build - Have CMake recursively scan folders?

Question

How do I set up CMake to recursively scan a given directory and determine the list of source files?

My project is a shared library. I have a folder structure similar to this:

/
  src/              # Source files in an arbitrary tree
  include/          # Headers, tree mirrors that of the src/ folder
  examples/         # Executable code examples that link against the library
  CMakeLists.txt

I want CMake to recursively scan src and include and determine the list of source and header files in my project, regardless of the directory structure. I also want to avoid:

• Polluting the src/ and include/ directories with endless CMakeLists.txt files
• Having to change and adapt the scripts every time I change my folder structure

It is fine for each example to have their own build script, however.

question from:https://stackoverflow.com/questions/9745627/have-cmake-recursively-scan-folders

Answer 1

CMake provides the following command for recursive files globing:

file(GLOB_RECURSE variable [RELATIVE path] 
   [FOLLOW_SYMLINKS] [globbing expressions]...)

Command documentation: http://www.cmake.org/cmake/help/v2.8.8/cmake.html#command:file