I want to make a game using SDL2, but I'm unable to compile and/or run my code, please help!
SDL2 is notoriously hard to set up, and it's often the first library aspiring game developers try to use.
This post is intended as a canonical duplicate for common problems with setting up SDL2.
This answer is about MinGW / GCC, and not Visual Studio.
This answer only applies to Windows.
Common errors
The common errors are:
SDL.h: No such file or directory (when compiling)
Various SDL_main problems: "undefined reference to SDL_main", "conflicting types for SDL_main" or "number of arguments doesn't match prototype", etc. (when compiling or linking)
undefined reference to other functions (when linking)
DLL problems: (when running your program)
'??.dll' was not found
procedure entry point ... could not be located in ..., and other mysterious DLL-related errors
The program seemingly doing nothing when launched
This list is sorted from bad to good. If you change something and get a different error, use this list to tell if you made things better or worse.
The preamble
0. Don't follow bad advice.
Some resources will suggest you to do #define SDL_MAIN_HANDLED or #undef main. Don't blindly follow that advice, it's not how SDL2 is intended to be used.
If you do everything correcty, it will never be necessary. Learn the intended approach first. Then you can research what exactly that does, and make an educated decision.
1. Figure out how to compile directly from the console, you can start using an IDE and/or build system later.
If you're using an IDE, I suggest to first make sure you're able to compile your program directly from the console, to rule out any IDE configuration problems. After you figure that out, you can use the same compiler options in your IDE.
The same applies to build systems, such as CMake.
2. Download the right SDL2 files. Make sure you have the right files. You need the archive called SDL2-devel-2.0.x-mingw.tar.gz from here.
Extract it to any directory, preferably somewhere near your source code. Extracting into the compiler installation directory is often considered a bad practice (and so is copying them to C:\Windows, which is a horrible idea).
3. Know the difference between compiler flags and linker flags. A "flag" is an option you specify in the command line when building your program. When you use a single command, e.g. g++ foo.cpp -o foo.exe, all your flags are added to the same place (to this single command).
But when you build your program in two steps, e.g.:
g++ foo.cpp -c -o foo.o (compiling)
g++ foo.o -o foo.exe (linking)
you have to know which of the two commands to add a flag to. Those are "compiler flags" and "linker flags" respectively.
Most IDEs will require you to specify compiler and linker flags separately, so even if you use a single command now, it's good to know which flag goes where.
Unless specified otherwise, the order of the flags doesn't matter.
SDL.h: No such file or directory
Or any similar error related to including SDL.h or SDL2/SDL.h.
You need to tell your compiler where to look for SDL.h. It's in the SDL files you've downloaded (see preamble).
Add -Ipath to your compiler flags, where path is the directory where SDL.h is located.
Example: -IC:/Users/HolyBlackCat/Downloads/SDL2-2.0.12/x86_64-w64-mingw32/include/SDL2. Relative paths work too, e.g. -ISDL2-2.0.12/x86_64-w64-mingw32/include/SDL2.
Note that the path will be different depending on how you write the #include:
If you do #include <SDL.h>, then the path should end with .../include/SDL2 (like above). This is the recommended way.
If you do #include <SDL2/SDL.h>, then the path should end with .../include.
Various SDL_main problems
You can get several different errors mentioning SDL_main, such as undefined reference to SDL_main, or conflicting types for 'SDL_main', or number of arguments doesn't match prototype, etc.
You need to have a main function. Your main function must look like int main(int, char **). NOT int main() and NOT void main(). This is a quirk of SDL2, related to it doing #define main SDL_main.
Adding parameter names is allowed (and is mandatory in C), e.g. int main(int argc, char **argv). Also the second parameter can be written as char *[] or with a name: char *argv[]. No other changes are allowed.
If your project has multiple source files, make sure to include SDL.h in the file that defines the main function, even if it doesn't otherwise use SDL directly.
Try to avoid #define SDL_MAIN_HANDLED or #undef main when solving this issue, see preamble for explanation.
undefined reference to various functions
• undefined reference to SDL_...
The error message will mention various SDL_... functions, and/or WinMain. If it mentions SDL_main, consult the section "Various SDL_main problems" above. If the function names don't start with SDL_, consult the section "undefined reference to other functions" below.
You need to add following linker flags: -lmingw32 -lSDL2main -lSDL2 -Lpath, where path is the directory where libSDL2.dll.a and libSDL2main.a (which you've downloaded) are located. The order of the -l... flags matters. They must appear AFTER any .c/.cpp/.o files.
Example: -LC:/Users/HolyBlackCat/Desktop/SDL2-2.0.12/x86_64-w64-mingw32/lib. Relative paths work too, e.g. -LSDL2-2.0.12/x86_64-w64-mingw32/lib.
