cmake - How can I add a minimum compiler version requisite?

Question

I want to create a project in C++11 and I use CMake as my build system.

How can I add a minimum compiler version requisite in the CMake config files?

Answer 1

AFAIK, there is no built-in support for something like this, but you could certainly write it yourself:

if(CMAKE_CXX_COMPILER_ID STREQUAL "GNU")
  if(CMAKE_CXX_COMPILER_VERSION VERSION_LESS "your.required.gcc.version")
    message(FATAL_ERROR "Insufficient gcc version")
  endif()
elseif(CMAKE_CXX_COMPILER_ID STREQUAL "MSVC")
  if(CMAKE_CXX_COMPILER_VERSION VERSION_LESS "your.required.msvc.version")
    message(FATAL_ERROR "Insufficient msvc version")
  endif()
elseif(...)
# etc.
endif()

However, I suggest you actually consider a feature-detection approach instead. That is, use try_compile() to verify that the compiler supports the features you need, and FATAL_ERROR if it doesn't. It's more idiomatic in CMake, and has the added benefit you don't have to discover the appropriate minimal version for all compilers out there.