`, that is, to the
location of the current `CMakeLists.txt` file.)

If you are familiar with CMake, your first impulse would be to declare this
line wrong, and replace it with
```cmake
target_include_directories(boost_core INTERFACE
  $<BUILD_INTERFACE:${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/include)
```
or
```cmake
target_include_directories(boost_core INTERFACE
  $<BUILD_INTERFACE:${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/include
  $<INSTALL_INTERFACE:include>)
```
or perhaps
```cmake
target_include_directories(boost_core INTERFACE
  $<BUILD_INTERFACE:${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/include
  $<INSTALL_INTERFACE:${CMAKE_INSTALL_INCLUDEDIR}>)
```

You shouldn't; the line is, in fact, correct. The Boost superproject will
automatically invoke `boost_install` for your target, which will patch
the value of the include path to something like that last alternative
(but it will take into account the Boost-specific variables
`BOOST_INSTALL_LAYOUT` and `BOOST_INSTALL_INCLUDE_SUBDIR`.)

### Dependencies
```cmake
target_link_libraries(boost_core
  INTERFACE
    Boost::assert
    Boost::config
    Boost::static_assert
)
```

Traditionally, Boost has had all the headers copied (in a release) or
linked (in a modular layout) into a single `boost/` directory. This made
it possible to include headers from any library (A) into any other (B),
without the need to declare that B depends on A.

With CMake, we will no longer maintain a single `boost/` directory where
all the headers are copied. Headers of A will remain in `libs/A/include`,
and if this directory isn't in the include path of B, B will not be able
to include a header from A.

In order for the include path of B to contain `libs/A/include`, B must
explicitly declare a dependency on A. In CMake, this is accomplished by
"linking" to A, even when A is header-only.

This is the purpose of the `target_link_libraries` directive above. In
this specific case, it declares that `boost_core` depends on `Boost::assert`,
`Boost::config`, and `Boost::static_assert`, and will result into
`libs/assert/include`, `libs/config/include`, and `libs/static_assert/include`
being added to the include path of Core. (More precisely, they will be added
to the include paths of the users of `Boost::core`. Core itself needs no
include path because it doesn't require any compilation. This is what the
`INTERFACE` keyword means - it sets the "usage requirements" of the target,
which are propagated upwards to its users.)

Note that the exact form of the directive, with each `Boost::libname` target on
its own line, is no longer necessary after Boost 1.89.
You can as well put them on a singe line:
`target_link_libraries(boost_core INTERFACE Boost::assert Boost::config Boost::static_assert)`
This dependency specification influences the behavior of the user-settable
`BOOST_INCLUDE_LIBRARIES` option of the superproject, which requests only the
listed libraries and their dependencies to be configured, built, and/or
installed.  
To determine the dependencies, a simple parser scans the `CMakeLists.txt`
files, looking for strings matching `Boost::libname`, excluding the name of the
current library and those appearing in comments. Additionally, you can use
pragmas to influence the scanner:

```cmake
# Ignored by parser if in library folder "core"
add_library(Boost::core ALIAS boost_core)
# Parser adds "Boost::assert" "Boost::dummy"
target_link_libraries(boost_core INTERFACE Boost::assert Boost::dummy
# Only "Boost::config added for those 2 lines
  Boost::config # Boost::static_assert
  # Boost::ignored
)

# Current dependencies: Boost::assert, Boost::dummy Boost::config
...
# Pragmas using Boost-Include, Boost-Exclude with or without colons and/or whitespace
# Boost-Include: Boost::filesystem
# Boost-Exclude  Boost::dummy

# Final dependencies: Boost::assert, Boost::config, Boost::filesystem
```

This is useful if the parser misdetects a dependency (please open an issue)
or e.g. for optional dependencies.

Dependencies in `test/CMakeLists.txt` (and subfolders) are handled in the same
way, except their tests won't be build and those libraries won't be installed
unless they are dependencies in the root CMakeLists.txt of the current library
or any (transitive) dependency of those.

### Testing Support
```cmake
if(BUILD_TESTING AND EXISTS "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/test/CMakeLists.txt")

  add_subdirectory(test)

endif()
```

The final portion of the generated `CMakeLists.txt` file adds support for
invoking the library tests from the Boost superproject. Since not all
libraries have one, this is only enabled when
`libs/libname/test/CMakeLists.txt` exists.

