How to instruct CMake to use the build architecture compiler

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When using CMake for cross compiling, one generally specifies a toolchain file via the CMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE option. In GNU terminology, one can specify the host architecture toolset using this file. However, one can generally not expect to be able to execute anything built with this toolchain. So often enough, some build tools need to be compiled for the build architecture.

Consider the following setup. I have two source files genfoo.c and bar.c. During build, genfoo.c needs to be compiled and run. Its output needs to be written to foo.h. Then I can compile bar.c, which #include "foo.h". Since CMake defaults to using the host architecture toolchain, the instructions for bar.c are easy. But how do I tell it to use the build architecture toolchain for compiling genfoo.c? Simply saying add_executable(genfoo genfoo.c) will result in using the wrong compiler.

cross-compiling cmake
2 Answers

It is possible to do that completely within CMake.

The trick is to run a separate CMake configuring stage within its own space, silently dismissing every crosscompiling setting and using the host's default toolchain, then import the generated outputs into it's parent, crosscompiling build.

First part:

set(host_tools_list wxrc generate_foo)

if(CMAKE_CROSSCOMPILING)
    # Pawn off the creation of the host utilities into its own dedicated space
    file(MAKE_DIRECTORY ${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/host_tools)
    file(TO_NATIVE_PATH ${CMAKE_COMMAND} native_cmake_command)
    file(TO_NATIVE_PATH ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR} native_cmake_current_source_dir)
    execute_process(
        COMMAND "${native_cmake_command}" "-DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=${CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE}" "${native_cmake_current_source_dir}"
        WORKING_DIRECTORY ${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/host_tools
    )

    add_custom_target(host_tools
        COMMAND ${CMAKE_COMMAND} --build . --target host_tools --config $<CONFIG>
        WORKING_DIRECTORY ${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/host_tools
    )
    include(${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/host_tools/host_tools.cmake)

    foreach(tgt IN ITEMS ${host_tools_list})
        add_dependencies(host${tgt} host_tools)
    endforeach()

else()
    # Add an empty target, host tools are built inplace
    add_custom_target(host_tools
        DEPENDS ${host_tools_list}
    )
endif()

... then you add the usual add_executable and whatever ...

At the end:

if(NOT CMAKE_CROSSCOMPILING)
    foreach(tgt IN ITEMS ${host_tools_list})
        add_executable(host${tgt} ALIAS ${tgt})
    endforeach()

    export(TARGETS ${host_tools_list} NAMESPACE host FILE host_tools.cmake)
endif()

When it crosscompiles, it pawns off the creation of the host-run tools into its own dedicated space, and imports the targets as "hostwxrc" and "hostgenerate_foo", with a dependency on generating the host_tools themselves .

When it doesn't crosscompile, it builds wxrc and generate_foo as-is, and aliases them to hostwxrc and hostgenerate_foo.

After this, when you use $<TARGET_FILE:wxrc>, you refer to the wxrc built for the target platform, and $<TARGET_FILE:hostwxrc> refers to the wxrc built for the host platform, regardless whether they are the same or not.

user_92182010
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