CMP0114 — CMake 4.3.0 Documentation

# CMP0114

Added in version 3.19.

`ExternalProject` step targets fully adopt their steps.

The `ExternalProject_Add()` `STEP_TARGETS` option, and the `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 `ExternalProject_Add()` `DEPENDS` option even though not all steps need them. In order to allow step targets to be created without those dependencies, the `ExternalProject_Add()` `INDEPENDENT_STEP_TARGETS` option or the `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 `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 `CMP0113`, the step targets generated by 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 `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 `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 `ExternalProject_Add_Step()` command provides 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 `ExternalProject_Add()` `STEP_TARGETS` option or the `ExternalProject_Add_Step()` function are now independent if and only if their steps are marked as independent. The `ExternalProject_Add()` `INDEPENDENT_STEP_TARGETS` option and `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 `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 `ExternalProject_Add()` `UPDATE_DISCONNECTED` or `TEST_EXCLUDE_FROM_MAIN` option is used, or the `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. It may be set by `cmake_policy()` or `cmake_minimum_required()`. If it is not set, CMake warns, and uses `OLD` behavior.

Note

The `OLD` behavior of a policy is deprecated by definition and may be removed in a future version of CMake.