# CMP0039

Utility targets may not have link dependencies.

CMake 2.8.12 and lower allowed using utility targets in the left hand side position of the `target_link_libraries()` command. This is an indicator of a bug in user code.

The `OLD` behavior for this policy is to ignore attempts to set the link libraries of utility targets. The `NEW` behavior for this policy is to report an error if an attempt is made to set the link libraries of a utility target.

This policy was introduced in CMake version 3.0. It may be set by `cmake_policy()` or `cmake_minimum_required()`. If it is not set, CMake warns, and uses `OLD` behavior.

Note

The `OLD` behavior of a policy is `deprecated by definition` and may be removed in a future version of CMake.