[Qt-creator] CMake alternative buildsystem - request for adoption

[Andre Poenitz]

On Fri, Mar 20, 2009 at 10:15:31AM -0300, Helio Chissini de Castro wrote:
> Hello

Hello Helio.

A few comments (speaking for myself only). I am not opposing the
general idea of using cmake as a build system, however:

> [...]
> - Use the qt plugin space, instead of a subdir inside
> /usr/lib/qt-creator.  This is a bit controversy, but in the view of a
> distribution, a qt plugin should be under qt umbrella, and qt-creator
> plugins, even been slightly different, still are a qt plugins.

Qt Creator plugins have in my opinion nothing to do with "real" Qt plugins.

> [...]
> The major benefit at end is an easy installation and package creation
> for us.  I attached the relevant patches, the second one ( -source )
> is to workaround the limitation of automoc4 to not detect all the moc
> requirements, and a addition of qt plugin standard path. Presumably
> all safe to be upstream

I am ready to make concessions in the code when it comes to supporting
widespread compilers to overcome a quirk or two. I am less inclined to
change the _code_ to make an "alternative" _build system_ happy. Isn't
the right approach here to fix automoc instead?

> So my proposal is adopt as a alternative buildsystem, side by side
> with official qmake buildsystem,

I have a precedence "in the family" (the LyX project) that has three
build systems (autotools, cmake, scons) nowadays, and one thing I know
for sure is that this is not a situation I'd like to see duplicated for
Creator. The file lists of the build systems get out of sync every now
and then leaving people with uncompilable code.

So either cmake is ready for the task (all platforms, no additional
restrictions on the source code), in which case we might discuss
completely replacing the current qmake based build by cmake - or it
is not. 

> [...] in this way been up to date and turn
> packagers life easier, increasing the deployment.

Not sure. In fact I am pretty sure that any "alternative" build system
will not get all the "last minute care" the "prefered" build system
would get at release time, most likely leading releases that would not
build properly with the "alternative" systems.

Regards,
Andre'