-Note that compile-time options are very different from @ref options "run-time options".
-
-@subsubsection install_cmake_howto Compilation Options
-
-The default configuration should be fine for most usages, but if you need to change something, there are several ways
-to do so. First, you can use environment variables. For example, you can change the compilers used by issuing these
-commands before launching cmake:
+This section is about *compile-time options*, that are very different
+from @ref options "run-time options". Compile-time options fall into
+two categories. @ref install_cmake_list "SimGrid-specific options"
+define which part of the framework to compile while
+@ref install_cmake_howto "generic options" are provided by cmake
+itself.
+
+@subsubsection install_cmake_howto Generic build-time options
+
+These options specify for example the path to various system elements
+(Python path, compiler to use, etc). In most case, cmake automatically
+discovers the right value for these ones, but you can set them
+manually on need. Notable such variables include @c CC and @c CXX,
+defining respectively the C and C++ compiler executables, @c CFLAGS
+and @c CXXFLAGS respectively specifying extra options to pass to the C
+and C++ compilers, or @c PYTHON_EXECUTABLE specifying the path to the
+python executable. The best way to discover the exact name of the
+option that you need to change is to press 't' in the ccmake graphical
+interface, as all options are shown (and documented) in the advanced
+mode.
+
+Once you know their name, there is several ways to change the value of
+build-time options. You can naturally use the ccmake graphical
+interface for that, or you can use environment variables, or you can
+prefer the @c -D flag of @c cmake.
+
+For example, you can change the compilers with environment variables
+by issuing these commands before launching cmake: