Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

CMake VS Please

Compare CMake VS Please 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.

Please logo Please

A Cross-Language Build System
  • CMake Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-09-21

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

  • Please Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-10-11

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.

Please features and specs

  • Performance
    Please build offers high performance build speeds, which can significantly reduce build times compared to other tools. This is achieved through parallel execution and efficient incremental builds.
  • Flexibility
    Please is highly configurable and flexible, allowing developers to tailor the build system to fit a wide range of project requirements and workflows.
  • Cross-platform
    It supports cross-platform builds, enabling developers to use a single build system for projects targeting multiple operating systems.
  • Minimal Dependencies
    Please requires minimal external dependencies, which simplifies setup and reduces the potential for version conflicts and other dependency-related issues.
  • Open Source
    As an open-source tool, Please allows users to inspect, modify, and contribute to the codebase, fostering a collaborative community environment.

Possible disadvantages of Please

  • Steep Learning Curve
    New users might find Please build's configuration and scripting style challenging to learn, especially if they are not familiar with build systems.
  • Limited Ecosystem
    Compared to more established build tools, Please has a smaller ecosystem, which might result in fewer plugins, integrations, and community resources.
  • Complex Configuration
    For certain projects, the configuration might become complex, requiring careful management to maintain readability and manageability of build scripts.
  • Less Popular
    Please is not as widely adopted as some other build systems, potentially leading to fewer examples and support resources available online.

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

Please videos

Chinese March: ่ฏทไฝ ๆฃ€้˜… - Please Review

More videos:

  • Review - Hong Kong March: ่ฏทไฝ ๆฃ€้˜… - Please Review (Instrumental)
  • Review - ่ฏทไฝ ๆฃ€้˜… (March ยซPlease, reviewยป)

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to CMake and Please)
Front End Package Manager
Action
0 0%
100% 100
JS Build Tools
100 100%
0% 0
JavaScript Package Manager

User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, CMake should be more popular than Please. 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 / about 1 year 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 / about 1 year 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 / over 1 year 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 / almost 2 years 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 2 years ago
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Please mentions (12)

  • What I wish I knew about Python when I started
    Pip is a command line package manager that comes with Python, but it is definitely not the only package manager. Other tools like pipenv, poetry, pdm, conda, and even some third-party applications like please can all manage Python dependencies. One common mistake beginners make is installing Python, and then running pip install (or even worse, sudo pip install), before moving forward. While this works in the... - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
  • Top programming languages created in the 2010's on GitHub by stars
    Iโ€™m not sure a JS library qualifies as a PL. Or automation software (SoftStack). Or an API description language. Or a build system. Source: over 3 years ago
  • Just Use a Monorepo
    Regarding your first point, a good alternative to Bazel is [Please][https://please.build/] - its build graph can solve exactly this problem in CI. - Source: Hacker News / over 3 years ago
  • Need to know about various distributed build tools available
    Checkout: https://please.build/ - CMake is not directly supported, but you can easily extend please.build to invoke cmake commands to build your targets. - It does supports both Windows(ehweee) and Linux - MIT - BONUS: it is fast. Really fast(||)! Single binary. It is also versatile. I am using it to build a repo with multiple programming languages(C++(Wasm),Go,Js, Flutter), while spinning up vagrant and... Source: almost 4 years ago
  • When to Use Bazel?
    > the best way forward is to take the ideas of Bazel (hermetic and deterministic builds) and package them as a good small build system, perhaps even compatible with Bazel so you don't have to rewrite build rules all the time. How does https://please.build measure up? - Source: Hacker News / almost 4 years ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing CMake and Please, 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.

Gradle - Accelerate developer productivity. Gradle helps teams build, automate and deliver better software, faster. DocsExplore the documentation of Gradle. Find installation ..

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

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

Eyes โ€“ The Horror Game - Eyes โ€“ The Horror Game is an Action-Adventure, Horror, 1st-person Exploration and Single-player video game by Paulina Pabis and Michel Pabis.

Ninja Build - Ninja is a small build system with a focus on speed.