What is mkspecs used for & how to configure for my hardware

[embdev]

Dear fellow coders, I've followed through instructions to configure, make and make install the source files. However what exactly is the mkspecs for / used for? and if I've a generic embedded Linux board, what information I'd need to include in my qmake.conf file before executing ./configure command to start configuring and later compiling all the sources?

[jeremy_k]

@embdev said in What is mkspecs used for & how to configure for my hardware:

Dear fellow coders, I've followed through instructions to configure, make and make install the source files. However what exactly is the mkspecs for / used for? and if I've a generic embedded Linux board, what information I'd need to include in my qmake.conf file before executing ./configure command to start configuring and later compiling all the sources?

a makespec is a set of compilation rules. What is the compiler called? What arguments does it need?

Pulling from a random example, the solaris-cc qmake.conf tells me that the C++ compiler (QMAKE_CXX) is called CC. The standard C++ compiler flags are the same as the C compiler flags, QMAKE_CFLAGS.

The usual mode of operation for a platform that is similar to an existing and supported platform is to import an existing mkspec and modify where necessary. The modified mkspec is placed in <Qt source>/qtbase/mkspecs/<platform>, and passed to configure using -platform or -xplatform.

[embdev]

i see. so let's say i've a generic embedded Linux board that's listed in the device, what are the additional commands I need to include in the qmake.conf file before I start compiling?

In the following example, i've appended "-hisiv400-" to indicate my hardware. Is this sufficient?

qmake configuration for building with arm-hisiv400-linux-g++

include(../../common/linux.conf)
include(../../common/gcc-base-unix.conf)
include(../../common/g++-unix.conf)
include(../../common/qws.conf)

modifications to g++.conf

QMAKE_CC = arm-hisiv400-linux-gcc
QMAKE_CXX = arm-hisiv400-linux-g++
QMAKE_LINK = arm-hisiv400-linux-g++
QMAKE_LINK_SHLIB = arm-hisiv400-linux-g++

modifications to linux.conf

QMAKE_AR = arm-hisiv400-linux-ar cqs
QMAKE_OBJCOPY = arm-hisiv400-linux-objcopy
QMAKE_STRIP = arm-hisiv400-linux-strip

load(qt_config)

[SGaist]

Hi,

If you have a cross-toolchain that is arm-hisiv400-linux- then yes, you should be good to go. Just make sure that you can call the executable from the command line where you will cross-compile Qt.

[embdev]

Actually by cross-compiling Qt, i'll be able to get the qmake.exe for my target device right?

Perhaps i'll give an overview of what I've done so far:

1. Installed Qt 5.7 in 64-bit Ubuntu (virtualbox)
2. Downloaded Qt 5.7 sources
3. Created a folder in /qtbase/mkspecs/devices/Linux-arm-hi3536-g++ and copied qmake-conf file from other folders in /devices
4. Amended qmake.conf to customize for my target embedded Linux device with the following commands:

---

QMAKE_INCDIR += /usr/include
QMAKE_INCDIR += /usr/include
HISILICON_CFLAGS += -march=armv7-a -mcpu=cortex-a9
QMAKE_CFLAGS += $$HILICON_FLAGS
QMAKE_CXXFLAGS += $$HILICON_FLAGS

5. Created a compile.sh file to include my ./configure parameters so I can run the compile.sh file instead of typing ./configure followed by the parameters. My parameters for my target device are:

---

#/bin/bash

./configure -confirm-license -release -eglfs -v -static -device linux-arm-hi3536-g++ -device-option CROSS_COMPILE=/opt/hisi-linux/x86-arm/arm-hisiv400-linux/bin/arm-hisiv400-linux-gnueabi- -sysroot /home/aa/Hi3536_SDK_V2.0.4.0/package/osdrv_single/rootfs_glibc_single -prefix /home/aa/Hi3536_SDK_V2.0.4.0/v1_QtEmbedded_5.7

6. When I run ./compile.sh script (with my ./configure parameters in it) in the terminal, I encountered the following error:

