I did setup a C project with Eclipse Photon (4.8.0) for developing a program for the ESP-32. I did configure the IDE according to this official setup instructions.
Flashing the ESP-32 works fine. But as soon as I try to include header files from a sub folder, I run into troubles. I have set up a very simple project to illustrate the issue. The project consists of main.c, base/test.h and base/test.c, whereas the test.h and test.c files only contain one function with the signature void function1(void);.
When I try to call function1() in main.c, I get this error in main.c:
Undefined reference to function1()
Please compare to the attached screenshot, where everything is depicted.
How to solve this issue?
This is not a compiler, but rather a linker error.
Note, with #includeing a header file, you only make the external function known to the compiler. You also need to link to the external function during the linking stage. Make sure you include the compiled object file that contains function1 into the link.
Seems like you need to do proper linking.
If you are linking with a library, you need to specify:
The name of the library: Project\Settings\C C++ General\Paths and Symbols\Libraries
Location where the linker should search for this library:
Project\Settings\C C++ General\Paths and Symbols\Library Paths
Important: see Note.
If you are linking with object files, add those to:
Project\Settings\C C++ Build\Settings\Linker\Miscellaneous\Other objects
Note:
If your library name is, for example, libsomething.a, than you need to specify only something as the name; so omit lib prefix and .a suffix.
If your library is not prefixed with lib, then you need to add its name prefixed with :. For example, something.a should be added as :something.a.
Related
I am just starting out with Segger Embedded Studio. Right now trying to call a function of a included header file. The file seems to be included since it shows up in the dependencies. For now I simply included the header and C-File in the project directory.
The included Header- and C-Files are simply:
//##### Header-File ######
#ifndef TEST_H_
#define TEST_H_
void printText(void);
#endif //TEST_H_
and:
//###### C-File #########
#include <test.h>
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
void printText(void)
{
printf("Hello");
}
But when I try to call the printText Function in my main I get the error:
"Undefined Symbol: printText".
Why is the function not recognized?
"Undefined symbol" is a linker error. You are not linking the object code containing the definition of printText().
It is not an issue with the header file; including a header file does not cause the associated code to be linked - that is just the declaration so the compiler knows what the interface looks like. It is the linker than combines the separately compiled object code to form a program. You have not told the linker to use the object code containing printText(), and you have not told your IDE project to compile it to generate that object code.
The project tree clearly shows that only main.c is included in your project; you need to add the C file containing printText() too.
The concept of separate compilation and linking is what you need to grasp here.
Thank you Clifford for your answer. You are right I had some miss-conceptions about which files will be linked while building the project. In the special case of segger embedded studio there are, as I know by now, two ways to reference extern files.
Adding the files to the sources files folder is straight forward, but must be done separately for each project you want to use the respective files.
For frequently used files it is beneficial to create a dedicated library solution. Such a library can then be imported to any solution by choosing "add existing project". This will add all files of the library to your current solution (and show them in the project-tree). Now click the tab project -> dependencies. Your library should show up here. By acitivating the check box the linker will compile the referenced project upon builing your solution, allowing for the usage of your library functions.
Adding and linking library-project to a current solution
I'm pretty new to working with libraries and I'm in the process of trying to understand some specifics regarding static libraries and object files.
Summary
The behavior I'm noticing is that I can link several objects to make an executable with no problem, but if I take an intermediate step of combining those objects into static libraries, I cannot link those static libraries to make an executable without additionally specifying the needed C Run-time library in the link command.
Also, or the record, I'm doing the compiling/linking with Visual Studio 2010 from the command line. More details of the process I'm following are below.
First, let's say I have four source files in a project: main.c, util1.c, util2.c, and util3.c.
What works
I can compile these sources with the following command:cl -c main.c util1.c util2.c util3.cAs a result, I now have four object files: main.obj, util1.obj, util2.obj, and util3.obj. These object files each contain a DEFAULTLIB statement intended to inform the linker that it should additionally check the static C Run-time library libcmt.lib for any unresolved external dependencies in these object files when linking them.
I can create an executable named "app_objs.exe" by linking these objects with the following command:
link -out:app_objs.exe main.obj util1.obj util2.obj util3.obj
As mentioned in step 1, the linker used the runtime library due to the compiler's step of adding a default library statement to the objects.
Where I'm confused
Let's say I want to have an intermediate step of combining these objects into static libraries, and then linking those resulting LIB files to create my executable. First, I can create these libraries with the following commands:
link -lib -out:main.lib main.obj
link -lib -out:util.lib util1.obj util2.obj util3.obj
Now, my original thought was that I could simply link these libraries and have the same executable that I created in step 2 of "What works". I tried the following command and received linker error LNK1561, which states that an entry point needs to be specified:
link -out:app_libs.exe main.lib util.lib
From Microsoft's documentation, it is evident that linking libraries without any object files may require entry points to be specified, so I modified the command to set the subsystem as "console" to specify that the executable in intended to be a console application (which seems to imply certain entry points, thereby resolving that error):link -out:app_libs.exe -subsystem:console main.lib util.libUnfortunately, now I get a linker error stating that mainCRTStartup is an unresolved external symbol. I understand that this is defined in the C runtime library, so I can resolve this issue by manually specifying that I want to link against libcmt.lib, and this gives me a functioning executable:link -out:app_libs.exe -subsystem:console main.lib util.lib libcmt.lib
What I'm not understanding is why the default library info that the compiler placed in each object file couldn't be used to resolve the dependency on libcmt.lib. If I can link object files without explicitly stating I want libcmt.lib, and I created static libraries that are containers for the object files, why can't I link those static libraries without having to explicitly state that I want libcmt.lib? Is this just the way things are, or is there some way I could create the static libraries so that the linker will know to check for unresolved symbols in the runtime library?
