QT Unit Testing moc "unresolved external symbol" for QMetaObject - c++

Question

I'm trying to add unit tests to a project of mine for the first time.
I can run mock tests alright (without using my project's classes) and run the application alright. But if I instantiate objects from the project I get an unresolved external symbol of the QMetaObject. If I recall correctly, this means the moc of the object isn't being included on the project.
How do I fix this? I have the same issue using googletests. The guide also doesn't help on this. I've tried installing the qt unit testing plugin, same result.
I've uploaded a mock project that follows the same structure that I'm using in the aforementioned project, fetch it here: https://github.com/quimnuss/QtUnitTestingTest
I'm using a static build of qt on windows, but I guess that's irrellevant. Using QtCreator as IDE and NMAke build.
I've also tried add the HelloWorld.lib, but taking a look at the Makefile.release it isn't used.
Somebody has an idea of what I'm doing wrong?
Here's the unit testing .pro:
QT += widgets network testlib
TARGET = tst_someunittesttest
CONFIG += console
CONFIG -= app_bundle
TEMPLATE = app
INCLUDEPATH += $$PWD/../HelloWorld
include($$PWD/../HelloWorld/helloworldCommon.pri)
LIBS += -L"$$OUT_PWD/../HelloWorld/release"
LIBS += -lHelloWorld
message("Searching libs here $$LIBS")
SOURCES += tst_someunittesttest.cpp
DEFINES += SRCDIR=\\\"$$PWD/\\\"
The first error's complete message:
tst_someunittesttest.obj : error LNK2001: unresolved external symbol "public: virtual struct QMetaObject const * __cdecl HelloWorld::metaObject(void)const " (?metaObject#HelloWorld##UEBAPEBUQMetaObject##XZ)

Answer 1

When you use the following flags:
LIBS += -L"$$OUT_PWD/../HelloWorld/release"
LIBS += -lHelloWorld
You must have the compiled dynamic or static library. Therefore you must create a project generating a library. In the next part I show you how to create a dynamic library.
HelloWorldLib.pro
#-------------------------------------------------
#
# Project created by QtCreator 2017-01-06T12:37:49
#
#-------------------------------------------------
QT -= gui
TARGET = HelloWorldLib
TEMPLATE = lib
DEFINES += HELLOWORLDLIB_LIBRARY
# The following define makes your compiler emit warnings if you use
# any feature of Qt which as been marked as deprecated (the exact warnings
# depend on your compiler). Please consult the documentation of the
# deprecated API in order to know how to port your code away from it.
DEFINES += QT_DEPRECATED_WARNINGS
# You can also make your code fail to compile if you use deprecated APIs.
# In order to do so, uncomment the following line.
# You can also select to disable deprecated APIs only up to a certain version of Qt.
#DEFINES += QT_DISABLE_DEPRECATED_BEFORE=0x060000 # disables all the APIs deprecated before Qt 6.0.0
INCLUDEPATH += $$PWD/include
SOURCES += src/helloworldlib.cpp
HEADERS += include/helloworldlib.h\
include/helloworldlib_global.h
unix {
target.path = /usr/lib
INSTALLS += target
}
DESTDIR = $$PWD/lib
include/helloworldlib.h
#ifndef HELLOWORLDLIB_H
#define HELLOWORLDLIB_H
#include "helloworldlib_global.h"
#include <QDebug>
class HELLOWORLDLIBSHARED_EXPORT HelloWorldLib: public QObject
{
Q_OBJECT
public:
HelloWorldLib(){
}
static bool returnTrue()
{
return true;
}
public slots:
void someSlot()
{
qDebug() << "test";
}
};
#endif // HELLOWORLDLIB_H
include/helloworldlib_global.h
#ifndef HELLOWORLDLIB_GLOBAL_H
#define HELLOWORLDLIB_GLOBAL_H
#include <QtCore/qglobal.h>
#if defined(HELLOWORLDLIB_LIBRARY)
# define HELLOWORLDLIBSHARED_EXPORT Q_DECL_EXPORT
#else
# define HELLOWORLDLIBSHARED_EXPORT Q_DECL_IMPORT
#endif
#endif // HELLOWORLDLIB_GLOBAL_H
src/helloworldlib.cpp
#include "helloworldlib.h"
Here I show the test project.
HelloWorldTest.pro
#-------------------------------------------------
#
# Project created by QtCreator 2017-01-06T12:42:42
#
#-------------------------------------------------
QT += testlib
QT -= gui
# greaterThan(QT_MAJOR_VERSION, 4): QT += widgets
TARGET = tst_helloworldtesttest
CONFIG += console
CONFIG -= app_bundle
TEMPLATE = app
# The following define makes your compiler emit warnings if you use
# any feature of Qt which as been marked as deprecated (the exact warnings
# depend on your compiler). Please consult the documentation of the
# deprecated API in order to know how to port your code away from it.
DEFINES += QT_DEPRECATED_WARNINGS
# You can also make your code fail to compile if you use deprecated APIs.
# In order to do so, uncomment the following line.
# You can also select to disable deprecated APIs only up to a certain version of Qt.
#DEFINES += QT_DISABLE_DEPRECATED_BEFORE=0x060000 # disables all the APIs deprecated before Qt 6.0.0
SOURCES += tst_helloworldtesttest.cpp
DEFINES += SRCDIR=\\\"$$PWD/\\\"
win32:CONFIG(release, debug|release): LIBS += -L$$PWD/../HelloWorldLib/lib/release/ -lHelloWorldLib
else:win32:CONFIG(debug, debug|release): LIBS += -L$$PWD/../HelloWorldLib/lib/debug/ -lHelloWorldLib
else:unix: LIBS += -L$$PWD/../HelloWorldLib/lib/ -lHelloWorldLib
INCLUDEPATH += $$PWD/../HelloWorldLib/include
DEPENDPATH += $$PWD/../HelloWorldLib/include
tst_helloworldtesttest.cpp
#include <QString>
#include <QtTest>
#include <helloworldlib.h>
#include <QDebug>
class HelloWorldTestTest : public QObject
{
Q_OBJECT
public:
HelloWorldTestTest();
private Q_SLOTS:
void testCase1_data();
void testCase1();
};
HelloWorldTestTest::HelloWorldTestTest()
{
}
void HelloWorldTestTest::testCase1_data()
{
QTest::addColumn<QString>("data");
QTest::newRow("0") << QString();
}
void HelloWorldTestTest::testCase1()
{
QFETCH(QString, data);
QVERIFY2(true, "Failure");
HelloWorldLib hw;
QVERIFY(hw.returnTrue());
}
QTEST_APPLESS_MAIN(HelloWorldTestTest)
#include "tst_helloworldtesttest.moc"
Output:
********* Start testing of HelloWorldTestTest *********
Config: Using QtTest library 5.7.1, Qt 5.7.1 (x86_64-little_endian-lp64 shared (dynamic) release build; by GCC 6.2.1 20160830)
PASS : HelloWorldTestTest::initTestCase()
PASS : HelloWorldTestTest::testCase1(0)
PASS : HelloWorldTestTest::cleanupTestCase()
Totals: 3 passed, 0 failed, 0 skipped, 0 blacklisted, 0ms
********* Finished testing of HelloWorldTestTest *********
In the following link is the complete project: https://github.com/eyllanesc/stackoverflow/tree/master/QtUnitTestingTest