I'm trying to compile assembly files with NASM and C files with GCC and link all object files together. Moreover, I'd like the C preprocessor to process the assembly files as well. This is normally no problem from the command line or a simple makefile, but I've had some trouble in replicating this functionality in CMake.
The exact process, assuming three files (boot.S, kernel.c, link.ld) would look something like this:
gcc -E -P boot.S -D <...> -o boot.s
nasm -f elf32 boot.s -o boot.o
gcc -c kernel.c -o kernel.o -ffreestanding -O2 -Wall -Wextra
Now its time to link. I want to do this like this (maybe with a few extra flags):
gcc -T link.ld -o out.bin -ffreestanding -O2 -nostdlib boot.o kernel.o -lgcc
The problems with CMake are the following:
- Cmake support for NASM is weird at best. When adding .S files as sources to targets they don't get recognized as assembly files and I get hit with 'cannot determine linker language for target'. I have tried adding 's S' to CMAKE_ASM_NASM_SOURCE_FILE_EXTENSIONS but it still doesn't work unless I manually set the languages with set_source_files_properties(). Moreover, as is pointed out here, CMAKE_ASM_NASM_LINK_EXECUTABLE is broken.
- As far as I understand, after compiling source files to objects, CMake attempts to link them automatically. Which linker will it use to link all .o files? Will it use the linker for C? Will it use the linker for NASM? The answer is relevant, because I need to configure it with the flags I mentioned above.
What would an example CMakeLists.txt would look like that replicates the previously mentioned process? Also do I need a create_custom_command() in order to invoke just the preprocessor? Thank you.