Thanks for your help. If I have some fundamentally incorrect ideas here, I'd love suggestions on good references to learn all of this correctly.
Well the answer to your misunderstanding is that .lib files are often a product in themselves, and the compiler can't make those assumptions safely. That's what "external" is for.
If I produce binaries for someone's platform because its users are totally helpless, and they want/need static linkage, I have to give them foo.h and libfoo.lib without tying them to a specific runtime entry point. They may very well have defined their own entry point already for their final product, whether DLL or EXE.
You either want the runtime, or you want your own .obj that contains your entry point. Be warned that declaring and defining mainCRTStartup on your own may mean you're not executing important instructions for the target platform.
I'm using CppUTest to test the C code defined in a fornol.c source file. That file defines the main production main() function.
I also have an AllTests.cpp file that also has a main() function, but that main() is supposed to be used only when running the unit tests.
AllTests.cpp gets compiled to a .o file, whereas fornol.c gets compiled to a libfornol.a archive.
Then CppUTest tries to link everything together, but here is what I get instead:
Linking fornol_tests
cc -o fornol_tests objs/tests/AllTests.o objs/tests/FornolTests.o lib/libfornol.a ../../CppUTest/lib/libCppUTest.a ../../CppUTest/lib/libCppUTestExt.a -lstdc++ -lgcov
lib/libfornol.a(fornol.o): In function `main':
/home/dlindelof/Work/endor/nol/fornol/fornol.c:453: multiple definition of `main'
objs/tests/AllTests.o:/home/dlindelof/Work/endor/nol/fornol/tests/AllTests.cpp:4: first defined here
collect2: ld returned 1 exit status
It looks as if the main() function defined in fornol.c and present in the archive libfornol.a conflicts with the main() defined in AllTests.cpp. But my understanding was that archive/library files are searched only if/when a given symbol hasn't been referenced yet. It should therefore not be a problem to have the same symbol defined more than once, provided all definitions are in archive/library files.
What am I doing wrong here?
You need to remove the main() from AllTests.cpp and put it in its own source file.
When a linker links in a library, it can't split object files in the library; it has to either link or omit each object file in the library as a unit. (I know LLVM is different, but that's another topic.) This is why, if you look at the source for a library like glibc, each function gets its own source file.
So what's happening to you is that the linker needs to pull in an object file (fornol.o) from the library (libfornol.a) to satisfy dependencies, but that object file carries a duplicate symbol with it (main).
It's perfectly okay to put test code in a library (we do this routinely where I work), but keep it in its own source files (we traditionally use main.cc). (This is a better test anyway, because test code should not have access to static-declared symbols.)
A library is supposed not to have a main() function as it is a library.
You should remove that main() from fornol.c and compile it again.
main() is the entry point of an executable file's source code, since a library (especially a static ".a" library) is only pre-compiled source code, you cannot use a main in there.
If you want a main production entry point of your library you could rename the main() in fornol.c to something more explicit and less reserved such as "fornolMain()" for example.
A static library is compiled in your binary executable and thus is not searched only if the symbol is loaded. It is exactly the same as compiling fornol.c and linking fornol.o and your other .o
I'm trying to use the library gcrypt.h but show this error:
undefined reference to `gcry_md_get_algo_dlen'
The code is:
int algo = GCRY_MD_SHA1;
unsigned int hash_len = gcry_md_get_algo_dlen(algo);
unsigned char hash[hash_len];
How can I fix it?
Make sure you have the most recent version of the library http://www.gnupg.org/download/#libgcrypt
If you have the right version make sure you added the library itself to your linker settings in Eclipse.
To do so:
Right-Click on your project -> Properties / C/C++Build / Settings / GCC C++ Linker / Libraries
There you add to libraries "gcrypt" ( you don't at the "lib" to it )
And also make sure that ( if the lib isnt under a system path ) you add the path where the library itself lies.
It looks like you are facing a Linking Error (Undefined reference to a function)
You have included the header "gcrypt.h" but the object file is not linked to your main file.
Library is NOT the same as the header (.h) file. C libraries are collections of compiled objects which are LINKED to your object code by the linker. Header files are lexically included by the preprocessor.
When you compile, you need to make sure that the libraries are where they're supposed to be AND the header files are where they're supposed to be. Either one can mess you up. Make sure that .o files are linked properly
I'm writing some code that uses a C library provided by MATLAB (to extract data from *.mat files). In my IDE (Code::Blocks), I've included the folder containing the necessary "mat.h", which is on a network drive. My code recognises types defined in mat.h when I do this, but whenever I call functions from the file I get an "undefined reference" error. This is the same case for the example code MathWorks provides. What sort of problem usually causes this?
#include "mat.h"
int main (void) {
MATFile *pmat; // Compiles only when compiler is told to search in mat.h directory
pmat = matOpen("example_filename", "r"); // Never compiles
return 0;
}
Thanks!
Cameron
"undefined reference" is normally a linker error. It's not a problem of a header file. You need to tell the linker to link MATLAB's library (or a dedicated object) to your program.
No idea how this is done in Code::Blocks though. In the Code:Blocks documentation it is described here.
Have you checked the contents of mat.h? Does it declare matOpen()? Also, does the error occur when compiling or linking? If it's during the link phase, you probably need to reference the library that contains the implementation of matOpen() (a .lib in Windows, or .a in Unix). The .h file only declares the function.