Cross-compiling

[aminya]

• [x] Merge #171 by @abeimler
• [ ] Test cross-compiling with Conan @aminya
• [x] Test cross-compiling without using Conan NOR vcpkg, just plain C++ #188
  • [x] by just using enable_cross_compiler() and CMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE #188
• [ ] May add a more specific (cross-compile) example for windows
  • [ ] So it can compile with both MSVC AND MinGW
• [x] Update setup-cpp (toolchain) examples in project-options https://github.com/aminya/setup-cpp/pull/103
• [x] After adding cross-compiler to setup-cpp, update Dockerfile.mingw so setup-cpp can install the cross-compiler (MinGW) #233
• [x] Update Taskfile in https://github.com/aminya/cpp_vcpkg_project/pull/15

Future Ideas

• add more specific project_options for emscripten
  • Like Packaging Files and assets
• add cross-compiler for ARM
• Maybe Android (toolchain)

Usage

The best you can do is add this to your cmake file:

# opt-in cross-compiling
option(ENABLE_CROSS_COMPILING "Detect cross compiler and setup toolchain" OFF)
if(ENABLE_CROSS_COMPILING)
  enable_cross_compiler()
endif()
run_vcpkg() # run_vcpkg AFTER enable_cross_compiler, when using vcpkg

and run cmake with these additional arguments:

-DENABLE_CROSS_COMPILING:BOOL=ON -DDEFAULT_TRIPLET=x64-mingw-dynamic

See Taskfile and docker examples

Notes

• This feature isn't a magic switch to enable cross-compiling
  • vcpkg Community triplets are not guaranteed to succeed.
  • emscripten can be more of a specific use case and you may need to add some flags
• The toolchain files are more of a basic setup and examples
• enable_cross_compiler() and run_vcpkg() can help you set up Community triplets easier
• Best way to experiment with cross-compiling is by using docker and in a closed environment

Originally posted by @abeimler in https://github.com/aminya/project_options/issues/171#issuecomment-1345251104

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