I am trying to create static program in Visual Studio, where I end up with a single executable that I can deploy to other PCs.

I am using VCPKG to static download libraries, as per the instructions here: https://devblogs.microsoft.com/cppblog/vcpkg-updates-static-linking-is-now-available/

In the following post, the answer to the question is to use VCPKG and then CMAKE Using Cmake to build ssh.dll with Visual Studio 2017

My question is with regards Cmake. If VCPKG downloads and creates folders that my project links to. What's Cmake for and why would I need to use it?

CodePudding user response：

What's Cmake for and why would I need to use it?

https://cmake.org/ read the text below the logo.

It can be used to generate a project files for different build system, like make, msbuild, ninja etc.
It also can be used as a general scripting language.

You don't need to use it but it is highly encouraged for consuming other dependencies.

vcpkg however will download cmake since it is used as a scripting language within vcpkg.