---

DEFAULT_INCDIRS="/opt/hisi-linux/x86-arm/arm-hisiv400-linux/arm-hisiv400-linux-gnueabi/include/c++/4.8.3
/opt/hisi-linux/x86-arm/arm-hisiv400-linux/arm-hisiv400-linux-gnueabi/include/c++/4.8.3/arm-hisiv400-linux-gnueabi
/opt/hisi-linux/x86-arm/arm-hisiv400-linux/arm-hisiv400-linux-gnueabi/include/c++/4.8.3/backward
/opt/hisi-linux/x86-arm/arm-hisiv400-linux/lib/gcc/arm-hisiv400-linux-gnueabi/4.8.3/include
/opt/hisi-linux/x86-arm/arm-hisiv400-linux/lib/gcc/arm-hisiv400-linux-gnueabi/4.8.3/include-fixed
/opt/hisi-linux/x86-arm/arm-hisiv400-linux/arm-hisiv400-linux-gnueabi/include
"
DEFAULT_LIBDIRS="/opt/hisi-linux/x86-arm/arm-hisiv400-linux/lib/gcc/arm-hisiv400-linux-gnueabi/4.8.3
/opt/hisi-linux/x86-arm/arm-hisiv400-linux/lib/gcc
/opt/hisi-linux/x86-arm/arm-hisiv400-linux/arm-hisiv400-linux-gnueabi/lib
/home/aa/Hi3536_SDK_V2.0.4.0/package/osdrv_single/rootfs_glibc_single/lib
/home/aa/Hi3536_SDK_V2.0.4.0/package/osdrv_single/rootfs_glibc_single/usr/lib
"
Creating qmake...
make: Nothing to be done for 'first'.
Running configuration tests...
Found pkg-config from $PATH: /usr/bin/pkg-config
Warning: Disabling pkg-config since PKG_CONFIG_LIBDIR is not set and
the host's .pc files would be used (even if you set PKG_CONFIG_PATH).
Set this variable to the directory that contains target .pc files
for pkg-config to function correctly when cross-compiling or
use -pkg-config to override this test.
Note: PKG_CONFIG_SYSROOT_DIR automatically set to /home/aa/Hi3536_SDK_V2.0.4.0/package/osdrv_single/rootfs_glibc_single
Determining architecture... ()
/opt/hisi-linux/x86-arm/arm-hisiv400-linux/bin/arm-hisiv400-linux-gnueabi-g++ -c -pipe -mfloat-abi=hard --sysroot=/home/aa/Hi3536_SDK_V2.0.4.0/package/osdrv_single/rootfs_glibc_single -g -Wall -W -fPIC -I. -I/usr/include -I../../mkspecs/devices/linux-arm-hi3536-g++ -o arch.o arch.cpp
In file included from /usr/include/stdio.h:27:0,
from arch.cpp:43:
/usr/include/features.h:367:25: fatal error: sys/cdefs.h: No such file or directory

include <sys/cdefs.h>

                     ^

compilation terminated.
Makefile:208: recipe for target 'arch.o' failed
make: *** [arch.o] Error 1
Unable to determine architecture!

