The choice to use multiple build targets or subprojects within a project file depends on your needs. If you want access to all source code in one project, then using multiple build targets is a good choice. Subprojects are better when you prefer to keep separate stand-alone project files.

For example, if you need to build a number of plug-in libraries that accompany your application, create a project that builds the subprojects with a single Make command. Then, include this project file as a subproject in your main application's project file. With this arrangement, the IDE builds the subproject's plug-ins first, then builds your main application.

Each project has a maximum limit of 255 build targets. Before you reach that limit, consider available memory and load times. Projects with many build targets occupy more disk space, take longer to load, and use more memory.

If your project contains more than ten or twenty build targets, you can improve IDE performance by moving some of the build targets to subprojects. Any build target that the IDE rarely builds, or any build target that uses a distinct set of source files, is a good candidate for moving to a subproject.