Boost with CMakeLists on Visual Studio - c++

Question

I'm trying to run some code with boost, but i can't include any boost file, like "boost/timer/timer.hpp". My CMakeLists contains
cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.10)
project(Converter)
find_package(Boost)
include_directories(${BOOST_INCLUDE_DIRS})
LINK_DIRECTORIES(${Boost_LIBRARIES})
add_executable(Converter converter.cpp)
TARGET_LINK_LIBRARIES(Converter ${Boost_LIBRARIES})
message("boost lib: ${Boost_LIBRARY_DIRS}, inc: ${Boost_INCLUDE_DIR}")
CMake answer
My cpp file contains
#include <iostream>
#include <boost/timer/timer.hpp>
using namespace std;
int main() {
cout << "Hello world!" << endl;
return 0;
}
And when i am trying to build it, there is a error: "Cannot open include file 'boost/timer/timer.hpp'"

Answer 1

You are using a wrong non existing variable here. To set the include Boost directories to your project you need to use Boost_INCLUDE_DIRS, the case of the variable matters. And your link directories should be set to Boost_LIBRARY_DIRS.
cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.10)
project(Converter)
find_package(Boost COMPONENTS timer)
include_directories(${Boost_INCLUDE_DIRS})
link_directories(${Boost_LIBRARY_DIRS})
add_executable(Converter converter.cpp)
target_link_libraries(Converter PUBLIC ${Boost_LIBRARIES})
message("boost lib: ${Boost_LIBRARY_DIRS}, inc: ${Boost_INCLUDE_DIR}")
Your small project can be further simplified by using the imported targets Boost::headers as follows:
cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.10)
project(Converter)
find_package(Boost COMPONENTS timer REQUIRED)
add_executable(Converter converter.cpp)
target_link_libraries(Converter PUBLIC Boost::headers Boost::timer)
message("boost lib: ${Boost_LIBRARY_DIRS}, inc: ${Boost_INCLUDE_DIRS}")