Creating a plug-in or a standalone application requires setting up your environment as described in Setting Up Your Build Environment.
Note: Before creating your own samples, build some of the samples included in the devkit to familiarize yourself with the Maya API, CMake and the build process.
CMake requires a CmakeList.txt file. This file provides information for the CMake Generator to create a project or makefile with which to build the application. This file needs to specify the project name, its source files, and any libraries it needs.
You can use the CMakeList.txt files in the sample plug-ins and applications as a guide.