Problems importing libraries to my c++ project, how to fix this?

Question

I'm using the <XZY> IDE to compile my program, and have some trouble to import/integrate a specific library with it.

I get error messages like

fatal error: 3rdPartyLib.h: No such file or directory

for a

#include "3rdPartyLib.h"

statement

ld.exe: cannot find `lib3rdParty.a`

for specifying

3rdParty

in the additional libraries

At least I got some error message like

undefined reference to `lib3rdParty::foo()'

What can I do to fix this?

Answer 1

It's a common misconception, that the current IDE used, is responsible for getting errors like stated in the question.
See for example

• c++ lib in two same project ,one can work but the other can 't
• Issue linking libxml++ and glib libraries with CodeBlocks IDE for C++ Windows
• ...

The problem is almost never related to the currently used IDE.
In the most cases the solution boils down, to supply the actual toolchain's compiler/linker with the appropriate path's to search for included headers, to be linked libraries.

One of the major applicable answers for the linker related problems are

• What is an undefined reference/unresolved external symbol error and how do I fix it?
• undefined reference to `WinMain@16'

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Most of the common IDEs provide features to configure this for a specific project. Here are some samples

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Eclipse-CDT

Include path settings:

Library & library search path settings

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Visual Studio 2013

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Code Blocks

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**DEV C++ (Bloodshed C++)

As from their FAQ:

9. How can i use the OpenGL library and others ?

All the libraries that comes with Mingw reside in the Lib directory. They are all named in the following way: lib*.a To link a library with your project, just add in Project options, Further option files :
-lopengl32
This is for including the libopengl32.a library. To add any other library, just follow the same syntax: Type -l (L in lowercase) plus the base name of the library (filename without lib and the .a extension).

You may also consider putting a -L option there to add directory pathes searched for libraries.

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Qt Creator

In order to add include paths you have to open up the .pro file and then add the directories to the INCLUDEPATH variable. These paths are separated by spaces. Reference can be found here.

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If none of the above samples applies for your actually used IDE/toolchain, I hope you're able to get the point of abstraction:

It's an issue how to provide compiling/linking options to your actual toolchain. The IDE used to setup the context is a minor point here.

Answer 2

For eclipse I use the pkg-config plugin where possible:

https://marketplace.eclipse.org/content/pkg-config-support-eclipse-cdt

Failing that this configuration window: