CMake: Is there a difference between set_property(TARGET …) and set_target_properties?

Consider set_target_properties() as a specialized form of set_property().

Advantages of …

• set_target_properties(...) is a convenience function because it allows to set multiple properties of multiple targets.

  For example:

  add_executable(a ...)
  add_executable(b ...)
  set_target_properties(
      a 
      b
      PROPERTIES 
          LINKER_LANGUAGE CXX
          FOLDER          "Executable"
  )
  

• set_property(TARGET ...) can APPEND to a list- or APPEND_STRING to a string-based property of targets.

  For example:

  add_executable(a ...)
  set_property(
      TARGET a
      APPEND PROPERTY
          INCLUDE_DIRECTORIES "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}"
  )  
  

References

• How to change the name of the output binary to not be a.out with CMake?
• target_include_directories prior to 2.8.12?
• Appending compiler flags to a file with CMake