Linking Boost libs required by ASIO on Windows giving undefined reference errors

[florent.revelut]

Your compilation log does not fit with your example: in your log, your linker tries to link
@main.o mainwindow.o voiceview.o serialsid.o moc_mainwindow.o moc_voiceview.o@
In your .pro file, you have only one file, without preprocessing (moc)

After a bit of googling, (stackoverflow), seems to be a common problem, even without using Qt... Did you manage to link something without Qt already with boost ? From what I've read, you're doing it right.

[golgobot]

You are correct. Excuse the misleading compile output. I was trying to say that the important part of the output was the reference errors. Here is a more appropriate output generated from the exact example above.

bq.
Running build steps for project SIDController...
Configuration unchanged, skipping qmake step.
Starting: "C:\Qt\2010.05\mingw\bin\mingw32-make.exe"
C:/Qt/2010.05/mingw/bin/mingw32-make -f Makefile.Debug
mingw32-make[1]: Entering directory C:/workspaces/qt/SIDController-build-desktop' g++ -enable-stdcall-fixup -Wl,-enable-auto-import -Wl,-enable-runtime-pseudo-reloc -Wl,-subsystem,console -mthreads -Wl -o debug\SIDController.exe debug/main.o -L"c:\Qt\2010.05\qt\lib" -LC:/workspaces/qt/SIDController/../../../libs/boost_1_44/stage/lib/ -llibboost_filesystem-vc100-mt-sgd-1_44 -llibboost_system-vc100-mt-sgd-1_44 -lQtGuid4 -lQtCored4 mingw32-make[1]: Leaving directory C:/workspaces/qt/SIDController-build-desktop'
debug/main.o: In function _static_initialization_and_destruction_0': C:\workspaces\qt\SIDController-build-desktop/../../../libs/boost_1_44/boost/system/error_code.hpp:214: undefined reference to boost::system::generic_category()'
C:\workspaces\qt\SIDController-build-desktop/../../../libs/boost_1_44/boost/system/error_code.hpp:215: undefined reference to boost::system::generic_category()' C:\workspaces\qt\SIDController-build-desktop/../../../libs/boost_1_44/boost/system/error_code.hpp:216: undefined reference to boost::system::system_category()'
debug/main.o:C:\workspaces\qt\SIDController-build-desktop/../../../libs/boost_1_44/boost/system/error_code.hpp:211: undefined reference to boost::system::system_category()' debug/main.o:C:\workspaces\qt\SIDController-build-desktop/../../../libs/boost_1_44/boost/asio/detail/impl/winsock_init.ipp:39: undefined reference to WSAStartup@8'
debug/main.o:C:\workspaces\qt\SIDController-build-desktop/../../../libs/boost_1_44/boost/asio/detail/impl/winsock_init.ipp:48: undefined reference to `WSACleanup@0'
collect2: ld returned 1 exit status
mingw32-make[1]: *** [debug\SIDController.exe] Error 1
mingw32-make: *** [debug] Error 2
The process "C:\Qt\2010.05\mingw\bin\mingw32-make.exe" exited with code 2.
Error while building project SIDController (target: Desktop)
When executing build step 'Make'

The problem remains. I am unable to successfully link boost_system and boost_filesystem. Thanks for pointing that out.

[florent.revelut]

Another string which looks damn strange : you're compiling Qt with mingwin whereas you compiled boost with visual 10 (vc100 in library name).
Msvc and mingwin have different ABIs and can't be linekd together.
Either compile your Qt with Visual 2010 (you'll have to do it yourself) or compile boost with mingwin

[leon.anavi]

Hi golgobot,

In my opinion "this article":http://www.richelbilderbeek.nl/CppLinkErrorUndefinedReferenceToBoostSystemGet_system_categoryQtCreator.htm might be useful in your case. The suggested solution is to add the following line to your .pro file:

@LIBS += -lboost_system@

Cheers,
Leon

[florent.revelut]

Leon:
He's already got it (last -l, slightly differently formatted to take into account library):
@win32: LIBS += -L$$PWD/../../../libs/boost_1_44/stage/lib/ -llibboost_filesystem-vc100-mt -llibboost_system-vc100-mt@

[leon.anavi]

[quote author="florent.revelut" date="1304326427"]Leon:
He's already got it (last -l, slightly differently formatted to take into account library):
@win32: LIBS += -L$$PWD/../../../libs/boost_1_44/stage/lib/ -llibboost_filesystem-vc100-mt -llibboost_system-vc100-mt@[/quote]

May be the "lib" part in the name should be removed as "suggested in similar topic in stackoverflow":http://stackoverflow.com/questions/2958137/cannot-not-find-library-files-in-eclipse-cdt

Cheers,
Leon

[florent.revelut]

oh, true... It always confuse me between visual and gcc, which sometime truncate names differently. At least, trying is cheap !

[golgobot]

Thanks everyone. I started building boost using mingw before I went to work today. It should be done when I get home. I'll try that out and see if that works!