Could not determine the target architecture!
Turn on verbose messaging (-v) to see the final report.
Determining architecture... ()
g++ -c -pipe -g -Wall -W -fPIC -I. -I../../mkspecs/linux-g++ -o arch.o arch.cpp
g++ -o arch arch.o
Found architecture in binary
CFG_HOST_ARCH="x86_64"
CFG_HOST_CPUFEATURES=" mmx sse sse2"
System architecture: 'unknown'
Host architecture: 'x86_64'
Precompiled-headers support enabled.
/opt/hisi-linux/x86-arm/arm-hisiv400-linux/bin/arm-hisiv400-linux-gnueabi-g++ -c -fvisibility=hidden fvisibility.c
Symbol visibility control enabled.
collect2: fatal error: cannot find 'ld'
compilation terminated.
/opt/hisi-linux/x86-arm/arm-hisiv400-linux/bin/arm-hisiv400-linux-gnueabi-g++ --sysroot=/home/aa/Hi3536_SDK_V2.0.4.0/package/osdrv_single/rootfs_glibc_single -o libtest.so -shared -Wl,-Bsymbolic-functions -fPIC bsymbolic_functions.c
bsymbolic_functions.c:2:2: error: #error "Symbolic function binding on this architecture may be broken, disabling it (see QTBUG-36129)."
#error "Symbolic function binding on this architecture may be broken, disabling it (see QTBUG-36129)."
^
Symbolic function binding disabled.
checking for C++11...
/opt/hisi-linux/x86-arm/arm-hisiv400-linux/bin/arm-hisiv400-linux-gnueabi-g++ -c -pipe -mfloat-abi=hard --sysroot=/home/aa/Hi3536_SDK_V2.0.4.0/package/osdrv_single/rootfs_glibc_single -O2 -std=gnu++11 -Wall -W -fPIC -I. -I/usr/include -I../../../mkspecs/devices/linux-arm-hi3536-g++ -o c++11.o c++11.cpp
In file included from /opt/hisi-linux/x86-arm/arm-hisiv400-linux/arm-hisiv400-linux-gnueabi/include/c++/4.8.3/arm-hisiv400-linux-gnueabi/bits/os_defines.h:39:0,
from /opt/hisi-linux/x86-arm/arm-hisiv400-linux/arm-hisiv400-linux-gnueabi/include/c++/4.8.3/arm-hisiv400-linux-gnueabi/bits/c++config.h:426,
from /opt/hisi-linux/x86-arm/arm-hisiv400-linux/arm-hisiv400-linux-gnueabi/include/c++/4.8.3/utility:68,
from c++11.cpp:46:
/usr/include/features.h:367:25: fatal error: sys/cdefs.h: No such file or directory

include <sys/cdefs.h>

                     ^

compilation terminated.
Makefile:195: recipe for target 'c++11.o' failed
make: *** [c++11.o] Error 1
C++11 disabled.
ERROR: Qt requires a C++11 compiler and yours does not seem to be that.
Please upgrade.

I know it's a long list but would greatly appreciate if you guys can just drop any comments you know.

Essentially, I want to create the qmake.exe so I can include into my kit and perform my software development work in Qt Creator IDE itself.

Thank you very much!

[SGaist]

Are you sure that your sysroot provides the dependencies needed for your target ?

[embdev]

@SGaist that's pretty much a valid note. Maybe that's not the correct sysroot path or incomplete. Is sysroot normally supplied in SDK or I need to build one myself? Does it resides normally in the kernel files that comes with the SDK itself? How may I determine if the sysroot provides the necessary dependencies?

[jeremy_k]

Perhaps the compiler needs "-std=c++11" in QMAKE_CXXFLAGS.

[embdev]

could it be due to my vendor supplied compiler? I think it's a 32-bit compiler.

[jeremy_k]

Never mind about the -std flag. I see "-std=gnu++11".

cdefs.h shouldn't be missing due to being a 32 bit compiler. The version I have comes from a glibc-headers x86_64 package. Can you find a copy of the file in the sysroot, and is that location in the include path passed to the compiler with -I?

[embdev]

the error log says it's unable to determine my target architecture and also something about c++11. Do I need to amend my qmake.conf file to do something about these 2 parameters mentioned above?

For the sysroot, i'm only able to locate rootfs in my SDK itself. Would it be ok to use the rootfs path in my configure line?

[embdev]

Hi @jeremy_k , could you elaborate by -l ?

[jeremy_k]

-I, as in -I../../../mkspecs/devices/linux-arm-hi3536-g++, specifies an include path to search.

[embdev]

@jeremy_k I see. Actually I went to study my CC directory again installed in /opt/ and managed to locate the missing files as mentioned above.

(1) I therefore amended my qmake.conf paths to the following directories:

----------- qmake.conf --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

QMAKE_INCDIR += /opt/hisi-linux/x86-arm/arm-hisiv400-linux/target/usr/include
QMAKE_LIBDIR += /opt/hisi-linux/x86-arm/arm-hisiv400-linux/target/usr/lib
QMAKE_LIBDIR += /opt/hisi-linux/x86-arm/arm-hisiv400-linux/target/lib

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(2) My configure script are as follows

---- configure script ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

./configure -confirm-license -release -eglfs -v -static -device linux-arm-hi3536-g++ -device-option CROSS_COMPILE=/opt/hisi-linux/x86-arm/arm-hisiv400-linux/target/bin/arm-hisiv400-linux- -sysroot /home/aa/Hi3536_SDK_V2.0.4.0/package/osdrv_single/rootfs_glibc_single -prefix /home/aa/Hi3536_SDK_V2.0.4.0/package/osdrv_single/rootfs_glibc_single/home/aa/Hi3536_SDK_V2.0.4.0/v1_QtEmbedded_5.7