In principle, since you know whether this file exists for your library or
not, you can either remove this condition or remove this entire section; but
doing so will make your `CMakeLists.txt` file not match the generated output,
which has its downsides.

`BUILD_TESTING` is the standard CMake option (typically defined by the `CTest`
CMake module) that allows the user to enable or disable tests for a project.
It's used here to skip the inclusion of the `test` subproject in order to
speed up the configure and build phases of Boost when testing is not required
or desired.

If your library has a `test/CMakeLists.txt` file that is not intended to be
used from the Boost superproject, and is incompatible with it, replace this
block with either
```cmake
if(BUILD_TESTING AND CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR STREQUAL CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR)

  add_subdirectory(test)

endif()
```
when your test suite is only intended to be used when your library is the
root project (that's usually the case, so this option is the recommended one),
or
```cmake
if(BUILD_TESTING AND NOT BOOST_SUPERPROJECT_VERSION)

  add_subdirectory(test)

endif()
```
when your test suite is also intended to be invoked when your library is
a subproject of a user project. (This case is rare and user projects are
typically not interested in running their subprojects' tests, so you
probably don't want this.)

### Installation Support

You may have noticed by now that no installation support is declared in the
`CMakeLists.txt` file. Nevertheless, the library can in fact be installed.
The Boost superproject automatically adds the necessary support to libraries
which declare a target `boost_libname` that matches the directory of the
`CMakeLists.txt` file (`libs/libname`) and whose `target_include_directories`
directive matches the one above.

It is recommended that you don't attempt to add your own installation support.
Let the superproject handle it.

### Required C++ Standard

If your library needs C++11 or above, you can declare this requirement by
adding the following directive:
```cmake
target_compile_features(boost_libname INTERFACE cxx_std_11)
```
(use `cxx_std_14` for C++14, `cxx_std_17` for C++17, and so on.)

This will increase your CMake requirement to 3.8, so you should also update
the preamble to reflect this.

If your `meta/libraries.json` already declares the C++ requirement by means
of `"cxxstd": "xx"`, Boostdep 1.77+ will automatically take this into
account and add the above `target_compile_features`.

### Additional Functionality

This is all you need to have a header-only library that integrates into the
Boost CMake infrastructure. It is also a well-behaved suproject that can be
included into user CMake projects via `add_subdirectory`. Avoid the urge to
add more functionality unless it's really necessary, as it will compromise
the usability of your library as a subproject.

Many library authors who use CMake, however, add development-centric
functionality to their `CMakeLists.txt` file; you might already have. In this
case, try to keep the `CMakeLists.txt` portions described so far as close to
unchanged as possible, and at the end, add a section guarded with
```cmake
if(CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR STREQUAL CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR)

  # Functionality enabled only when we're the root project

endif()
```
and put all your current developer-centric functionality there. This way,
subproject use will be unaffected, and you can still use CMake from your
library directory for development-related activities such as generating
Visual Studio workspaces, or testing outside the Boost tree.

## Compiled Libraries

### A Starting Point

Even if your library requires compilation, you can still use
`boostdep --cmake libname` at least as a starting point. We'll take
Timer as an example, with the output of `boostdep --cmake timer` given
below:
```cmake
# Generated by `boostdep --cmake timer`
# Copyright 2020 Peter Dimov
# Distributed under the Boost Software License, Version 1.0.
# https://www.boost.org/LICENSE_1_0.txt

cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.5...3.16)

project(boost_timer VERSION "${BOOST_SUPERPROJECT_VERSION}" LANGUAGES CXX)

add_library(boost_timer
  src/auto_timers_construction.cpp
  src/cpu_timer.cpp
)

add_library(Boost::timer ALIAS boost_timer)

target_include_directories(boost_timer PUBLIC include)

target_link_libraries(boost_timer
  PUBLIC
    Boost::config
    Boost::core
    Boost::system
  PRIVATE
    Boost::chrono
    Boost::io
    Boost::predef
    Boost::throw_exception
)

target_compile_definitions(boost_timer
  PUBLIC BOOST_TIMER_NO_LIB
  PRIVATE BOOST_TIMER_SOURCE
)

if(BUILD_SHARED_LIBS)
  target_compile_definitions(boost_timer PUBLIC BOOST_TIMER_DYN_LINK)
else()
  target_compile_definitions(boost_timer PUBLIC BOOST_TIMER_STATIC_LINK)
endif()

if(BUILD_TESTING AND EXISTS "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/test/CMakeLists.txt")

  add_subdirectory(test)

endif()
```

We won't be repeating the explanations of the sections that match the
header-only case, and will only focus on the differences.