One last thing. Does anyone know the difference between libboost_system and boost_system? Is one static and the other dynamic?

[florent.revelut]

some linkers (especially gnu) removes lib at the beginning of file and extension (.a usually). This tradition comes from unix world, it's not followed extensively in windows world (I don't think msvc acts like that). Basically, using gnu ld (thus mingwin), to link a lib named libtoto.a, you would use -ltoto

[leon.anavi]

[quote author="golgobot" date="1304354643"]
One last thing. Does anyone know the difference between libboost_system and boost_system? Is one static and the other dynamic? [/quote]

This is a "qmake specific feature":http://doc.qt.nokia.com/latest/qmake-project-files.html#declaring-qt-libraries The familiar Unix-style notation for specifying libraries and paths can be used.

[quote author="florent.revelut" date="1304356117"]Basically, using gnu ld (thus mingwin), to link a lib named libtoto.a, you would use -ltoto

[/quote]

Excellent example :)

[golgobot]

Ok so I rebuild boost libraries using mingw. From my boost root I ran the command

@
bjam.exe --toolset=gcc --build-type=complete
@

This rebuilt the boost libraries using mingw. I ended up with a lot of libraries with ".a" extensions, the most important of which are libboost_system-mgw44-mt-1_44.a and libboost_filesystem-mgw44-mt-1_44.a. These are the two I want to link. My lib-includes in my .pro file looks like this below (the rest is the same as above)

@
win32: LIBS += -L$$PWD/../../../libs/boost_1_44/stage/lib/ -lboost_system-mgw44-mt-1_44 -lboost_filesystem-mgw44-mt-1_44

INCLUDEPATH += $$PWD/../../../libs/boost_1_44/stage/lib
DEPENDPATH += $$PWD/../../../libs/boost_1_44/stage/lib
@

the "lib" prefix is omitted, which is standard for including gcc libs.

When I compile I get the exact same error

bq.
C:\workspaces\qt\SIDController-build-desktop/../../../libs/boost_1_44/boost/system/error_code.hpp:214: undefined reference to boost::system::generic_category()' C:\workspaces\qt\SIDController-build-desktop/../../../libs/boost_1_44/boost/system/error_code.hpp:215: undefined reference to boost::system::generic_category()'
C:\workspaces\qt\SIDController-build-desktop/../../../libs/boost_1_44/boost/system/error_code.hpp:216: undefined reference to boost::system::system_category()' debug/serialsid.o:C:\workspaces\qt\SIDController-build-desktop/../../../libs/boost_1_44/boost/system/error_code.hpp:211: undefined reference to boost::system::system_category()'
debug/serialsid.o:C:\workspaces\qt\SIDController-build-desktop/../../../libs/boost_1_44/boost/asio/detail/impl/winsock_init.ipp:39: undefined reference to WSAStartup@8' debug/serialsid.o:C:\workspaces\qt\SIDController-build-desktop/../../../libs/boost_1_44/boost/asio/detail/impl/winsock_init.ipp:48: undefined reference to WSACleanup@0'
collect2: ld returned 1 exit status

After some more searching online I found a "post":http://stackoverflow.com/questions/1814548/boostsystem-category-defined-but-not-used that suggested I put this define statement

@
#ifndef BOOST_SYSTEM_NO_DEPRECATED
#define BOOST_SYSTEM_NO_DEPRECATED 1
#endif
@

Before my include. I ran the build and now I get only one error (and lots of warnings, but let's ignore those for now)

bq.
......\libs\boost_1_44/boost/asio/error.hpp: In function 'const boost::system::error_category& boost::asio::error::get_system_category()':
......\libs\boost_1_44/boost/asio/error.hpp:220: error: 'get_system_category' is not a member of 'boost::system'

I tried Googling that error, but came up with nothing. So I don't really feel closer to a solution. Just more confused than ever before. I look forward to seeing if anyone can help solve this mystery :)

[golgobot]

I also feel like I should have to be placing hacky #defines throughout my code to get it to link properly.

[florent.revelut]

The linker is sensitive to the order in which you link : you must link file_system, then system. Basically, file_system relies on system, this latter must appear after on the command line.

Could you please paste the exact command line that make is running ? Seems strange that it doesn't work...

[golgobot]

The actual command that it is running is

bq. g++ -enable-stdcall-fixup -Wl,-enable-auto-import -Wl,-enable-runtime-pseudo-reloc -Wl,-s -Wl,-subsystem,console -mthreads -Wl -o release\SIDController.exe release/main.o -L"c:\Qt\2010.05\qt\lib" -LC:/workspaces/qt/SIDController/../../../libs/boost_1_44/stage/lib/ -lboost_filesystem-mgw44-mt-1_44 -lboost_system-mgw44-mt-1_44 -lQtGui4 -lQtCore4

It seems to be including the libraries for linking. I also switched the order of the libraries so boost_filesystem was first

[golgobot]

And here is the complete output after a clean, then rebuild. Presented in two parts cause the max char limit for a post is 6000. This is easily reproducible using main.cpp shown at the beginning of the post in Windows 7 on a 64 bit processor. Could there be a 32 vs 64 bit issue?

