Conan does this too. If I follow the instructions to integrate cmake with conan, I would write something like this:
include(${CMAKE_BINARY_DIR}/conanbuildinfo.cmake)
conan_basic_setup(TARGETS)
add_executable(timer timer.cpp)
target_link_libraries(timer CONAN_PKG::Poco)
Package managers like cget[1] or conda[2] does not couple the build with the package manager. Cget is also serverless which is nice as it can install dependencies from anywhere(even directly from github with `cget install jgm/cmark`), however, you need to setup your own server hosting if you want to install binaries.
http://docs.conan.io/en/latest/integrations/cmake/find_packa...
No need to force me to install Python just to run a build tool.
Many of us only install what we actually need, or what the IT department allows on our images.
I certainly don't want to open a IT ticket to get Python, just to be able to compile random package X.
Too many C++ tools couple package management and build which increases their adoption cost and makes it more work to package third part packages. Conan takes the approach of managing dependencies and then giving your build system of choice the information it needs to access those dependencies via conan plugins. I think I had read that the author of Conan was involved in biicode and that the third party packaging problem is what inspired him to create Conan.
Some other cool things about conan
- Can be used for more than C++
- SCM independent
- Artifact caching
- Options allow clients to customize your package (creates distinct artifact)
- Scopes allow developers to modify your build (like conditional build steps so doesn't create a distinct artifact)
Some things I think can be improved
- Needs to separate out dependency lock file like Cargo or Poet
- Build tools need to be packaged in Conan for tracability / reproducibility
- Plugins are in Python which is heavy for deployment and has a large compatibility surface
- Easy to hit limits of declarative dependency files, being forced into implementing them in Python (see above)
- Project templates are hard coded.