Question

I am installing static file using CMake’s INSTALL command.
I want to post process the output file using CMake.

For example, static files have a string like

v={{VERSION}}

I want to replace {{VERSION}} in the output files.

Is this possible with CMake?

Answer 1

Yes, but preprocessing is usually done at cmake invocation step, not during install. This is done using configure_file() command.

Note that configure_file() supports substituting values only in ${} or @@, so if you really need to configure a file with {{}}, you might end up writing your own function using the CMake command file().

Finally, you need to install your configured file. Be sure to

install(FILES ${CMAKE_BINARY_DIR}/your.file)

and not just

install(FILES your.file)

since the latter command would install your source file.