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cpack_packaging.md

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CPack supports a wide range of packaging formats for different platforms. Here is a list of the most common ones:

1. TGZ (Tar Gzip Archive)

  • Usage: Unix-based systems (Linux, macOS).
  • Command: cpack -G TGZ
  • Output: Compressed tarball (e.g., myapp-1.0.0-Linux.tar.gz).

2. TBZ2 (Tar BZip2 Archive)

  • Usage: Unix-based systems.
  • Command: cpack -G TBZ2
  • Output: Bzip2 compressed tarball (e.g., myapp-1.0.0-Linux.tar.bz2).

3. ZIP (ZIP Archive)

  • Usage: Cross-platform.
  • Command: cpack -G ZIP
  • Output: ZIP archive (e.g., myapp-1.0.0-Windows.zip).

4. DEB (Debian Package)

  • Usage: Debian-based Linux distributions (e.g., Ubuntu).
  • Command: cpack -G DEB
  • Output: .deb package (e.g., myapp-1.0.0-Linux.deb).
  • Requires: The dpkg-deb tool to be installed on the system.

5. RPM (Red Hat Package Manager)

  • Usage: Red Hat-based Linux distributions (e.g., Fedora, CentOS).
  • Command: cpack -G RPM
  • Output: .rpm package (e.g., myapp-1.0.0-Linux.rpm).
  • Requires: The rpmbuild tool to be installed.

6. NSIS (Nullsoft Scriptable Install System)

  • Usage: Windows installer (alternative to MSI).
  • Command: cpack -G NSIS
  • Output: NSIS executable installer (e.g., myapp-1.0.0-Windows.exe).
  • Requires: NSIS (Nullsoft Scriptable Install System) to be installed.

7. WIX (Windows Installer)

  • Usage: Windows MSI installers.
  • Command: cpack -G WIX
  • Output: .msi package (e.g., myapp-1.0.0-Windows.msi).
  • Requires: WiX Toolset to be installed.

8. DMG (Apple Disk Image)

  • Usage: macOS.
  • Command: cpack -G DragNDrop
  • Output: .dmg disk image (e.g., myapp-1.0.0-macOS.dmg).
  • Requires: macOS system to build.

9. STGZ (Self-extracting Tar Gzip Archive)

  • Usage: Unix-based systems (self-extracting).
  • Command: cpack -G STGZ
  • Output: Self-extracting archive (e.g., myapp-1.0.0-Linux.sh).

10. SH (Shell Script)

  • Usage: Linux/Unix installer script.
  • Command: cpack -G SH
  • Output: Shell script installer (e.g., myapp-1.0.0-Linux.sh).

11. 7Z (7-Zip Archive)

  • Usage: Cross-platform.
  • Command: cpack -G 7Z
  • Output: .7z archive (e.g., myapp-1.0.0-Windows.7z).
  • Requires: 7-Zip installed for extraction.

12. TXZ (Tar XZ Archive)

  • Usage: Unix-based systems.
  • Command: cpack -G TXZ
  • Output: XZ compressed tarball (e.g., myapp-1.0.0-Linux.tar.xz).

13. External tools

  • CPack can also work with custom generators if you need a different format not natively supported. You can use the CPACK_GENERATOR variable to specify multiple generators if you need multiple formats from a single configuration.

These options allow CPack to create a wide range of installers and package formats, providing flexibility in packaging software for different platforms and distribution channels.

To create an MSI installer with CMake and CPack, follow these steps. CPack is a packaging system that comes with CMake, and it supports various package formats, including MSI for Windows.

1. Set up your CMake project

Make sure you have a working CMake project. Here's a simple example:

cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.10)
project(MyApp)

add_executable(MyApp main.cpp)

This will generate an executable called MyApp.

2. Configure CPack for MSI

Add the necessary configuration to your CMakeLists.txt to tell CPack to generate an MSI installer:

# Include CPack module
include(CPack)

# Set CPack variables
set(CPACK_GENERATOR "WIX")  # Specify the generator as WIX for MSI
set(CPACK_PACKAGE_NAME "MyApp")
set(CPACK_PACKAGE_VERSION "1.0.0")
set(CPACK_PACKAGE_VENDOR "MyCompany")
set(CPACK_PACKAGE_DESCRIPTION_SUMMARY "MyApp Installer")
set(CPACK_PACKAGE_INSTALL_DIRECTORY "MyApp")  # Default installation directory
set(CPACK_WIX_UPGRADE_GUID "C011FA2D-5F0D-43F7-BE94-5D6D77403435")  # Replace with your own GUID

# Include Wix toolset variables if needed
set(CPACK_WIX_PRODUCT_GUID "YOUR-GUID-HERE")  # Optional, for product identification

# Other useful CPack options
set(CPACK_WIX_LICENSE_RTF "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/license.rtf")  # License file (optional)
set(CPACK_WIX_UI_BANNER "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/images/banner.bmp")  # Custom banner (optional)
set(CPACK_WIX_UI_DIALOG "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/images/dialog.bmp")  # Custom dialog image (optional)

3. Install targets

Tell CMake which files to install. This is important so that CPack knows what to include in the installer. You can specify the executable, libraries, and other resources like this:

install(TARGETS MyApp DESTINATION bin)
install(FILES "${PROJECT_SOURCE_DIR}/README.md" DESTINATION .)

4. Generate the MSI with CPack

Once you’ve set up your project, you can use CPack to generate the MSI package. To do this, follow these steps:

  1. Configure your project with CMake:

    cmake -G "NMake Makefiles" -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release .

  2. Build your project:

    cmake --build . --config Release

  3. Run CPack to create the MSI installer:

    cpack -G WIX

This will generate an MSI package for your project in the build directory.

Additional Notes:

  • WIX Toolset: CPack uses the WiX (Windows Installer XML) toolset to generate MSI files. Ensure that you have WiX installed and in your system PATH for CPack to create MSI installers. You can download WiX from WiX Toolset.
  • GUIDs: Windows Installer uses GUIDs to uniquely identify products and upgrades. You need to provide a unique CPACK_WIX_PRODUCT_GUID and CPACK_WIX_UPGRADE_GUID for your project. You can generate GUIDs using tools like uuidgen.

Once you run CPack successfully, you’ll find an MSI installer for your application in the build directory.