refactor(deps): Document standard rules for writing lib install tasks and apply across all existing tasks:

components/core/CMakeLists.txt

@@ -269,11 +269,7 @@ endif()
 if(CLP_NEED_MONGOCXX)
     find_package(mongocxx REQUIRED)
     message(STATUS "Found mongocxx ${mongocxx_VERSION}")
-    if(CLP_USE_STATIC_LIBS)
-        set(MONGOCXX_TARGET mongo::mongocxx_static)
-    else()
-        set(MONGOCXX_TARGET mongo::mongocxx_shared)
-    endif()
+    set(MONGOCXX_TARGET mongo::mongocxx_static)
 endif()
 
 # Find and setup msgpack-cxx
@@ -301,20 +297,11 @@ if(CLP_NEED_ZSTD)
     # v1.4.8 is the lowest version available in the package managers of the OSes we support.
     find_package(zstd 1.4.8 REQUIRED)
     message(STATUS "Found zstd ${zstd_VERSION}")
-    if(CLP_USE_STATIC_LIBS)
-        set(zstd_TARGET zstd::libzstd_static)
-    else()
-        set(zstd_TARGET zstd::libzstd_shared)
-    endif()
+    # TODO: replace all occurrences of `zstd_TARGET` with `zstd::libzstd`.
+    set(zstd_TARGET zstd::libzstd)
 endif()
 
 if(CLP_NEED_LIBLZMA)
-    if(CLP_USE_STATIC_LIBS)
-        set(LibLZMA_ROOT ${LibLZMA-static_ROOT})
-        set(LibLZMA_USE_STATIC_LIBS ON)
-    else()
-        set(LibLZMA_ROOT ${LibLZMA-shared_ROOT})
-    endif()
     # Version 5.8.1 and above address CVE-2024-3094 and CVE-2025-31115.
     find_package(LibLZMA 5.8.1 REQUIRED)
     message(STATUS "Found LibLZMA ${LibLZMA_VERSION}")

taskfiles/deps/README.md

@@ -0,0 +1,46 @@
+# Dependency Taskfiles
+
+Follow the guidelines below when writing or updating task-based dependency installation files.
+
+* Use one of the following tasks for CMake library installation, in descending order of preference:
+  * `deps:utils:install-remote-cmake-lib`
+  * `yscope-dev-utils:cmake:install-remote-tar`
+
+* For special cases where the above tasks are not applicable:
+  * If the library can be installed via CMake but a custom approach is used, briefly document why.
+  * Include `deps:utils:init` in the `deps` section of the task.
+  * Ensure each library installation includes checksum validation to the best extent possible.
+    * Use of `yscope-dev-utils` tasks is encouraged, as most of them include proper checksum checks.
+  * Use `<lib>-extracted` as the directory name for tarball extractions.
+
+* Avoid parsing version numbers in download URLs unless the version is used elsewhere, as URL
+  formats can change over time, making it more maintainable to store and use the full URL directly
+  as plain text.
+
+## CMake Generate Arguments
+
+Apply the following guidelines to the `CMAKE_GEN_ARGS` section of tasks that call
+`deps:utils:install-remote-cmake-lib`:
+
+* Set `CMP0074` to `NEW` whenever:
+  * The component's minimum required CMake version is less than 3.27 (where `CMP0074` defaults to
+    `OLD`).
+  * The component depends on another via `<lib_name>_ROOT`.
+
+* Build static-only libraries whenever possible:
+  * If a library produces both static and shared artifacts by default, disable shared artifact
+    building to ensure consistent `find_package()` behavior.
+  * If shared artifacts cannot be disabled, explicitly link CLP targets against the static export
+    target (e.g., `mongo::mongocxx_static`).
+  * If a library cannot be statically linked (e.g., MariaDBClient due to GPL licensing), briefly
+    document the reason.
+
+* Skip unit tests, examples, docs, or unused binaries to speed up the installation process.
+
+* Prefer disabling lib-specific testing flags (e.g., `CATCH_BUILD_TESTING=OFF`) rather than setting
+  the generic `BUILD_TESTING` to `OFF`.
+
+* **Lastly**, while satisfying the above requirements, remove redundant flags that merely restate
+  default values found in `CMakeLists.txt` and other source CMake files, with two exceptions:
+  * Set `CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE` to `Release` unless another build type is explicitly required.
+  * Set `CMAKE_INSTALL_MESSAGE` to `LAZY` to reduce log verbosity during installation.