You have called ADD_LIBRARY for library pugixml without any source files - cmake

Question

I am working on quickrank: https://github.com/hpclab/quickrank. when I compile it I get error
cmake .. -DCMAKE_CXX_COMPLIER=/usr/bin/g++ -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release
You have called ADD_LIBRARY for library pugixml without any source files. This typically indicates a problem with your CMakeLists.txt file
-- Configuring done
CMake Error: Cannot determine link language for target "pugixml".
CMake Error: CMake can not determine linker language for target: pugixml
CMake Error: CMake can not determine linker language for target: pugixml
-- Generating done
-- Build files have been written to: /home/students/s4438236/quickrank/build_
s4438236#moss:~/quickrank/build_$ make
make[2]: *** No rule to make target `CMakeFiles/pugixml.dir/build'. Stop.
make[1]: *** [CMakeFiles/pugixml.dir/all] Error 2
make: *** [all] Error 2
I do find source file under the lib\pugixml folder, how can I fix this error?

Answer 1

When you call the add_library CMake command, you must provide source files for this target. If we examine the top-level CMakeLists.txt file, we see where the error is occurring:
# external libraries
file(GLOB_RECURSE pugixml_sources ${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR}/lib/pugixml/src/*.cpp)
add_library(pugixml STATIC ${pugixml_sources})
The CMake error suggests that the pugixml_sources variable is empty, which hints that the /lib/pubixml may have also been empty. If you initially didn't run the git clone command with --recursive, you would not have gotten the pugixml submodule.
Seeing as you said the pugixml sources are now there, I would suggest deleting your CMake cache and the CMake build folder. Running CMake again from scratch will likely allow it to see the pugixml source files.