CMake Getting Started / FAQ

How to build with CMake

The CMake build system is designed to provide as seamless a transition as is possible. As such, the normal OpenJ9 build instructions can be followed with the following modifications:

• Ensure that CMake version 3.4 or greater is installed

  • The docker images will already have this provided

  • Windows users need to have the Cygwin CMake package via the Cygwin installer, rather than downloading the native windows version from the CMake website.

• Downloading freemarker is not required.

• Modify the provided configure command by:

  • removing the --with-free-marker-jar= argument

  • adding --with-cmake

📝 For more CMake info see OMR CMake documentation

FAQ

Why are only some targets installed via install()?

Generally only shared libraries / executables are installed. Static libraries are not since they are considered temporary artifacts generated by the build.

📝 Here install() isn't being used in its normal sense. Here it's used just to update the rpath (on applicable platforms) and to move the binary to the corresponding source directory. We do this purely for compatability with existing build infrastructure that expects the binaries to be laid out as they would be under a makefile driven build.