### Source Files
```cmake
add_library(boost_timer
  src/auto_timers_construction.cpp
  src/cpu_timer.cpp
)
```

For a compiled library, you need to declare your source files. This is
accomplished by listing them in the `add_library` directive. `boostdep` uses
the contents of your `src` subdirectory (but ignores any subdirectories.)

Since Timer is a simple library, this works as-is. Many compiled libraries
however might require adjusting the source file list, or choosing it based
on the platform. For example, Thread needs something like
```cmake
if(BOOST_THREAD_THREADAPI STREQUAL win32)

  set(THREAD_SOURCES
    src/win32/thread.cpp
    src/win32/tss_dll.cpp
    src/win32/tss_pe.cpp
    src/win32/thread_primitives.cpp
    src/future.cpp
  )

else()

  set(THREAD_SOURCES
    src/pthread/thread.cpp
    src/pthread/once.cpp
    src/future.cpp
  )

endif()

add_library(boost_thread ${THREAD_SOURCES})
```
The logic for choosing the source files is already spelled out in your
`Jamfile`, so you will need to port it to CMake.

If your library has C source files, you'll need to also enable C as a
language in your project declaration:
```cmake
project(boost_container VERSION "${BOOST_SUPERPROJECT_VERSION}" LANGUAGES C CXX)
```
although `boostdep` might already have done so for you.

The `add_library(libname sources...)` declaration generates either a static
or a shared library depending on whether `BUILD_SHARED_LIBS` is set to `ON`
or `OFF`. This is idiomatic CMake behavior and is what we want.

### Directive Scope
```cmake
target_include_directories(boost_timer PUBLIC include)
```

The only difference with the header-only case is the use of `PUBLIC` instead
of `INTERFACE`. `PUBLIC` applies to both the library and its dependents; in
`b2` terms it declares both a requirement and a usage-requirement.

```cmake
target_link_libraries(boost_timer
  PUBLIC
    Boost::config
    Boost::core
    Boost::system
  PRIVATE
    Boost::chrono
    Boost::io
    Boost::predef
    Boost::throw_exception
)
```

Again, the difference here is in the use of the scope keywords `PUBLIC` and
`PRIVATE` (applies only to the library, not to dependents) instead of
`INTERFACE`. `boostdep` puts the dependencies referred to from the `include`
subdirectory in the `PUBLIC` section, and those referred to from the `src`
subdirectory in the `PRIVATE` section.

### Compile Definitions
```cmake
target_compile_definitions(boost_timer
  PUBLIC BOOST_TIMER_NO_LIB
  PRIVATE BOOST_TIMER_SOURCE
)
```

The compile definitions are passed to the compiler with a `-D` option and
define macros. In this case by Boost convention we define `BOOST_TIMER_NO_LIB`
to disable autolink and `BOOST_TIMER_SOURCE` when compiling the library to
properly declare exported functions as exported (as opposed to imported,
which will be the case when using the library.)

```cmake
if(BUILD_SHARED_LIBS)
  target_compile_definitions(boost_timer PUBLIC BOOST_TIMER_DYN_LINK)
else()
  target_compile_definitions(boost_timer PUBLIC BOOST_TIMER_STATIC_LINK)
endif()
```

When building shared libraries, we define `BOOST_TIMER_DYN_LINK`, and when
building static libraries, we define `BOOST_TIMER_STATIC_LINK`. Again, this
is needed to properly export and import functions from dynamic libraries, in
particular on the Windows platform.

These defines are described in the
[Boost document about separate compilation](https://www.boost.org/development/separate_compilation.html)
and you can look at how
[the Timer library uses them](https://github.com/boostorg/timer/blob/e9387e4d9956074dffcc15bf15bd6d2625e91ebf/include/boost/timer/config.hpp)
as an example.

