Cursor Review for future improvement #14
Description
Based on my comprehensive review of the cpp-library project, here are my findings and suggestions:
Overall Assessment
This is a well-designed, production-ready CMake library template with sophisticated dependency tracking and installation support. The architecture is sound, and the implementation shows careful attention to detail. However, there are opportunities for improvement in documentation clarity, code organization, and error handling.
📚 Documentation Review
Strengths
README is comprehensive with clear examples
Good use of sections and progressive disclosure
Includes troubleshooting section
Suggestions for Improvement
- Version Discrepancy in Examples
Issue: README shows @5.0.0 but there's no actual git tag to validate this
Location: Lines 113, 218, 325 in README.md
Suggestion: Add a note explaining that users should check the releases page for the actual latest version, or use a placeholder like @X.Y.Z - Missing Quick Reference Table
Issue: Users need to scroll through the entire README to find specific information
Suggestion: Add a quick reference table at the top showing:
Minimum CMake version (3.24)
Supported C++ standards (17, 20, 23)
Key functions at a glance - Unclear Template Regeneration Behavior
Issue: Lines 456-464 mention that files are "generated automatically" but it's not clear what happens on subsequent runs
Suggestion: Explicitly state: "Template files are copied only if they don't exist (preserving your customizations). Use --preset=init to force regeneration." - Missing Migration Guide
Issue: No guidance for users updating from older versions
Suggestion: Add a "Migration Guide" section showing breaking changes between major versions - setup.cmake Documentation Gap
Issue: The README shows curl command for Unix but doesn't explain Windows alternatives clearly
Suggestion: Add explicit PowerShell command for Windows users:
Invoke-WebRequest -Uri "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/.../setup.cmake" -OutFile "setup.cmake"cmake -P setup.cmake - Incomplete API Documentation
Issue: cpp_library_enable_dependency_tracking() function is documented in code but not in README API Reference section
Suggestion: Add to API Reference section with clear explanation of when and why to use it - Confusing Directory Convention
Issue: Lines 378-389 explain path conventions but it's buried deep in the README
Suggestion: Move this critical information higher, perhaps right after the Quick Start section
🔧 Implementation Review
Strengths
Excellent use of CMake 3.24+ dependency provider
Clean separation of concerns across modules
Robust test coverage for dependency mapping
Smart handling of component merging (Qt, Boost)
Suggestions for Improvement - Version Detection Logic Issues
Location: cmake/cpp-library-setup.cmake:7-33
Issue: Falls back silently to 0.0.0 with just a warning, which could cause version conflicts in package managers
Suggestion: Consider making this an error in non-development builds, or provide a -DCPP_LIBRARY_REQUIRE_VERSION_TAG=ON option
2. Regex Escaping Complexity
Location: cmake/cpp-library-install.cmake:220-235
Issue: Manual escaping of 15 regex special characters is error-prone and hard to maintain
Suggestion: Create a helper function _cpp_library_escape_regex(INPUT OUTPUT_VAR) to centralize this logic
3. Global State Management
Multiple locations using GLOBAL PROPERTY
Issue: Heavy reliance on global properties makes testing harder and could cause issues in multi-project builds
Suggestion: Consider using DIRECTORY scope properties where possible, or add a _cpp_library_reset_state() function for testing
4. Incomplete Error Context
Location: cmake/cpp-library-install.cmake:162-175
Issue: Error for non-namespaced targets is helpful, but doesn't show where in the code the link happened
Suggestion: Add ${CMAKE_CURRENT_LIST_FILE}:${CMAKE_CURRENT_LIST_LINE} to error messages when possible
5. Duplicate Code in cpp_library_setup_executables
Location: cpp-library.cmake:91-92 vs 102
- Issue: Target linking logic is duplicated for fail vs non-fail cases
Suggestion: Extract common setup into a helper:
function(_cpp_library_setup_executable_common target namespace clean_name) target_link_libraries(${target} PRIVATE ${namespace}::${clean_name}) # Common configuration hereendfunction()
- Hardcoded Doctest Version
Location: cpp-library.cmake:68CPMAddPackage("gh:doctest/doctest@2.4.12")
Issue: Doctest version is hardcoded; users can't override without modifying cpp-library
Suggestion: Add a cache variable:
set(CPP_LIBRARY_DOCTEST_VERSION "2.4.12" CACHE STRING "Version of doctest to use")CPMAddPackage("gh:doctest/doctest@${CPP_LIBRARY_DOCTEST_VERSION}")
7. Windows PowerShell Stderr Redirection
Location: cmake/cpp-library-docs.cmake:66-72
Issue: PowerShell stderr redirection syntax might fail on older Windows systems
Suggestion: Test this works on Windows Server 2016+ and document minimum PowerShell version
8. Missing Validation in setup.cmake
Location: setup.cmake:142-146
Issue: Library name is validated for empty string but not for invalid characters (spaces, special chars)