When you use -l???, the linker will look for a file called lib???.dll.a or lib???.a (and some other variants), which is why we need to pass the location of those files. libmingw32.a (corresponding to -lmingw32) is shipped with your compiler, so it already knows where to find it.
I added all those flags and nothing changed, or I'm getting skipping incompatible X when searching for Y:
You probably use the wrong SDL .a files. The archive you downloaded contains two sets of files: i686-w64-mingw32 (32-bit) and x86_64-w64-mingw32 (64-bit). You must use the files matching your compiler, which can also be either 32-bit or 64-bit.
Print (8*sizeof(void*)) to see if your compiler is 32-bit or 64-bit.
Even if you think you use the right files, try the other ones to be sure.
Some MinGW versions can be switched between 32-bit and 64-bit modes using -m32 and -m64 flags (add them to both compiler and linker flags).
I get undefined reference to a specific function:
• undefined reference to WinMain only
There are several possibilities, all of which were covered in the previous section:
You forgot -lmingw32 and/or -lSDL2main linker flags.
You must use following linker flags, in this exact order, after
any .c/.cpp/.o files: -lmingw32 -lSDL2main -lSDL2
The libSDL2main.a file you use doesn't match your compiler (32-bit file with a 64-bit compiler, or vice versa).
Try to avoid #define SDL_MAIN_HANDLED or #undef main when solving this issue, see preamble for explanation.
• undefined reference to SDL_main only
See the section "Various SDL_main problems" above.
• undefined reference to other functions
Your linker found and used libSDL2.a, but it should be finding and using libSDL2.dll.a. When both are available, it prefers the latter by default, meaning you didn't copy the latter to the directory you passed to -L.
If you intended to perform static linking, see the section called "How do I distribute my app to others?" below.
Nothing happens when I try run my app
Let's say you try to run your app, and nothing happens. Even if you try to print something at the beginning of main(), it's not printed.
Windows has a nasty habit of not showing some DLL-related errors when the program is started from the console.
If you were running your app from the console (or from an IDE), instead try double-clicking the EXE in the explorer. Most probably you'll now see some DLL-related error; then consult one of the next sections.
??.dll was not found
Copy the .dll mentioned in the error message, and place it next to your .exe.
If the DLL is called SDL2.dll, then it's in the SDL files you've downloaded (see preamble). Be aware that there are two different SDL2.dlls: a 32-bit one (in the i686-w64-mingw32 directory), and a 64-bit one (in x86_64-w64-mingw32). Get the right one, if necessary try both.
Any other DLLs will be in your compiler's bin directory (the directory where gcc.exe is located).
You might need to repeat this process 3-4 times, this is normal.
For an automatic way of determining the needed DLLs, see the next section.
procedure entry point ... could not be located in ... and other cryptic DLL errors
Your program needs several .dlls to run, and it found a wrong version of one, left over from some other program you have installed.
It looks for DLLs in several different places, but the directory with the .exe has the most priority.
You should copy all DLLs your program uses (except the system ones) into the directory where your .exe is located.
A reliable way to get a list of needed DLLs is to blindly copy a bunch of DLLs, and then remove the ones that turn out to be unnecessary:
Copy SDL2.dll. It's in the SDL files you've downloaded (see preamble). Be aware that there are two different SDL2.dlls: a 32-bit one (in the i686-w64-mingw32 directory), and a 64-bit one (in x86_64-w64-mingw32). Get the right one, if necessary try both.
Copy all DLLs from your compiler's bin directory (the directory where gcc.exe is located).
Now your program should run, but we're not done yet.
Download NTLDD (or some other program that displays a list of used DLLs). Run ntldd -R your_program.exe.
Any DLL not mentioned in its output should be removed from the current directory. Your program uses everything that remains.
I ended up with following DLLs, expect something similar: SDL2.dll, libgcc_s_seh-1.dll, libstdc++-6.dll (C++ only), libwinpthread-1.dll.
Can I determine the needed DLLs without copying excessive ones?
Yes, but it's less reliable.
Your program searches for DLLs in following locations, in this order:
The directory where your .exe is located.
C:\Windows, including some of its subdirectories.
The directories listed in PATH.
Assuming you (or some jank installer) didn't put any custom DLLs into C:\Windows, adding your compiler's bin directory to the PATH (preferably as the first entry) and either putting SDL2.dll in the same directory as the .exe or into some directory in the PATH should be enough for your program to work.
