Build Instructions for NetCDF-C using CMake (original) (raw)

Overview

Starting with netCDF-C 4.3.0, we are happy to announce the inclusion of CMake support. CMake will allow for building netCDF on a wider range of platforms, include Microsoft Windows with Visual Studio. CMake support also provides robust unit and regression testing tools. We will also maintain the standard autotools-based build system in parallel.

In addition to providing new build options for netCDF-C, we will also provide pre-built binary downloads for the shared versions of netCDF for use with Visual Studio.

Requirements

The following packages are required to build netCDF-C using CMake.

• netCDF-C Source Code
• CMake version 2.8.12 or greater.
• Optional Requirements:
  • HDF5 Libraries for netCDF4/HDF5 support.
  • libcurl for DAP support.

The CMake Build Process

There are four steps in the Build Process when using CMake

1. Configuration: Before compiling, the software is configured based on the desired options.
2. Building: Once configuration is complete, the libraries are compiled.
3. Testing: Post-build, it is possible to run tests to ensure the functionality of the netCDF-C libraries.
4. Installation: If all tests pass, the libraries can be installed in the location specified during configuration.

For users who prefer pre-built binaries, installation packages are available at Installing and Using netCDF-C Libraries in Windows

Configuration

The output of the configuration step is a project file based on the appropriate configurator specified. Common configurators include:

• Unix Makefiles
• Visual Studio
• CodeBlocks
• ... and others

Common CMake Options

A full list of basic options can be found by invoking cmake [Source Directory] -L. To enable a list of basic and advanced options, one would invoke cmake [Source Directory] -LA.

Configuring your build from the command line.

The easiest configuration case would be one in which all of the dependent libraries are installed on the system path (in either Unix/Linux or Windows) and all the default options are desired. From the build directory (often, but not required to be located within the source directory):

$ cmake [Source Directory]

If you have libraries installed in a custom directory, you may need to specify the CMAKE_PREFIX_PATH variable to tell cmake where the libraries are installed. For example:

$ cmake [Source Directory] -DCMAKE_PREFIX_PATH=/usr/custom_libraries/

Building with Parallel I/O.

NetCDF will build with parallel I/O if the C compiler is an MPI compiler, and HDF5 was built for parallel I/O. To build netcdf-c for parallel I/O, first build HDF5 for parallel I/O, then build netcdf-c like this:

$ CC=mpicc cmake [Source Directory] -DNETCDF_ENABLE_PARALLEL_TESTS=ON

The parallel I/O tests will only run if the additional configure option is used: NETCDF_ENABLE_PARALLEL_TESTS. Those tests run (by default) with mpiexec, on 4, 16, or 32 processors. If mpiexec cannot be used on your login-nodes, a different command can be used to launch the parallel I/O tests. Used the NETCDF_MPIEXEC option to set a different parallel I/O job launcher:

$ CC=mpicc cmake [Source Directory] -DNETCDF_ENABLE_PARALLEL_TESTS=ON -DNETCDF_MPIEXEC='srun -A account'

Building

The compiler can be executed directly with 'make' or the appropriate command for the configurator which was used.

$ make

Building can also be executed indirectly via cmake:

$ cmake –build [Build Directory]

Testing

Testing can be executed several different ways:

$ make test

or

$ ctest

or

$ cmake –build [Build Directory] –target test

Installation

Once netCDF has been built and tested, it may be installed using the following commands:

$ make install

or

$ cmake –build [Build Directory] –target install

See Also

For further information regarding NetCDF and CMake, see CMake-Related Frequently Asked Questions