CMake: Build Target from tasks.json to support compound debugging

[timo-suoranta-varjo]

• I want to debug multiple individual executables together (server, client) that have no build time dependencies.
• I have compounds in launch.json that works for this.
• For each executable in my compound, I'd like to have preLaunchTask in launch.json to make sure those executables are rebuilt before debugging.
• In the preLaunchTasks I would like to be able to perform CMake: Build Target, so that I can build those targets.

There does not seem to be a way to perform CMake: Build Target from a task in tasks.json. Is there a way? Or does this need a new feature in CMake Tools? Thanks!

[andreeis]

Thank you for suggesting this feature idea. Currently, the command "CMake: Build Target" can't be hooked up to tasks.json, only "CMake: Build" (which builds the default target if defined or ALL otherwise). You could use this one for now, even if this would cause the rebuild of targets that you don't need.

[timo-suoranta-varjo]

Building all is not always an option. Building all of a large project can take a really long time. Some targets might not build at all, because the project has not yet been fully ported to a new environment.

I worked around this by using shell command cmake --build .. --config .. --target .. -- -j .. in tasks.json, essentially copying what CMake: Build Target outputs when it executes. But I need to copy paste an entry for every target.

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[MartyMcFlyInTheSky]

Yes, please make this work:

{
    "version": "2.0.0",
    "tasks": [
        {
            "type": "cmake",
            "label": "CMake: build",
            "command": "build",
            "targets": [
                "${command:cmake.launchTarget}"
            ],
            "group": {
                "kind": "build",
                "isDefault": true
            },
            "problemMatcher": [],
            "detail": "CMake template build task"
        }
    ],
}

It should be as easy as just making the target name available (instead of the full path).

[nickyvanurk]

I am also running in this issue, would love to use the build target from tasks