Do I need to learn Cmake to get deeper into arduino projects?

[PieterP]

You don't have to use CMake for Arduino, but you definitely can: GitHub - tttapa/Arduino-AVR-CMake: Compile Arduino AVR programs using CMake.

CMake with Arduino

Here's what I use: It uses modern target-based CMake, using toolchain files to select different boards. The CMakeLists file for a simple “blink” example looks like this: The Arduino core files are compiled into a library in cmake/arduino_core.cmake. The executable is converted into a .HEX file using cmake/arduino_hex.cmake, and this .HEX file is uploaded using avrdude in cmake/arduino_upload.cmake. The board-specific options are in the toolchain files, e.g. cmake/toolchain/uno.toolchain…

I’m hitting a wall though where a lot of projects posted to GitHub that I want to try implementing are provided as cmake files.

A majority of open-source C and C++ libraries are built using CMake, or at least support integration into a user's CMake project.
Sometimes this may indicate that these libraries are not specifically designed to be used with Arduino, but some Arduino libraries also include a CMakeLists.txt file that is used to build the tests etc. Even other libraries may be supported on Arduino, but can also be used in a more traditional C++ project, and include a CMakeLists.txt for such use cases (see e.g. How to use ArduinoJson with CMake?).

@westfw

for systems that have particularly complex directory layouts for their source, libraries, SDKs, and so on.

Not necessarily for complex projects. CMake is the de facto standard for building cross-platform C and C++ applications and libraries. Even for the simplest single-file C++ programs, it has significant advantages over low-level alternatives like Make.

@Grumpy_Mike

@westfw

So MicroPython projects might use CMake.

I think the clue here is in the name, CMake is to make C programs, nothing else. It is not called PYmake, or something similar.

As already stated, CMake builds much more than C programs.
And MicroPython does in fact use CMake as a build system for some of the targets: https://github.com/search?q=repo%3Amicropython%2Fmicropython+language%3ACMake&type=code