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(3) I proceed to build my Qt 5.7 sources again with the configure script above and the errors reduced drastically to only about a page's worth of errors:

-------Build error messages from terminal -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

a@aa:~/Hi3536_SDK_V2.0.4.0/qt-everywhere-enterprise-src-5.7.0/qtbase$ ./build5.7_22-SEPT-16.sh
This is the Qt Device Creation Edition.

DEFAULT_INCDIRS="/opt/hisi-linux/x86-arm/arm-hisiv400-linux/arm-hisiv400-linux-gnueabi/include/c++/4.8.3
/opt/hisi-linux/x86-arm/arm-hisiv400-linux/arm-hisiv400-linux-gnueabi/include/c++/4.8.3/arm-hisiv400-linux-gnueabi
/opt/hisi-linux/x86-arm/arm-hisiv400-linux/arm-hisiv400-linux-gnueabi/include/c++/4.8.3/backward
/opt/hisi-linux/x86-arm/arm-hisiv400-linux/lib/gcc/arm-hisiv400-linux-gnueabi/4.8.3/include
/opt/hisi-linux/x86-arm/arm-hisiv400-linux/lib/gcc/arm-hisiv400-linux-gnueabi/4.8.3/include-fixed
/opt/hisi-linux/x86-arm/arm-hisiv400-linux/arm-hisiv400-linux-gnueabi/include
"
DEFAULT_LIBDIRS="/opt/hisi-linux/x86-arm/arm-hisiv400-linux/lib/gcc/arm-hisiv400-linux-gnueabi/4.8.3
/opt/hisi-linux/x86-arm/arm-hisiv400-linux/lib/gcc
/opt/hisi-linux/x86-arm/arm-hisiv400-linux/arm-hisiv400-linux-gnueabi/lib
/home/aa/Hi3536_SDK_V2.0.4.0/package/osdrv_single/rootfs_glibc_single/lib
/home/aa/Hi3536_SDK_V2.0.4.0/package/osdrv_single/rootfs_glibc_single/usr/lib
"
Creating qmake...
make: Nothing to be done for 'first'.
Running configuration tests...
Determining architecture... ()
/opt/hisi-linux/x86-arm/arm-hisiv400-linux/target/bin/arm-hisiv400-linux-g++ -c -pipe -mfloat-abi=hard --sysroot=/home/aa/Hi3536_SDK_V2.0.4.0/package/osdrv_single/rootfs_glibc_single -g -Wall -W -fPIC -I. -isystem /opt/hisi-linux/x86-arm/arm-hisiv400-linux/target/usr/include -I../../mkspecs/devices/linux-arm-hi3536-g++ -o arch.o arch.cpp
/opt/hisi-linux/x86-arm/arm-hisiv400-linux/target/bin/arm-hisiv400-linux-g++ -mfloat-abi=hard -o arch arch.o -L/opt/hisi-linux/x86-arm/arm-hisiv400-linux/target/usr/lib -L/opt/hisi-linux/x86-arm/arm-hisiv400-linux/target/lib -lrt --sysroot=/home/aa/Hi3536_SDK_V2.0.4.0/package/osdrv_single/rootfs_glibc_single
/opt/hisi-linux/x86-arm/arm-hisiv400-linux/bin/../lib/gcc/arm-hisiv400-linux-gnueabi/4.8.3/../../../../arm-hisiv400-linux-gnueabi/bin/ld: cannot find crt1.o: No such file or directory
/opt/hisi-linux/x86-arm/arm-hisiv400-linux/bin/../lib/gcc/arm-hisiv400-linux-gnueabi/4.8.3/../../../../arm-hisiv400-linux-gnueabi/bin/ld: cannot find crti.o: No such file or directory
collect2: error: ld returned 1 exit status
Makefile:91: recipe for target 'arch' failed
make: *** [arch] Error 1
Unable to determine architecture!

Could not determine the target architecture!
Turn on verbose messaging (-v) to see the final report.
Determining architecture... ()
g++ -c -pipe -g -Wall -W -fPIC -I. -I../../mkspecs/linux-g++ -o arch.o arch.cpp
g++ -o arch arch.o
Found architecture in binary
CFG_HOST_ARCH="x86_64"
CFG_HOST_CPUFEATURES=" mmx sse sse2"
System architecture: 'unknown'
Host architecture: 'x86_64'
Precompiled-headers support enabled.
/opt/hisi-linux/x86-arm/arm-hisiv400-linux/target/bin/arm-hisiv400-linux-g++ -c -fvisibility=hidden fvisibility.c
Symbol visibility control enabled.
collect2: fatal error: cannot find 'ld'
compilation terminated.
/opt/hisi-linux/x86-arm/arm-hisiv400-linux/target/bin/arm-hisiv400-linux-g++ --sysroot=/home/aa/Hi3536_SDK_V2.0.4.0/package/osdrv_single/rootfs_glibc_single -o libtest.so -shared -Wl,-Bsymbolic-functions -fPIC bsymbolic_functions.c
bsymbolic_functions.c:2:2: error: #error "Symbolic function binding on this architecture may be broken, disabling it (see QTBUG-36129)."
#error "Symbolic function binding on this architecture may be broken, disabling it (see QTBUG-36129)."
^
Symbolic function binding disabled.
checking for C++11...
/opt/hisi-linux/x86-arm/arm-hisiv400-linux/target/bin/arm-hisiv400-linux-g++ -c -pipe -mfloat-abi=hard --sysroot=/home/aa/Hi3536_SDK_V2.0.4.0/package/osdrv_single/rootfs_glibc_single -O2 -std=gnu++11 -Wall -W -fPIC -I. -isystem /opt/hisi-linux/x86-arm/arm-hisiv400-linux/target/usr/include -I../../../mkspecs/devices/linux-arm-hi3536-g++ -o c++11.o c++11.cpp
/opt/hisi-linux/x86-arm/arm-hisiv400-linux/target/bin/arm-hisiv400-linux-g++ -mfloat-abi=hard -Wl,-O1 -o c++11 c++11.o -L/opt/hisi-linux/x86-arm/arm-hisiv400-linux/target/usr/lib -L/opt/hisi-linux/x86-arm/arm-hisiv400-linux/target/lib -lrt --sysroot=/home/aa/Hi3536_SDK_V2.0.4.0/package/osdrv_single/rootfs_glibc_single
/opt/hisi-linux/x86-arm/arm-hisiv400-linux/bin/../lib/gcc/arm-hisiv400-linux-gnueabi/4.8.3/../../../../arm-hisiv400-linux-gnueabi/bin/ld: cannot find crt1.o: No such file or directory
/opt/hisi-linux/x86-arm/arm-hisiv400-linux/bin/../lib/gcc/arm-hisiv400-linux-gnueabi/4.8.3/../../../../arm-hisiv400-linux-gnueabi/bin/ld: cannot find crti.o: No such file or directory
collect2: error: ld returned 1 exit status
Makefile:91: recipe for target 'c++11' failed
make: *** [c++11] Error 1
C++11 disabled.
ERROR: Qt requires a C++11 compiler and yours does not seem to be that.
Please upgrade.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(4) Would you be able to provide some advice from here? I believe i'm pretty close to closing the errors

[SGaist]

What does linux-arm-hi3536-g++ --version return ?

[embdev]

@SGaist [linux-arm-hi3536-g++] is the folder I created in Qt, the compiler is arm-hisiv400-linux-g++ installed in /opt/. The version is as follows:

arm-hisiv400-linux-g++ (Hisilicon_v400) 4.8.3 20131202 (prerelease)
Copyright (C) 2013 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
This is free software; see the source for copying conditions. There is NO
warranty; not even for MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

[SGaist]

Can you take a look in your cross-compiler folder and search for where crti.o is ?

[embdev]

@SGaist actually I found the directory for crt1.o and crti.o. Do you know how to link to the correct directory for these 2 libs?

[SGaist]

Where is that file located ?

[embdev]

@SGaist it's stored in /opt/hisi-linux/x86-arm/arm-hisiv400-linux/target/usr/lib inside my toolchain installed on the host PC.