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I understand that CMake enables a project to be easily built in a variety of compiler/IDE environments. I have experienced this for myself and was amazed when CMake produced a working, buildable Xcode project for me from some open source project (cool!)

But what I don't understand is how you properly update the CMake system after you have made significant changes to the project that CMake created for you.

For example I am envisioning a workflow in which the project should be kept portable via CMake. So I create a clone of a github project, use CMake to create my XCode project, and then go to work implementing some new feature or bug fix. Perhaps these changes are non-trivial and affect build.

After these changes are complete I want to push the code base back to github. What happens now? Must all of the CMake files be updated by hand to reflect all of the work that I've done? Or is there some equally magical feature to update the CMake files with the changes that were implemented in XCode (or Visual Studio, or some other supported IDE/compiler combo)?

What is the general "Roundtrip" workflow with CMake and how efficient is it?

Matthew James Briggs
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The point is that you change your project by changing the CMake configuration files themselves. It could be that you'll find some other tool which manages cmake projects, which will make changes to your cmake files. In the example you mention, you have to check if XCode is modifying your cmake files.

You have to commit all the necessary modifications you do to your cmake files, and your build program (make, ninja, or any other) will run cmake every time the cmake project files are touched.

Advanced note: if you use the command file with globbing instructions to get the list of your sources files, you might be interested to read Getting cmake to run before building after pulling from git

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Antonio
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