### Building More Than One Library Target

If your build results in more than one library being built, or if the name
of your library target does not match your directory name, you need to invoke
the installation support manually. As an example, Serialization builds two
library targets, `boost_serialization` and `boost_wserialization`, and the
procedure to install them entails adding
[the following section](https://github.com/boostorg/serialization/blob/337b3fbc7c4648d6f95f863546b9482500c8dec5/CMakeLists.txt#L116-L118)
to `CMakeLists.txt`:
```cmake
if(BOOST_SUPERPROJECT_VERSION AND NOT CMAKE_VERSION VERSION_LESS 3.13)
  boost_install(TARGETS boost_serialization boost_wserialization
    VERSION ${BOOST_SUPERPROJECT_VERSION} HEADER_DIRECTORY include)
endif()
```
The check for `BOOST_SUPERPROJECT_VERSION` is necessary because without the
superproject, `boost_install` is not available. The check for the CMake
version is needed because the automatic Boost installation support requires
CMake 3.13. Even though `boost_install` will work on earlier CMake versions,
you will likely get errors at generate time because the dependencies of your
library will lack install support.

For another example of a `CMakeLists.txt` file building and installing more
than one library, see [Boost.Test](https://github.com/boostorg/test/blob/bce2d24c8b32f47f0403766fe4fee3e2e93af0a0/CMakeLists.txt#L102-L114).

### Using Threads

If your library uses multiple threads or threading primitives, you need to
add the following snippet to your `CMakeLists.txt` file:
```cmake
set(THREADS_PREFER_PTHREAD_FLAG ON)
find_package(Threads REQUIRED)
```
and then link to the target `Threads::Threads` in your
`target_link_libraries` directive. Typically, this would go in the `PUBLIC`
section (or `INTERFACE` if your library is header-only.)

(`PRIVATE` would imply that your library needs threading, but the clients
of your library do not, which is rarely the case.)

Note that this will abort the CMake configure phase with an error if
threading support can't be enabled. This is usually acceptable, but it's also
possible to omit the `REQUIRED` in `find_package(Threads REQUIRED)` and then
check `Threads_FOUND` and take some appropriate action when it's FALSE, such
as setting a preprocessor definition via `target_compile_definitions`.

### Build Options

Some libraries allow different functionality or backends. For example,
Iostreams has optional support for compressed streams and can use one or more
of the compression libraries ZLib, BZip2, LibLZMA, or Zstd, if these are
present on the system when the library is built. Locale, for another example,
can use Iconv, ICU, POSIX `newlocale`, or the Windows API, again depending on
availability at build time.

The recommended way to provide such optional functionality is to allow user
configuration with sensible defaults, as shown in the following example that
allows optional use of ZLib:

```cmake
find_package(ZLIB QUIET) # Look for ZLib

option(BOOST_MYLIB_ENABLE_ZLIB "Boost.MyLib: enable ZLib support" ${ZLIB_FOUND})

if(BOOST_MYLIB_ENABLE_ZLIB)

  find_package(ZLIB REQUIRED) # For real this time

  target_compile_definitions(boost_mylib PRIVATE BOOST_MYLIB_ENABLE_ZLIB=1)
  target_add_sources(boost_mylib PRIVATE src/zlib.cpp)
  target_link_libraries(boost_mylib PRIVATE ZLIB::ZLIB)

endif()
```

The general pattern is

* determine a sensible default
* add a CMake option to allow user control and override
* if the option is `ON`, enable functionality

Avoid silently enabling functionality on the basis of autodetection; it's
better to allow user control, in both directions. That is, the user should
be allowed to disable the functionality even if it's possible to incorporate
it, and the user should also be allowed to enable the functionality even if
autodetection says it won't work.

`find_package` in quiet mode is not the only possible way to determine the
default. You can also use platform detection (`if(WIN32)`), the result of a
configure check (`cxx_check_source_compiles`), and other measures.

After all the build options have been declared and taken into account, the
library should emit a single line of status output that shows the selected
configuration. For Iostreams, this output is of the form
```
-- Boost.Iostreams: ZLIB OFF, BZip2 OFF, LZMA OFF, Zstd OFF
```

Other Boost libraries that allow configuration are Context, Fiber, Locale,
Python, Stacktrace, Thread. For reference, their corresponding output is
```
-- Boost.Context: architecture x86_64, binary format pe, ABI ms, assembler masm, suffix .asm, implementation fcontext
-- Boost.Fiber: NUMA target OS is windows
-- Boost.Locale: iconv OFF, ICU OFF, POSIX OFF, std ON, winapi ON
-- Boost.Python: using Python 3.9.5 with NumPy at C:/Python39/Lib/site-packages/numpy/core/include
-- Boost.Stacktrace: noop ON, backtrace OFF, addr2line OFF, basic ON, windbg ON, windbg_cached ON
-- Boost.Thread: threading API is win32
```

## Guidelines and Best Practices

### Avoid Unnecessary Options

When your library is built as part of Boost, it should only add CMake options
and cache variables when they materially affect the way it's built or it will
operate.

