Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

CMake VS CocoaPods

Compare CMake VS CocoaPods and see what are their differences

CMake logo CMake

CMake is an open-source, cross-platform family of tools designed to build, test and package software.

CocoaPods logo CocoaPods

The Dependency Manager for iOS & Mac projects
  • CMake Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-09-21

We recommend LibHunt CMake for discovery and comparisons of trending CMake projects.

  • CocoaPods Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-08-23

CMake features and specs

  • Cross-platform support
    CMake is designed to support multiple operating systems including Windows, macOS, and Linux. This allows developers to write platform-independent CMake scripts.
  • Build tool agnostic
    CMake can generate build files for a variety of build systems including Makefiles, Ninja, and Visual Studio solutions. This means developers are not tied to a specific build tool.
  • Large community and extensive documentation
    CMake has a large user base and an extensive amount of documentation and tutorials available which can be helpful for new and experienced users alike.
  • Integrated testing support
    CMake includes support for testing frameworks such as CTest, which allows for automated testing of code during the build process.
  • Modular and scalable
    CMake is highly modular, enabling users to create reusable and maintainable code by organizing CMake scripts into libraries and modules.

Possible disadvantages of CMake

  • Steep learning curve
    CMake's complexity and its extensive range of features can be difficult for beginners to grasp, leading to a steep learning curve.
  • Verbose syntax
    CMake scripts can often become verbose and difficult to read, especially for large projects. This can make maintenance and debugging challenging.
  • Inconsistent module quality
    The quality and support of different CMake modules can vary, sometimes leading to issues with compatibility or functionality.
  • Performance overhead
    CMake may introduce some performance overhead during the configuration process, especially for very large projects.
  • Complexity in advanced features
    Some of the more advanced features of CMake, such as custom commands and complex dependency management, can be quite difficult to implement correctly.

CocoaPods features and specs

  • Dependency Management
    CocoaPods simplifies the management of third-party library dependencies, helping developers integrate and manage multiple libraries effortlessly.
  • Community Support
    It has a large, active community, providing a wide range of libraries, regular updates, and community-driven support.
  • Ease of Use
    With simple commands, CocoaPods automates the installation and inclusion of libraries into Xcode projects, saving time and reducing manual errors.
  • Version Control
    CocoaPods allows specifying exact library versions, ensuring consistency across development and production environments.
  • Integration with Xcode
    It integrates well with Xcode projects, dynamically creating workspace files to manage dependencies without altering original project files.

Possible disadvantages of CocoaPods

  • Learning Curve
    New users might find it challenging to learn CocoaPodsโ€™s setup, configuration, and troubleshooting, particularly in complex projects.
  • Dependency Resolution
    There can be conflicts when resolving dependency versions, sometimes requiring manual intervention to fix compatibility issues.
  • Increased Build Times
    Using CocoaPods might increase build times as it generates an additional workspace and schemes that can slow down the build process.
  • Project Complexity
    The automated management changes project structures, moving projects into workspaces, which could complicate direct project handling.
  • Potential for Conflicts
    Due to its nature of managing external dependencies, thereโ€™s potential for conflicts with other dependency managers like Carthage or Swift Package Manager.

Analysis of CMake

Overall verdict

  • CMake is generally considered a good tool for managing the build process of software projects, especially those with a complex codebase that spans multiple platforms.

Why this product is good

  • Flexibility
    It offers great flexibility in terms of defining build processes, enabling advanced configuration and optimization techniques to be used.
  • Integration
    It integrates well with many popular IDEs and other tools, providing a smoother development experience.
  • Wide adoption
    CMake is widely used in the industry, which leads to robust community support and regular updates.
  • Cross platform support
    CMake is designed to support multiple platforms, which makes it highly valuable for projects that need to be compiled and run on different operating systems.

Recommended for

  • projects requiring cross-platform compatibility
  • developers looking for a powerful build configuration tool
  • complex software projects with numerous dependencies
  • teams that value strong community and industry support

CMake videos

CMake for Dummies

More videos:

  • Review - CppCon 2017: Mathieu Ropert โ€œUsing Modern CMake Patterns to Enforce a Good Modular Designโ€
  • Review - Hunter, a CMake driven package manager for C/C++ projects - Daniel Friedrich - Lightning Talks

CocoaPods videos

No CocoaPods videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

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Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to CMake and CocoaPods)
Front End Package Manager
Application And Data
0 0%
100% 100
JavaScript Package Manager
Libraries
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, CMake should be more popular than CocoaPods. It has been mentiond 55 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

CMake mentions (55)

  • How I deployed my first project for my devops portfolio: Project Architecture
    I used CMAKE as my compiling tool followed by make. - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
  • DeadLock: Research Results & Tech Stack
    All this C++ project can't be ran as simple C++ code, so I will be building this whole package using CMake. It will streamline building this project onto other computers. - Source: dev.to / 4 months ago
  • Master This Feature of DevEco Studio to Efficiently Implement ArkTS and C++ Glue Code
    For knowledge in this aspect, you can refer to the relevant documents of the CMake build tool: https://cmake.org/. - Source: dev.to / 9 months ago
  • Creating a Native Desktop GUI Using C++ with GTK
    I used CMAKE to define the build configurations. I find it very convenient that CMAKE generates the Makefile on Linux and can also create a Visual Studio project on Windows. - Source: dev.to / 12 months ago
  • Top 7 C++ Tools to explore in 2024 if it's not already the case.
    CMake stands for "Cross-platform Make" and is an open-source, platform-independent build system. It's designed to build, test, and package software projects written in C and C++, but it can also be used for other languages. Here's an overview of CMake and its features:. - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
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CocoaPods mentions (16)

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What are some alternatives?

When comparing CMake and CocoaPods, you can also consider the following products

GNU Make - GNU Make is a tool which controls the generation of executables and other non-source files of a program from the program's source files.

Ubuntu Sources List Generator - Ubuntu Sources List Generator is a website where you can generate a sources.

SCons - SCons is an Open Source software construction toolโ€”that is, a next-generation build tool.

OCMapView Alternatives - Simple and easy to use clustering mapView for iOS. Contribute to BotiKis/OCMapView development by creating an account on GitHub.

SBT - SBT is a build tool for Scala, like Ant or Maven but with hieroglyphics.

zhPopupController Alternatives - Help you pop up custom views easily. and support pop-up animation, layout position, mask effect and gesture interaction etc. - GitHub - snail-z/zhPopupController: Help you pop up custom views easil...