Switch to a build automation tool

[ghost]

Would be simpler and cleaner to switch to a tool like Premake instead of just dealing with a VS solution and a lot of vcxproj files.
CMake offers a nice way to deal with third-party dependencies.
Premake makes use of Lua and thus, is a bit simpler (at least, it's what I noticed) than CMake but anyway, the main point of this issue is: determining whether or not we should switch to such a tool.

Pros

• Don't have to bother with a lot of VS-specific files in the repo
• Changes made to the solution / projects are much more readable and noticeable (spotting a change in a clean script is usually simpler than in a messy XML file)
• Users can build the solution and projects for a specific IDE (depends on the tool used)
• Some tools offers a cool way to deal with third-party dependencies (no need to grab each dependency manually, and we could even automate the download process)
• If we ever want to port X-Ray to another platform, using such a tool will avoid spending time on porting the solution / projects files to a different environment

Cons

• Some build tools are more less heavy and we may not be able to pack them in the repo
• All the contributors who are not familiar with such procedures may (depends on the tool itself) need to spend some time to understand how to work with a build automation tool

Build automation tools

• CMake
• GYP
• Ninja Aims to be used with a higher-level build system
• Premake
• SCons
• Valve Project Creator

[ghost]

Also, using git submodule / subtree feature should be considered for third-party dependencies.

[nitrocaster]

Good point. What's about c++/cli and c# support?

[ghost]

As far as I know, CMake, GYP, Premake and SCons are able to generate C++/CLI and C# projects. VPC can't generate C# projects.

[Ridten]

How about change CMake to a Meson? It has nice python-like syntax, documentation, and easy dealing with dependencies plus fast ninja build as default, but require explicit project configuration.
https://mesonbuild.com/index.html

[eagleivg]

What benefits will it give? CMake is already written and works, are there any advantages that will justify the cost of the transition? In any case, patches are welcome.