How to build flatbuffers on OSX? - c++

Question

I'm trying to build flatbuffers on OSX but I'm not sure how to proceed exactly. According to the doc. I should run cmake -G "Xcode". I did that and got the result:
-- The C compiler identification is Clang 5.1.0
-- The CXX compiler identification is Clang 5.1.0
-- Check for working C compiler using: Xcode
-- Check for working C compiler using: Xcode -- works
-- Detecting C compiler ABI info
-- Detecting C compiler ABI info - done
-- Check for working CXX compiler using: Xcode
-- Check for working CXX compiler using: Xcode -- works
-- Detecting CXX compiler ABI info
-- Detecting CXX compiler ABI info - done
-- Configuring done
-- Generating done
-- Build files have been written to: Temp/flatbuffers
However from there I'm not sure what to do. I've tried to run make but got the error message make: *** No targets specified and no makefile found. Stop.. Any idea how to build it?

Answer 1

When you ran cmake, you generated a project for the Xcode IDE (downloadable from the Apple app store).
If you want to build using make, use this command instead:
cmake -G "Unix Makefiles" -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release
After that,
make
should work as intended.

Answer 2

Instead make, just run following command in the shell:
$ cmakexbuild
After it finish you will get flatc in ./Debug folder.

Answer 3

On OSX it's recommended to use Homebrew to install the flatbuffer schema compiler.
brew install flatbuffers
Usage: Using the schema compiler

Answer 4

For Mac-OSX
Make sure Xcode is already installed in your machine. If not, install it by executing command xcode-select --install.
If you need latest changes download source code from repo or to get source code for a particular version download source from here
cd flatbuffers and execute cmake -G "Xcode" -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release
If you encounter error like
CMake Warning:
No source or binary directory provided. Both will be assumed to be the
same as the current working directory, but note that this warning will
become a fatal error in future CMake releases.
-- The C compiler identification is unknown
-- The CXX compiler identification is unknown
CMake Error at CMakeLists.txt:6 (project):
No CMAKE_C_COMPILER could be found.
CMake Error at CMakeLists.txt:6 (project):
No CMAKE_CXX_COMPILER could be found.
-- Configuring incomplete, errors occurred!
See also "<sourc-code-path>/flatbuffers-1.12.0/CMakeFiles/CMakeOutput.log".
See also "<sourc-code-path>/flatbuffers-1.12.0/CMakeFiles/CMakeError.log".
Inside the log file CMakeError.log:
xcode-select: error: tool 'xcodebuild' requires Xcode, but active developer directory '/Library/Developer/CommandLineTools' is a command line tools instance
then refer this SO thread
success message is :
-- Configuring done
-- Generating done
-- Build files have been written to: <source-code-path>/standalone/flatbuffers-1.12.0
./FlatBuffers.xcodeproj or open project in xcode
Build and Run project from Xcode UI
cd Debugand you can see all the binaries present.
If you want flatc to be available globally:
ln -sf <path>/flatbuffers-1.12.0/Debug/flatc /usr/local/bin/flatc
Tried and Tested on
MacOSX: Mojave, version: 10.14.3, 10.14.6
Xcode: Version: 10.2.1(10E1001), 11.1(11A1027)
Note: Make sure you use the same version in a project for compatibility.
If you are not sure which version to pick, then you can clone the repo and go to a specific commit and build.
For e.g. For version 1.11, Commit version is bf9eb67a.

Answer 5

Follow the below steps to compile the flatbuffer code
Clone the Flatbuffer repo using - git clone https://github.com/google/flatbuffers.git
cd flatbuffers
cmake -G "Unix Makefiles"
make

Answer 6

FlatBuffers for LINUX(Ubuntu 16) install and build:
cd root project folder
yarn add flatc
cd node_modules of project
rm flatbuffers folder(if exist)
git clone https://github.com/google/flatbuffers.git
cd flatbuffers
cmake -G "Unix Makefiles" (install cmake if need)
make
cd root project folder
change path in command in package.json file from "./flatc" to "./node_modules/flatbuffers/flatc"