How to install the CGAL program

This document describes how to install CGAL on Windows, Unix-like systems, and MacOS X.

Ideally, setting up CGAL amounts to:

1. cd CGAL-4.14 # go to CGAL directory 
2. cmake . # configure CGAL 
3. make # build the CGAL libraries 

Compiling an example or a demo shipped with CGAL is similarly simple:

1. cd examples/Triangulation_2 # go to an example directory 
2. cmake -DCGAL_DIR=/CGAL-4.14 . # configure the examples 
3. make # build the examples  
4.  
5. cd demo/Triangulation_2 # go to a demo directory 
6. cmake -DCGAL_DIR=/CGAL-4.14 . # configure the demos 
7. make # build the demos  

Compiling an own non-shipped program is also close:

1. cd /path/to/program  
2. cgal_create_CMakeLists -s executable  
3. cmake -DCGAL_DIR=/CGAL-4.14 .  
4. make 

where the second line creates a CMakeLists.txt file (check its options in Section cgal create CMaleListd for various details).

In a less ideal world, you probably have to install CMake, a makefile generator, and third party libraries. That is what this manual is about.