Remember that Boost contains more than 140 libraries. If every such library
adds four "nice to have" options, this will result in 560 options in total in
`cmake-gui` for the user to wade through, most of which of no relevance for
the use at hand.

Either add the options only when `BOOST_SUPERPROJECT_VERSION` is not defined,
or only add them when your project is the root project (recommended).

(The difference is whether you insist on your options appearing when someone
uses the library with `add_subdirectory`. Typically, the options people add
to their libraries are only relevant when the library is the root project.)

Definitely don't do this:
```cmake
option(BOOST_MYLIB_MYOPTION "" ON)

if(BOOST_MYLIB_MYOPTION AND NOT BOOST_SUPERPROJECT_VERSION)

  # Do highly valuable optional things

endif()
```

This displays the option, but makes it do nothing. Instead, either put the
option declaration inside an `if`, or use
[`CMakeDependentOption`](https://cmake.org/cmake/help/latest/module/CMakeDependentOption.html):
```cmake
include(CMakeDependentOption)
cmake_dependent_option(BOOST_MYLIB_MYOPTION "" ON "NOT BOOST_SUPERPROJECT_VERSION" OFF)

if(BOOST_MYLIB_MYOPTION)

  # Do highly valuable optional things

endif()
```

### Avoid Unnecessary Status Output

When your library is built as part of Boost, avoid the urge to emit status
output unless it's relevant.

Remember that Boost contains more than 140 libraries. If every such library
emits two lines of status output, this will result in 280 lines in total, most
of them of no interest to the user.

Status output should be reserved for information that is of importance to
the user building and installing Boost, which usually means that it should
only be emitted by libraries that materially alter their operation on the
basis of user configuration or properties of the build environment.

Starting with CMake 3.15,
[`message`](https://cmake.org/cmake/help/latest/command/message.html)
now supports `VERBOSE` and `DEBUG` message types, which would be ideal for
the purpose of developer-centric output, if we could require CMake 3.15.
We don't (yet), so the current convention is to only emit "debug" output when
`Boost_DEBUG` is `ON`, and only emit "verbose" output when `Boost_DEBUG` is
`ON` or `Boost_VERBOSE` is `ON`.

(The rule of thumb separating "verbose" from "debug" is that the target
audience of the "debug" output is the person authoring the `CMakeLists.txt`
file, whereas the target audience of the "verbose" output is the user who
prefers verbosity over conciseness.)

### Prefix Target Names

Target names are global. Always prefix your target names with the name of your
project/library, such as `boost_mylib-mytarget`.

(This is typically only of relevance if you write your own tests by hand using
`add_executable` and `add_test`.)

### Do Not Add Tests Unless BUILD_TESTING Is ON

`BUILD_TESTING` is the standard CMake variable that controls whether
`add_test` does anything. Unless `BUILD_TESTING` is `ON`, to save time, you
should avoid creating any tests or targets on which they depend. Usually, this
translates to
```cmake
if(BUILD_TESTING)
  add_subdirectory(test)
endif()
```

### Do Not Overuse Generator Expressions

Since CMake doesn't support any inline function calls or expressions,
programmers are tempted to use generator expressions. In a situation where
one would write in C++ `foo? "bar": "baz"`, one could write in CMake
`$<IF:$<BOOL:${FOO}>,BAR,BAZ>`.

Don't do this. It's not the same. Generator expressions are evaluated in the
generate phase, which happens after the configure phase. If you do
```cmake
target_compile_definitions(boost_mylib PUBLIC $<IF:$<BOOL:${BUILD_SHARED_LIBS}>,BOOST_MYLIB_DYN_LINK,BOOST_MYLINK_STATIC_LINK>)
```
(and assuming `BUILD_SHARED_LIBS` is `ON`), you're not setting the
`COMPILE_DEFINITIONS` property of `boost_mylib` to `BOOST_MYLIB_DYN_LINK`, but
to `$<IF:$<BOOL:ON>,BOOST_MYLIB_DYN_LINK,BOOST_MYLINK_STATIC_LINK>`.

