Can I include a framework in another framework?

Question

I'm writing a framework (called Lighthouse.framework) that, in turn, uses code from another framework (RegexKit.framework, to be precise). I have copied RegexKit.framework into my own framework, so that it has a structure like the following:

Lighthouse.framework/
  Versions/
    A/
      Frameworks/
        RegexKit.framework
      Lighthouse

However, when I try to run an application that uses Lighthouse.framework (my framework), I get the following error:

dyld: Library not loaded: @executable_path/../Frameworks/RegexKit.framework/Versions/A/RegexKit

Referenced from: /Users/mdippery/Developer/Projects/Current/lighthouse/build/Debug/Lighthouse.framework/Versions/A/Lighthouse

Reason: image not found

Obviously, the loader isn't finding RegexKit.

Here're the paths the loader expects to load, courtesy otool:

build/Debug/Lighthouse.framework/Versions/A/Lighthouse:
    /Users/mdippery/Library/Frameworks/Lighthouse.framework/Versions/A/Lighthouse (compatibility version 1.0.0, current version 1.0.0)
    /System/Library/Frameworks/Cocoa.framework/Versions/A/Cocoa (compatibility version 1.0.0, current version 12.0.0)
    @executable_path/../Frameworks/RegexKit.framework/Versions/A/RegexKit (compatibility version 0.4.0, current version 0.6.0)
    /usr/lib/libgcc_s.1.dylib (compatibility version 1.0.0, current version 1.0.0)
    /usr/lib/libSystem.B.dylib (compatibility version 1.0.0, current version 111.1.4)
    /usr/lib/libobjc.A.dylib (compatibility version 1.0.0, current version 227.0.0)
    /System/Library/Frameworks/CoreFoundation.framework/Versions/A/CoreFoundation (compatibility version 150.0.0, current version 476.19.0)
    /System/Library/Frameworks/Foundation.framework/Versions/C/Foundation (compatibility version 300.0.0, current version 677.26.0)

Can I include a framework in another framework? Is this the proper way to do it? How can I resolve my error?

Answer 1

The easiest way is to use @rpath. Your configuration should look like:

1. Set RegExKit.framework's Installation Directory to @rpath
2. Set Lighthouse.frameworks's Installation Directory to @rpath
3. Set Lighthouse.framework's Runpath Search Paths to @loader_path/Frameworks
4. Ensure that RegExKit.framework is copied into Lighthouse.framework's Framework subfolder (use a custom build phase for this)

Finally, any applications linking to Lighthouse.framework should set Runpath Search Paths to @loader_path/../Frameworks