[question] Packaging fmtlib

Why fmt recepie removes cmake directory?

https://github.com/conan-io/conan-center-index/blob/a34458e886d2b5c1d0e3a091a559d281644631d5/recipes/fmt/all/conanfile.py#L69

With fmt/5.3.0@bincrafters/stable I was able to use find_package( fmt 5.3.0 REQUIRED ) in cmake. Trying to upgrade to fmt/6.0.0 breaks my cmake usage logic.

So what is the idiomatic way to introduce fmtlib in one’s cmake project now?

[danimtb]

We know that using find_package and relying on the CMake behavior to find the dependencies is something that should be avoided in favor of the information provided by the package manager.

Conan has an abstraction over the packages build system and description by using generators. Those generators translate the information of the dependency graph and create a suitable file that can be consumed by your build system.

In the past, we have found that the logic of some of the find and config files lead to broken scenarios with other dependencies and hardcoded paths that would make the package broken when shared and consumed.

Thus, we think that Conan already provides ways to consume those packages in the same way by using cmake_find_package generator: https://docs.conan.io/en/latest/reference/generators/cmake_find_package.html That way all the information is consistent in the graph and you also point to the exact dependency package you want to use.

Please take a look at the integrations section to learn how to use it: https://docs.conan.io/en/latest/integrations/build_system/cmake/cmake_find_package_generator.html

Finally, by not allowing these files (and others such as pkg-config) we make packages agnostic to the consumer as the logic of those files is not in the package but in the way the consumer wants the information.

[uilianries]

@jargonzombies please take a look in https://github.com/conan-io/conan/issues/6269#issuecomment-570182130