Yes, it will still be evaluated to the right thing during generation, but it's
better to perform evaluations that only depend on configuration-time values at
configuration time and write the less "clever"
```cmake
if(BUILD_SHARED_LIBS)
  target_compile_definitions(boost_mylib PUBLIC BOOST_MYLIB_DYN_LINK)
else()
  target_compile_definitions(boost_mylib PUBLIC BOOST_MYLINK_STATIC_LINK)
endif()
```

## Usage Scenarios

### Building and Installing Boost

The primary scenario we will support is, obviously, building and installing
Boost with CMake (and optionally, running the tests, if one has a few days
to spare).

The building procedure would generally involve issuing (from the Boost root)
```bash
mkdir __build
cd __build
cmake <configuration options> ..
cmake --build . -j <threads>
```

which should result in Boost libraries being built with the specified
configuration options in subdirectories of the "stage" directory, by default
`stage/lib` and `stage/bin`.

Subsequent installation would be performed with
```bash
cmake --build . --target install
```
assuming that `CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX` was set beforehand to the desired
destination directory.

Under Windows, when using the default Visual Studio generator, the building
and installation procedure would need to be performed twice, once with
`--config Debug`, and once with `--config Release` (or perhaps with
`--config RelWithDebInfo`, as desired.)

Testing the entire Boost would be performed with
```bash
cmake -DBUILD_TESTING=ON ..
cmake --build . --target tests -j <threads>
ctest --output-on-failure -j <threads>
```

Again, when using the Visual Studio generator, this would be
```bash
cmake --build . --target tests -j <threads> --config Debug
ctest --output-on-failure -j <threads> -C Debug
```
resp.
```bash
cmake --build . --target tests -j <threads> --config Release
ctest --output-on-failure -j <threads> -C Release
```

### Using Boost libraries as Subprojects

The secondary scenario we would like to support would be user projects
"consuming" Boost libraries piecemeal without the superproject, by having
them in subdirectories in their project (as Git submodules, or acquired
with `FetchContent`), and then using `add_subdirectory` to incorporate them
in the master CMake project.

A sample project that demonstrates how users would consume individual Boost
libraries in this manner is available at
[github.com/pdimov/boost_cmake_demo](https://github.com/pdimov/boost_cmake_demo).

Note that `BOOST_SUPERPROJECT_VERSION` is not set in this scenario, but all of
the recommendations in the preceding sections still apply. Be sure to not
degrade the experience of the users choosing to embed Boost libraries in this
manner because your logic relies on checking `BOOST_SUPERPROJECT_VERSION`.

### Sole Boost Library as Subproject

Some Boost developers wish to support a scenario in which their library is
included via `add_subdirectory` into the user project, but other Boost
libraries are not. To obtain access to their Boost dependencies, they rely
on preexisting Boost installations, found using `find_package(Boost)`.

This rarely makes sense. Since the library is a Boost library, if
`find_package(Boost)` works for it, it will also work for the user, which
will make that library available (it being part of Boost.) There is no
need to incorporate it individually.

The cases where this does make sense generally concern a new library that
is not yet accepted into Boost, has not yet appeared in a Boost release, or
is sufficiently new that the typical `find_package(Boost)` finds a Boost
release that does not contain it.

These conditions only apply in the short term, and supporting this use case
is not recommended, because in the long term it's both a maintenance burden
and a source of problems. (When `find_package(Boost)` does find a Boost
release containing the library, it will rarely be the same version, which can
easily lead to the user project containing two versions of the library, with
the associated ODR violations which would at best manifest as link errors.)

If you insist on supporting this scenario, please make sure to not compromise
the user experience in the previous two cases.

### "Standalone" Installation

Installing an individual Boost library, without the rest of Boost, is an even
worse idea. It can easily lead to a broken Boost, and there's not much to be
gained even if it "works". Don't do it. If you do, please don't use the same
package name (`boost_libname`) or target names (`boost_libname`,
`Boost::libname`) as the legitimate Boost installation; if possible, also do
not use the `boost` namespace, to avoid link errors or ODR violations when
the "standalone" library and the legitimate Boost library end up in the same
binary (this happens more often than you might think.)

### "Standalone" Development and Testing
    - Creating IDE Projects

## CI Quick Testing

### Building the Library
### Testing add_subdirectory Use
### Testing Use after Installation

## Testing

### Using boost_test
### Using boost_test_jamfile
### Using "Plain" CMake Tests