If this works, you can then run ntldd without copying any DLLs beforehand, and copy only the necessary ones. The reason why you'd want to copy them at all at this point (since your app already works) is to be able to distribute it to others, without them having to install the compiler for its DLLs. Skip any DLLs located outside of your compiler's bin directory (except for SDL2.dll).
Note that the possibility of having weird DLLs in C:\Windows is real. E.g. Wine tends to put OpenAL32.dll into C:\Windows, so if you try this process with OpenAL on Wine, it will fail. If you're making a sciprt that runs ntldd automatically, prefer copying the DLLs (or at least symlinking them - I heard MSYS2 can emulate symlinks on Windows?).
Can I make an EXE that doesn't depend on any DLLs?
It's possible to make an .exe that doesn't depend on any (non-system) .dlls by using the -static linker flag, this is called "static linking". This is rarely done, and you shouldn't need to do this if you did the above steps correctly. This requires some additional linker flags; they are listed in file ??-w64-mingw32/lib/pkgconfig/sdl2.pc shipped with SDL, in the Libs.private section. Notice that there are two files, for x32 and x64 respectively.
How do I distribute my app to others?
Follow the steps in the previous section, titled procedure entry point ... could not be located in ....
A saner alternative?
There is MSYS2.
It has a package manager that lets you download prebuilt libraries, and, as a bonus, a fresh version of the compiler.
Install SDL2 from its package manager. Use a tool called pkg-config (also from the package manager) to automatically determine all necessary flags (pkg-config --cflags SDL2 for compiler flags, pkg-config --libs SDL2 for linker flags).
This is the same experience as you would have on Linux (maybe except for some DLL management hassle).
Bonus - Other problems
Q: My program always opens a console window when I run it, how do I hide it?
A: Add -mwindows to the linker flags.
Q: I get error 'SDL_VideoMode' wasn't declared in this scope.
A: SDL_VideoMode is from SDL1.2, it's not a part of the newer SDL2. Your code was written for the outdated version of SDL. Find a better tutorial that deals specifically with SDL2.
Q: My program has the default file icon, but I want a custom one.
A: Your icon must be in the .ico format. If your graphics editor doesn't support it, make a series of .pngs of common sizes (e.g. 16x16, 32x32, 48x48, 64x64), then convert them to a single .ico using ImageMagick: magick *.png result.ico (or with convert instead of magick).
Create a file with the .rc extension (say, icon.rc), with following contents MyIconName ICON "icon.ico" (where MyIconName is an arbitrary name, and "icon.ico" is the path to the icon). Convert the file to an .o using windres -O res -i icon.rc -o icon.o (the windres program is shipped with your compiler). Specify the resulting .o file when linking, e.g. g++ foo.cpp icon.o -o foo.exe.
Recent versions of SDL2 have a nice property of using the same icon as the window icon, so you don't have to use SDL_SetWindowIcon.
A solution for Visual Studio:
Why not use a package manager? I use vcpkg, and it makes super easy to consume 3rd party libraries. Grab the vcpkg source, and extract it to a safe place, like C:/, then run its bootstrap script bootstrap-vcpkg.bat, this will generate vcpkg executable. Then run vcpkg integrate install to make libraries installed with vcpkg available in Visual Studio.
Search for the library you need:
vcpkg search sdl
imgui[sdl2-binding] Make available SDL2 binding
libwebp[vwebp-sdl] Build the vwebp viewer tool.
magnum[sdl2application] Sdl2Application library
sdl1 1.2.15#12 Simple DirectMedia Layer is a cross-platform development library designed to p...
sdl1-net 1.2.8-3 Networking library for SDL
sdl2 2.0.12-1 Simple DirectMedia Layer is a cross-platform
...
Install it with: vcpkg install sdl2.
Now you just need include SDL2 headers, and everything will work out of the box. The library will be linked automatically.
You can learn more about vcpkg here.
On Mac this is what I follow for XCode (must install g++):
sdl linking:
g++ main.cpp -o main $(sdl2-config --cflags --libs)
XCODE project steps:
open terminal app (macOS)
BUILD SETTINGS (select 'all' and 'combined' search bar enter: "search")
click on "header search paths(way right side click)
add: /usr/local/include
BUILD PHASES --> LINK BINARY LIBRARIES (click plus)
type in SDL --> click "add other"
press: command+SHIFT+g (to bring search bar)
type in: usr/local/Cellar
navigate to: SDL2 -->2.0.8 -->lib --> libSDL2-2.2.0.dylib (make sure not shortcut)
I am trying to run a c code on my Windows laptop using the 64-bit MinGW compiler. There are a few lines in the beginning of the code that direct to other files such as:
#include <openssl/e_os2.h>
When compiling the code the following error shows up:
C:\MinGW\bin\openssl\apps>gcc s_server.c
s_server.c:21:27: fatal error: openssl/e_os2.h: No such file or directory
#include <openssl/e_os2.h>
^
compilation terminated.
