How to Install and Use CMake on Linux for C++ Projects

Installing CMake on Linux

• 💻 Open your terminal to begin the installation process.
• 🐧 On Ubuntu and Debian-based systems, use the command sudo apt install cmake.
• ⚠️ For other distributions like Fedora, you might use dnf install cmake or similar package manager commands; the core command to install is cmake.
• ✅ After installation, verify it by typing cmake --version to see the installed version.

Creating a Simple C++ Project

• 📁 Create a new project directory using mkdir cmake-demo and navigate into it with cd cmake-demo.
• 📝 Create a C++ source file, for example main.cpp, using a text editor like nano.
• 💡 Inside main.cpp, write a basic C++ program, including <iostream> and a main function that prints "Hello CMake!".

Configuring and Building with CMakeLists.txt

• 📄 Create a CMakeLists.txt file in the project root.
• ⚙️ In CMakeLists.txt, define the minimum CMake version required (e.g., cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.10)), set the project name (e.g., project(hello-cmake)), and add your executable using add_executable(hello main.cpp).
• 🏗️ It's recommended to create a separate build directory: mkdir build and cd build.
• 🔗 Inside the build directory, run cmake .. to configure the project.
• 📦 Compile the project using the command make.

Running the Executable

• ▶️ After successful compilation, run the executable from the build directory. If your executable is named hello, you can run it with ./hello.
• ✅ The output should display "Hello CMake!", confirming that your project was built and executed successfully using CMake on Linux.