How to Detect C 11 Support in Your Compiler with CMake?

Detecting A Compiler's C 11 Support with CMake

One of the frustrations in software development is trying to compile code that requires a feature not supported by the installed compiler. For instance, a software application requiring C 11 might not compile correctly if the user has an older compiler that only supports C 98. In such a situation, it would be helpful if the compilation could fail during the CMake run rather than at compile time.

Solution

CMake version 3.1.0 and later allows detecting what C features a C compiler supports.

<code class="cmake">cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.1.0 FATAL_ERROR)
project(foobar CXX)
message("Your C++ compiler supports these C++ features:")
foreach(i ${CMAKE_CXX_COMPILE_FEATURES})
  message("${i}")
endforeach()</code>

In most cases, you won't have to specify the C features directly but instead specify the required C features and let CMake deduce the C standard. CMake will then ensure that the compiler is invoked with the correct flags (e.g., -std=c 11).

Explicitly Declaring Your C Standard

<code class="cmake"># Explicitly set C++ standard and required features
add_executable(prog main.cc)
set_property(TARGET prog PROPERTY CXX_STANDARD 11)
set_property(TARGET prog PROPERTY CXX_STANDARD_REQUIRED ON)</code>

Using Target Compile Features

<code class="cmake"># Specify required C++ features and let CMake deduce the C++ standard
target_compile_features(foobar PRIVATE
  cxx_strong_enums
  cxx_constexpr
  cxx_auto_type)</code>

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