I made sure the files were in the correct locations, however the error still occurs. I am thinking the error occurs because I am running a 32-bit binary on a 64-bit system. Are there any ways to work around this issue given that I don't have a Linux system?
C:\MinGW\bin\openssl\apps>gcc s_server.c
s_server.c:21:27: fatal error: openssl/e_os2.h: No such file or directory
#include <openssl/e_os2.h>
^
compilation terminated.
I believe you need a -I argument during compile. The headers are not located in the apps/ directory. Instead, they are located at ../include/ (relative to apps/).
So maybe a compile command like:
# from apps/ directory
gcc -I ../include/ s_server.c
You will probably have additional problems because you need to link against libssl and libcrypto. Be aware you will still have work to do.
Here is what it looks like on Linux:
openssl$ find . -name e_os2.h
./include/openssl/e_os2.h
openssl$ cd apps
apps$ ls ../include/openssl/e_os2.h
../include/openssl/e_os2.h
Since the relative path is ../include/openssl/e_os2.h and the source file #include "openssl/e_os2.h", you only need to include ../include using -I.
I am running a 32-bit binary on a 64-bit system...
You need to build OpenSSL as 32-bit. Run ./Configure LIST to get a list of MinGW targets. Then, configure with the appropriate triplet.
You may need to add -m32 to the command line for your program.
I once tried to compile a C program I made that was for a chess game (thanks to YouTube's Bluefever Software for the tutorial), but when I went to compile the program, I executed this line of code:
C:\TDM-GCC-64\>gcc Chess/chess.c Chess/init.c -o chess
The compiling worked (there were no syntax errors or anything), but when I got to my file directory, I saw this (circled in blue):
An unexpected application (but there were no viruses!):
How did this happen? It may had something to do with the line I was compiling, but what is the "intel" behind this?
It is normal for the compiler to generate an application!
What is surprising is the location for the executable, it should have been generated in the parent directory:
C:\TDM-GCC-64\> gcc Chess/chess.c Chess/init.c -o chess
The explanation is interesting:
You are using the Windows operating system, where the filenames are case insensitive.
You instructed gcc to generate the executable into chess, but this is the name of the Chess directory. In this case, gcc generates the executable in the named directory and gives it a name that is the basename of the first source file chess.c -> chess.
Furthermore, the application name really is chess.exe in Windows, but the default setting for the file manager is to not display file extensions. This is a very unfortunate choice. I suggest you change this setting in the Windows/File Explorer Options window to always show file extensions. This will allow you to distinguish chess.c, chess.exe and chess.h more easily.
You have a Makefile in the Chess directory, you should use the make command to build the executable:
C:\TDM-GCC-64\> make -C Chess
Or simply cd to the Chess subdirectory and type:
C:\TDM-GCC-64\Chess> make
That's the file you told the compiler to make.
The -o option to gcc is the output file. In this case, you told it to create an executable file named chess. And that's exactly what was created.
The compiler is automatically creating an executable file while compiling.
I'm trying to compile a C program with a icon attached.
I'm following this instructions: How do I add an icon to a mingw-gcc compiled executable?
Both Evan's and Steven's replies.
I'm getting this error 4x:
ico.rc:1: unrecognized escape sequence
when I run:
windres ico.rc -O coff -o ico.res
The working dir is where the executable, source file and 'icon.ico' files are. The icon is just an png converted with
ffmpeg -i icon.png icon.ico
The '.rc' file content is:
id ICON ico.ico
My machine is a Windows 10 32-bits with MINGW, without Microsoft Visual Studio.
How can I compile my program with an icon?
I was searching for the same problem, and found the solution in another site (https://dev-cpp-users.narkive.com/AEWfAsk2/dev-c-problem-with-resource-files), so here I am to share it:
doesn't work because you need to use forward slash (/) as
directory seperator - backslash does not work.
Changing the slashes inside the .rc file was enough for it to work (in cause you also need slashes in the windres command, it can be ). Also, the path inside the .rc file doesn't like accents (eg: áàé).
