How to reduce ParaView CMake configure time?

Development
1

Hello, dear ParaView developers

Could you please give me an advise on how to reduce CMake configure time?
It costs me 30s every time I modify any of CMakeLists files

Thanks

2

ParaView is a large project and it takes CMake some time to configure it. Unfortunately, the best way I have found is to try to make all the CMake changes that are needed and only configure again when I think I am done.

3

30 seconds sounds long to me. Initial configures take about 2 minutes and I really feel like a lot more than 75% of that time is spent in try_compile (which should be done only once for each test). A random build I have laying around takes about 6 seconds.

Some questions:

  • What platform are you on?
  • What generator are you using?
  • What version of CMake are you using?
  • Is it the configure or generate step that is taking more time (modern CMake reports times for each, though 3.30+ have more accurate times)
4

Are you using Unix Makefiles or Ninja as a generator? I observed major differences in the two but don’t quote me on that :ninja: