when I use strlcpy function in c the compilor give me an error

Question

Someone told me to use the strlcpy function instead of strcpy like this

#include <stdio.h>
#include <string.h>

void main()
{
   char var1[6] = "stuff";
   char var2[7] = "world!";
   strlcpy(var1, var2, sizeof(var2));
   printf("hello %s", var1);

} 

and when I compile the file it gives me the following error:

C:\Users\PC-1\AppData\Local\Temp\ccafgEAb.o:c.c:(.text+0x45): undefined referenc
e to `strlcpy'
collect2.exe: error: ld returned 1 exit status

notice: I have installed MinGW (Minimalist GNU for Windows) and gcc version is 4.7.2

What is the problem?

Answer 1

undefined reference to `strlcpy'

This happens when the linker (collect2 if you are using gcc) can not find the definition of the function it complains about (not the declaration or prototype, but the definition, where the function's code is defined).

In your case it may happen because there is no shared object or library with strlcpy's code to link against. If you are sure there is a library with the code and you want to link against it, consider specifying the path to the library with the -L<path_to_library> parameter passed to the compiler.