Edit: I just noticed that the How do I add an icon to a mingw-gcc compiled executable? post says in the example
"path/to/my.ico"
not
"path\to\my.ico"
I want to run serial commands from a Bealgebone to a 4Dsystems display. Therefore I copied the c library found here into a directory and created a test program main.c:
#include "Picaso_const4D.h"
#include "Picaso_Serial_4DLibrary.h"
int main(int argc,char *argv[])
{
OpenComm("/dev/ttyUSB0", B115200); // Matches with the display "Comms" rate
gfx_BGcolour(0xFFFF);
gfx_Cls();
gfx_CircleFilled(120,160,80,BLUE);
while (1) {}
}
Now when I do gcc -o main main.c its says
main.c:2:37: fatal error: Picaso_Serial_4DLibrary.h: No such file or
directory
So I try linking it:
gcc main.c -L. -lPICASO_SERIAL_4DLIBRARY
which gives me the same error. Then I tried to create a static library:
gcc -Wall -g -c -o PICASO_SERIAL_4DLIBRARY PICASO_SERIAL_4DLIBRARY.C
which gives me this:
PICASO_SERIAL_4DLIBRARY.C:1:21: fatal error: windows.h: No such file
or directory compilation terminated.
What am I doing wrong? the git page clearly says this library is created for people who do not run windows.
Thanks in advance!
You're not getting a linker error; you're getting a preprocessor error. Specifically, your preprocessor can't find Picaso_Serial_4DLibrary.h. Make sure that it's in your include path; you can add directories to your include path using the -I argument to gcc.
You've had two problems. First was the picaso_whatever.h file that couldn't be found. You fixed that with the -I you added. But, now, the picaso.h wants windows.h
What are you building on? WinX or BSD/Linux?
If you're compiling on WinX, you need to install the "platform sdk" for visual studio.
If you're using mingw or cygwin, you need to do something else.
If on WinX, cd to the C: directory. Do find . -type f -name windows.h and add a -I for the containing directory.
If under Linux, repeat the find at the source tree top level. Otherwise, there is probably some compatibility cross-build library that you need to install.
Or, you'll have to find WinX that has it as Picaso clearly includes it. You could try commenting out one or more of the #include's for it and see if things are better or worse.
If you can't find a real one, create an empty windows.h and add -I to it and see how bad [or good] things are.
You may need the mingw cross-compiler. See https://forums.wxwidgets.org/viewtopic.php?t=7729
UPDATE:
Okay ... Wow ... You are on the right track and close, but this is, IMO, ugly WinX stuff.
The primary need of Picaso is getting a serial comm port connection, so the need from within windows.h is [thankfully] minimal. It needs basic boilerplate definitions for WORD, DWORD, etc.
mingw or cygwin will provide their own copies of windows.h. These are "clean room" reimplementations, so no copyright issues.
mingw is a collection of compile/build tools that let you use gcc/ld/make build utilities.
cygwin is more like: I'd like a complete shell-like environment similar to BSD/Linux. You get bash, ls, gcc, tar, and just about any GNU utility you want.
Caveat: I use cygwin, but have never used mingw. The mingw version of windows.h [and a suite of .h files that it includes underneath], being open source, can be reused by other projects (e.g. cygwin, wine).
Under Linux, wine (windows emulator) is a program/suite that attempts to allow you to run WinX binaries under Linux (e.g. wine mywinpgm).
I git cloned the Picaso library and after some fiddling, I was able to get it to compile after pointing it to wine's version of windows.h
Picaso's OpenComm is doing CreateFile [a win32 API call]. So, you'll probably need cygwin. You're opening /dev/ttyUSB0. /dev/* implies cygwin. But, /dev/ttyUSB0 is a Linux-like name. You may need some WinX-style name like "COM:" or whatever. Under the cygwin terminal [which gives you a bash prompt], do ls /dev and see what's available.
You can get cygwin from: http://cygwin.com/ If you have a 64 bit system, be sure to use the 64 bit version of the installer: setup-x86_64.exe It's semi-graphical and will want two directories, one for the "root" FS and one to store packages. On my system, I use C:\cygwin64 and C:\cygwin64_packages--YMMV.
Note that the installer won't install gcc by default. You can [graphically] select which packages to install. You may also need some "devel" packages. They have libraries and .h files that a non-developer wouldn't need. As, docs mention, you can rerun the installer as often as you need. You can add packages that you forgot to specify or even remove ones that you installed that you don't need anymore.
Remember that you'll need to adjust makefile -I and/or -L option appropriately. Also, when building the picaso library, gcc generated a ton of warnings about overflow of a "large integer". The code was doing:
#define control_code -279
unsigned char buf[2];
buf[0] = control_code >> 8;
buf[1] = control_code;
The code is okay, and the warning is correct [because the code is sloppy]. If the code had done:
#define control_code -279
unsigned char buf[2];
buf[0] = (unsigned) control_code >> 8;
buf[1] = (unsigned) control_code;
it probably would have been silent. Use -Wno-overflow in your Makefile to get rid of the warnings rather that edit 50 or so lines