Suggestion: Add validation:
if(ARG_NAME MATCHES "[^a-zA-Z0-9_-]") message(FATAL_ERROR "Library name contains invalid characters. Use only letters, numbers, hyphens, and underscores.")endif()
9. Race Condition in Template Copying
Location: cmake/cpp-library-setup.cmake:132-144
Issue: file(COPY) followed by message could be interrupted, leaving files in inconsistent state
Suggestion: While rare in CMake, consider using file(INSTALL) for atomic operations
10. Incomplete Cleanup in Tests
Location: tests/install/CMakeLists.txt:38-42
Issue: Global state cleanup is thorough but doesn't reset _CPP_LIBRARY_PROVIDER_INSTALLED flag consistently
Suggestion: Add this to the cleanup macro to ensure consistent test state
🏗️ Project Structure
Strengths
Logical separation of concerns (setup, install, docs, CI, testing)
Template files centralized in one location
Clear test organization
Suggestions for Improvement
- Missing Examples Directory
Issue: Project recommends creating examples but doesn't provide reference examples of its own
Suggestion: Add examples/ directory with:
minimal-header-only/ - Simplest possible library
compiled-library/ - Library with sources
with-dependencies/ - Shows dependency tracking - Docs Directory is Empty
Issue: docs/ directory exists but is empty
Suggestion: Add:
architecture.md - Explains the dependency provider system
contributing.md - Guidelines for contributors
faq.md - Common questions not in README - Templates Organization
Issue: .github/workflows/ci.yml.in is in templates but not listed with other templates in code comments
Suggestion: Add a templates/README.md listing all templates and their purpose - Test File Naming Inconsistency
Issue: test_integration_example.txt is a .txt file, not .cmake
Suggestion: Either rename to .cmake or explain why it's .txt (perhaps it's sample output?) - Missing CMakeLists.txt in Root Tests Directory
Issue: Tests are in tests/install/ but there's no top-level tests/CMakeLists.txt
Suggestion: Add one that includes subdirectories for better organization as tests grow - No Changelog
Issue: No CHANGELOG.md to track version changes
Suggestion: Add a changelog following Keep a Changelog format
🧹 Unnecessary Components
Components That Could Be Removed or Made Optional - cpp-library-testing.cmake
Location: cmake/cpp-library-testing.cmake:1-31
Issue: This entire file is just a wrapper that delegates to _cpp_library_setup_executables
Suggestion: This file can be removed entirely. The _cpp_library_setup_testing function is not called anywhere in the codebase. Remove the file and the include() statement in cpp-library.cmake:42
2. custom.css Template
Issue: templates/custom.css is mentioned but not used anywhere in the Doxyfile template
Suggestion: Either integrate it into the Doxygen setup or remove it
3. Redundant PROJECT_VERSION Updates
Location: cpp-library.cmake:207-211
Issue: Setting PROJECT_VERSION in PARENT_SCOPE from within a function that's called after project() won't affect the PROJECT_VERSION variable that was set by project()
Suggestion: Either remove these lines or document why they're needed (perhaps for multi-project builds?)
🎯 Additional Recommendations
Security
- HTTPS Verification in setup.cmake
The curl command downloads and executes code. Add checksum verification or mention it in security-conscious documentation.
Performance - CPM Cache Documentation
Lines 105-108 in README show CPM cache setup, but don't explain that this can save significant download time in CI
Suggestion: Add a note about CI cache benefits
User Experience - Better Error Messages for Version Mismatch
When a user tries to use cpp-library with CMake < 3.24, the error could be friendlier
Suggestion: In cpp-library.cmake, add at the very top:
if(CMAKE_VERSION VERSION_LESS "3.24") message(FATAL_ERROR "cpp-library requires CMake 3.24 or higher.\n" "You are using CMake ${CMAKE_VERSION}.\n" "Download the latest CMake from https://cmake.org/download/")endif()
Maintainability - Add Code Comments for Complex Logic
The dependency merging logic in cpp-library-install.cmake (lines 178-260) is sophisticated but has minimal inline comments
Suggestion: Add comments explaining the algorithm, especially the component merging strategy - Consider Using CMake Policies
The project doesn't set any CMake policies explicitly
Suggestion: Add policy settings for reproducibility:
cmake_policy(PUSH)cmake_policy(VERSION 3.24)# ... module code ...cmake_policy(POP)
✅ Summary
Overall Grade: A-
This is an excellent, well-engineered project that solves real problems in C++ library distribution. The main areas for improvement are:
Documentation - Add more examples and clarify version handling
Code Quality - Extract helper functions to reduce complexity
Structure - Add missing docs and example projects
Cleanup - Remove unused cpp-library-testing.cmake file
The project shows strong software engineering practices and would benefit most from:
Better inline code documentation for complex algorithms
More example projects to help users get started
A formal changelog for version tracking
The dependency tracking system is particularly impressive and well-implemented. Great work overall!