I'm trying to create a graphic library (nothing serious, just to learn stuff). In Visual Studio I have one solution and two projects in it - dll and exe. For window management I use GLFW library. In my own window class I want to have a private memeber of GLFW Window structure. The problem is that my exe project doesn't know what GLFW is - it doesn't know where to find #include <glfw/glfw3>.
My question is - what's the proper way to create such library that uses other libraries? Setting the exe project to include all those libraries doesn't sound like a good idea to me.
Since you are using visual studio, then Microsofts documentation is a great place to get information. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/cpp/build/dlls-in-visual-cpp?view=vs-2019 they have a description on DLL’s and how to create them and also how to link DLL’s to projects.
Thanks to #Manuel I figured out how to do it: both - dll and exe projects, have to include libraries' header files.
My solution: in dll I use precompiled headers so all libraries' header files are included in that file with a relative path. In dll project settings I put proper paths so any libraries files will know how to find their headers. What's important is that my exe project includes one header file from my dll and that file include precompiled header so exe project 'knows' everything it needs about libraries.
Thanks again #Manuel for your help!
Related
I have Qt 5.12.0 in a folder.
I need to create a dll and/or a bin project that can connect with a QML program.
My problem is that the vs project can't find the Qt files I need.
#include <QGuiApplication>
does not work.
This topic is the continuity of this one
How to link libraries to a project on visual studio? where I shared my problems with linking my dll with my bin project and to link Qt.
So I use a batch file to set the environment variable before launching visual studio. I use these variables to get the path to the Qt include folder, Qt lib etc.
Here is what I tried.
include the directory that contains the headers I need (I guess) :
configuration properties -> C/C++ -> General -> other include directories ->$(QT_INC)/. QT_INC is the path to the include folder. I also tried to write $(QT_INC)/* and $(QT_INC)/QtGui/. In any case,
#include <QGuiApplication>
couldn't compile.
i also added the path to the library folder :
linker->General->Additional library directories->$(QT_LIB)/
and some lib files in :
linker->entry->additionnal dependencies->Qt5Quick.lib;Qt5Gui;lib;Qt5Core.lib
none of these steps creates any error. It just doesn't help to find QGuiApplication.h nor QObject or anything I need.
I know my paths are correct and that using the environment variable like this works as I linked my dll using this method, and because wrong paths generates errors.
How to add Qt to my solution or to a project ?
thanks in advance
It works. The path was incorrect. There were "/" instead of "\" I think. And a synthax error in the batch file.
It's possible to add the header files of Qt by including the path in the properties.
include just the directory include of the Qt folder. Then, include headers again and again until all the errors are gone.
only for QGuiApplication, I need to include this
#include <QtGui/qtguiglobal.h>
#include <QtGui/qcoreapplication.h>
etc. all the includes of the beggining of QGuiApplication.h actually
here is the link to my other post I made about linking Qt to visual studio. How to link libraries to a project on visual studio? The problem was about the path to the dll.
I am trying to learn more about Multiplayer Modifications so i've downloaded the source code of San Andreas Multiplayer.
My problem is that the client project creates a .dll and a .lib files. I've searched on many sites how to implement them into a new project but i just did not find a clear answer.
So i am creating a new Visual C++ project where i need to implement the libraries resulted from SAMP Client compilation. Any help would be great :).
If you want you can join me in this project.
I don't know how SAMP dlls are but in general, this is how it works:
Linker need *.lib files. So you should copy lib files to your default lib directories or create a new directory under libraries of your project and copy them in it.
If the project you want to link have include files too, do what you did for lib files for include files too. Copy them to include directory.
Put DLLs in a directory that your application can reach. This can be your Debug folder or even it can be Windows or System32 directory. Choose where to put them on your own (it depends on many parameters. Pick one that fits you).
This link tells you how to put them in project directories.
That's it. You can call functions of the project you want to use. Tell me if you got problem.
I may be just missing something, but I'm trying to include a MongoDB C++ driver library build into my DLL project. I'm trying to follow this guide
I've tried including the folder in Configuration Properties->Linker->General->Additional Library Directories, and the .lib file in Linker->Input->Additional Dependencies. I've also added the /MT command-line option.
Now here comes my problem - how do I use the files? Do I just use #include "mongo/client/dbclient.h", because this doesn't seem to work (Cannot open source file). I can't find much of any helpful documentation on this subject.
Any ideas?
This question might seem obvious but I am having a lot of trouble with this, and I have ended up having to post here after a lot of searching.
I currently have two windows of Visual Studio open. One is a Win32 Console->DLL project which exports a class, and in the output directory I have:
.dll file
.exp file
.pdb file
.lib file
I have dropped the DLL file into the my other project's output directory, as I do with all DLLs, and that works fine usually. Then, I added the directory into the Linker's library directories.
But unlike most libraries I use, I think I have done something wrong or I misunderstand how this works, I have no .h[pp] files, and so I have no idea how I am supposed to include the functions into my code. I'd rather not have Windows-only hacks (I want to confine that to the DLL project only, so that it can be ported easily).
Can anyone enlighten me as to what I am doing wrong?
There is nothing 'hacky' or 'windows' specific about having .h files available to the other projects. Your .lib file will provide the necessary information to complete the build. See: How do I use a third party dll in Visual Studio C++?
Did you add the .lib file corresponding to the .dll into the other project's directory?
It is the .lib file that is consumed by the linker, not the DLL (which is consumed by the loader at run-time).
A .dll is a shared library, as opposed to a static library (.lib on Windows).
Static library must always be linked when you compile your project, and you can easily call their functions using header (.h/.hpp) files, whereas you have two options for the shared library:
static linking (at compile-time, but the way to do it is different than for a static library)
dynamic linking (at run-time)
I would advise you to read this in-depth article: http://www.codeproject.com/Articles/85391/Microsoft-Visual-C-Static-and-Dynamic-Libraries
See also the wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynamic-link_library
I encountered a problem with linking and distributing libraries in Visual Studio 2010. What I want to do:
Link my project with SDL and use its headers
Keep SDL somewhere in my project directory, so when I clone it from source control on another machine, I won't have to install any additional library.
My attempts so far:
Google points to tutorials like this one : Lazy Foo Productions, but it doesn't do what I want because SDL is placed outside project directory.
When I copy SDL to solution directory and add it via Project->Properties->Linker.... It works, but project settings now contain absolute path to library directory, so I guess it won't compile on other machine.
What should I do? SDL is just a example here, I'd like to know how to solve such problem with any library.
You can use Project->Properties->Linker->General->Additional Library Directories to specify new directory where the linker to look up for libraries (it can use relative path)
You can use Project->Properties->C++->General->Additional Include Directories to specify where to look for the headers.