[question] How to make a single tool package for debug and release builds in Conan 2.0

[rconde01]

What is your question?

I have a package which builds a tool. I always want a release build of this tool despite what the consumer is using. I am using CMakeToolchain and CMake classes. I think I can force CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE in CMakeToolchain, but CMake is insisting the package needs a build_type setting - which would mean I need to duplicate the package for debug/release. Is there a way to accomplish what I want?

Have you read the CONTRIBUTING guide?

• I've read the CONTRIBUTING guide

[rconde01]

My workaround here was just to use cmake via command line...is that the recommended approach?

[fschoenm]

What I did is exclude the build_type from the package ID. You'll still have to specify the build_type when creating the package but you'll only have one package:

    def package_id(self):
        self.info.settings.rm_safe("build_type")

Not sure if that's the recommended approach though. There's also some documentation about this: https://docs.conan.io/2/tutorial/creating_packages/other_types_of_packages/tool_requires_packages.html#removing-settings-in-package-id

[memsharded]

Hi @rconde01

Thanks for your question.
Note that there could be different strategies for this:

I have a package which builds a tool. I always want a release build of this tool despite what the consumer is using.

For tool_requires note that these tool-requires are always in the "build" context, and always receive the "build" profile. And the "build" profile should typically be build_type=Release, using the tools in Debug mode does not make sense in most cases. And if there are some cases that some tool-require wants to be debugged, then it is great that the build_type=Debug is possible.

So a perfectly valid and very simple strategy is to do nothing, and just rely on the build_type=Release of the build profile.

In any case, I think the use case that you are exposing should be easier to implement with the CMake integration once this PR is merged: #14780, please have a look to the test, which in short:

• Removes the build_type setting
• Forces the build_type=Release in the recipe.

[memsharded]

Closing as responded by the last comment.