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How do I link a 3rd party library/api into my c++ programs using bcc32?

Hi everyone!

I wonder if anyone can help me out. I have recently started programming with C++, and I am trying to create a portable application using the wxWindows API [http://www.wxwindows.org/], using the free download of the Borland C++ compiler (bcc32) under WindowsXP. I have managed to follow the instructions in the wxWindows documentation and have installed the library into the default 'C:\wxWindows_2.4.0\' folder. bcc32 is installed into the default 'C:\Borland\ folder', and my source code is in 'C:\src\'. I have also compiled the library (producing a .lib file in 'C:\wxWindows_2.4.0\Lib\'), and have successfully compiled and run a sample program supplied with wxWindows.

My problem is that when I try to compile a Hello World program, as described by the wxWindows tutorial, the compiler complains that it cannot find the 'wx/wx.h' header file that I am required to include in my source. I tried to solve the problem by copying the contents of 'C:\wxWindows_2.4.0\Include\wx\' to 'C:\Borland\Include\wx', but the compiler then complained that it could not find the 'setup.h' header file which I think is required by the 'wx.h' header. I located 'setup.h' in another folder and copied this to 'C:\Borland\Include\wx' and tried to compile again, but this time the compiler complained that it could not find 'HelloWorldApp.h' - a header file written by me and placed into the same folder as the .cpp source file ('C:\src\'). I should mention that I am running the compiler from the 'C:\src\' folder when trying to compile my program, but I used the supplied makefile from inside the 'C:\wxWindows_2.4.0\Samples\' folder when I successfully built the sample program.

I think my problem is that I do not know how to set up the wxWindow library so that the compiler can find everything that it needs. Everything I have done up until now has just used the standard-library. I have triple checked my source code and I am confident that this is not causing any problems. Also I am trying to do everything from the command line, i.e. without an IDE. What is confusing me is that the sample apps provided with the library compile just fine, but my own app won't. Do I need to write a makefile for my app?

If anyone can help point me in the right direction I would be very grateful. Thanks for your time, and sorry for the long post :-)

Tim Grocott

P.S. I am aiming to write a DNA/protein sequence analysis application that will port between PC and Mac. If I ever get it working it will save myself and others a lot of time at work! It will be open source, free for academic/educational use, and probably licensed under the GPL.

DarthNemesis

Not sure if this is the cause of the problem, but when you include a file in the same directory as your source (as opposed to the include directory) you have to use "file.h" instead of <file.h>.

TimGrocott

ASKER

Hi DarthNemesis!

Thanks for posting. I wasn't aware there was a difference between <file.h> and "file.h". I changed the .cpp file to use <> instead of "" and it has certainly made a difference :-) Now the linker can find the file OK, but it produces a gazillion "Error: Unresolved external . . . " messages referenced from "HelloWorldApp.obj", so the core problem remains.

Thanks again,

Tim Grocott

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DarthNemesis

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TimGrocott

ASKER

The header file, which I'm copying from the tutorial manual, already includes lines equivalent to '#IFNDEF . . .' and '#DEFINE . . .' Here's a copy of the code in case you can spot something that I'm missing:

// 'HelloWorldApp.h'
#ifndef _HELLOWORLDAPP_H
#define _HELLOWORLDAPP_H

/**
* The HelloWorldApp class
* This class shows a window containing a statusbar with the text ‘Hello World’
*/

class HelloWorldApp : public wxApp
{
public:
virtual bool OnInit();
};

DECLARE_APP(HelloWorldApp)

#endif _HELLOWORLDAPP_H

// 'HelloWorldApp.cpp'
// For compilers that supports precompilation, includes "wx/wx.h"
#include <wx/wxprec.h>

#ifndef WX_PRECOMP
#include <wx/wx.h>
#endif

#ifndef WX_PRECOMP
#include <wx/wx.h>
#endif

#include "HelloWorldApp.h"

IMPLEMENT_APP(HelloWorldApp)

bool HelloWorldApp::OnInit()
{
wxFrame *frame = new wxFrame((wxFrame*) NULL, -1, "Hello World");
frame->CreateStatusBar();
frame->SetStatusText("Hello World");
frame->Show(TRUE);
SetTopWindow(frame);
return true;
}

I tried adding '#INCLUDE <HelloWorldApp.cpp>' before the last '#endif . . .' in HelloWorldApp.h, and this did stop the unresolved external messages, but these are now replaced by messages about multiple declarations and definitions.

I don't think the code is at fault, mainly becuase I didn't write it :-) - at the end of the day it's only a Hello World program! I think the problem is the way I've installed the wxWindows library, but I can't find any clues in the supplied documentation. What I need to know is how to go about installing a third party library so the compiler can link it into my programs.

Thank again,

Tim

DarthNemesis

This is hard to debug, since I don't have the code in front of me or the platform on which to compile it. From the structure of your HelloWorldApp.cpp, though, it seems that the .cpp file should be included directly by your program rather than the .h file. You can remove the #include I told you to add to the .h file.

Now, your main program has to include HelloWorldApp.cpp. Myself being a Windows user and this being a Linux program, I don't know whether this can be done with an #include "HelloWorldApp.cpp" or just #include "HelloWorldApp".

Is there in fact a "main program" that includes HelloWorldApp, or are you compiling HelloWorldApp.cpp directly?

TimGrocott

ASKER

TimGrocott

ASKER

Whoa, sorry - double post.

I should have mentioned that HelloWorldApp.cpp IS the program I'm trying to compile, sorry :-(

DarthNemesis

Nevermind about the windows/linux thing... The forward slashes on the include directives threw me off. I'm going to download wxwindows to see what the problem is.

DarthNemesis

Wow, the documentation is rather overwhelming... This in particular caught my eye, though:

1. Make sure your WXWIN variable is set [e.g add
set WXWIN=c:\wxwindows_2.4.0
to your autoexec.bat file]

They also talk about makefiles repeatedly, but you have to be able to compile the program first before you need to worry about that.

DarthNemesis

The full installation instructions can be found in
C:\wxWindows_2.4.0\docs\msw\install.txt under Borland C++ 4.5/5.0/5.5 compilation.

TimGrocott

ASKER

Whoa, sorry - double post.

I should have mentioned that HelloWorldApp.cpp IS the program I'm trying to compile, sorry :-(

TimGrocott

ASKER

Holy cow Darth!

Surely this goes above and beyond the call of duty :-) You're a true gent!

I have followed all of the instructions in install.txt for the Borland compiler, including setting WXWIN in autoexec.bat. Like I said, I can compile the sample programs from their own source folders by using their makefiles.

tinchos

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