bq. Running build steps for project SIDController...
Starting: "C:Qtqtcreator-2.1.84mingwbinmingw32-make.exe" clean
C:/Qt/qtcreator-2.1.84/mingw/bin/mingw32-make -f Makefile.Release clean
mingw32-make[1]: Entering directory C:/workspaces/qt/SIDController-build-desktop' del releasemain.o mingw32-make[1]: Leaving directory C:/workspaces/qt/SIDController-build-desktop'
C:/Qt/qtcreator-2.1.84/mingw/bin/mingw32-make -f Makefile.Debug clean
mingw32-make[1]: Entering directory C:/workspaces/qt/SIDController-build-desktop' del debugmain.o mingw32-make[1]: Leaving directory C:/workspaces/qt/SIDController-build-desktop'
Could Not Find C:workspacesqtSIDController-build-desktopreleasemain.o
Could Not Find C:workspacesqtSIDController-build-desktopdebugmain.o
The process "C:Qtqtcreator-2.1.84mingwbinmingw32-make.exe" exited normally.
Starting: "c:qt2010.05qtbinqmake.exe" C:workspacesqtSIDControllerSIDController.pro -r -spec win32-g++ "CONFIG+=release"
The process "c:qt2010.05qtbinqmake.exe" exited normally.
Starting: "C:Qtqtcreator-2.1.84mingwbinmingw32-make.exe"
C:/Qt/qtcreator-2.1.84/mingw/bin/mingw32-make -f Makefile.Release
mingw32-make[1]: Entering directory `C:/workspaces/qt/SIDController-build-desktop'
g++ -c -O2 -frtti -fexceptions -mthreads -Wall -DUNICODE -DQT_LARGEFILE_SUPPORT -DQT_DLL -DQT_NO_DEBUG -DQT_GUI_LIB -DQT_CORE_LIB -DQT_THREAD_SUPPORT -I"......Qt2010.05qtincludeQtCore" -I"......Qt2010.05qtincludeQtGui" -I"......Qt2010.05qtinclude" -I"......libsboost_1_44" -I"......libsboost_1_44stagelib" -I"......Qt2010.05qtincludeActiveQt" -I"release" -I"..SIDController" -I"." -I"......Qt2010.05qtmkspecswin32-g++" -o releasemain.o ..SIDControllermain.cpp
In file included from ......libsboost_1_44/boost/asio/basic_datagram_socket.hpp:18,
from ......libsboost_1_44/boost/asio.hpp:20,
from ..SIDControllermain.cpp:3:
......libsboost_1_44/boost/asio/detail/config.hpp:59:5: warning: #warning Please define _WIN32_WINNT or _WIN32_WINDOWS appropriately.
......libsboost_1_44/boost/asio/detail/config.hpp:60:5: warning: #warning For example, add -D_WIN32_WINNT=0x0501 to the compiler command line.
......libsboost_1_44/boost/asio/detail/config.hpp:61:5: warning: #warning Assuming _WIN32_WINNT=0x0501 (i.e. Windows XP target).
In file included from ......libsboost_1_44/boost/asio/detail/win_iocp_handle_service.hpp:281,
from ......libsboost_1_44/boost/asio/detail/win_iocp_serial_port_service.hpp:26,
from ......libsboost_1_44/boost/asio/serial_port_service.hpp:26,
from ......libsboost_1_44/boost/asio/basic_serial_port.hpp:29,
from ......libsboost_1_44/boost/asio.hpp:24,
from ..SIDControllermain.cpp:3:
......libsboost_1_44/boost/asio/detail/impl/win_iocp_handle_service.ipp: In constructor 'boost::asio::detail::win_iocp_handle_service::overlapped_wrapper::overlapped_wrapper(boost::system::error_code&)':
......libsboost_1_44/boost/asio/detail/impl/win_iocp_handle_service.ipp:49: warning: dereferencing type-punned pointer will break strict-aliasing rules
In file included from ......libsboost_1_44/boost/asio/ip/address_v6.hpp:227,
from ......libsboost_1_44/boost/asio/ip/address.hpp:22,
from ......libsboost_1_44/boost/asio.hpp:46,
from ..SIDControllermain.cpp:3:
......libsboost_1_44/boost/asio/ip/impl/address_v6.ipp: In constructor 'boost::asio::ip::address_v6::address_v6()':
......libsboost_1_44/boost/asio/ip/impl/address_v6.ipp:37: warning: missing braces around initializer for 'in6_addr::<anonymous union>'
......libsboost_1_44/boost/asio/ip/impl/address_v6.ipp:37: warning: missing braces around initializer for 'u_char [16]'
......libsboost_1_44/boost/asio/ip/impl/address_v6.ipp: In static member function 'static boost::asio::ip::address_v6 boost::asio::ip::address_v6::loopback()':
......libsboost_1_44/boost/asio/ip/impl/address_v6.ipp:259: warning: missing braces around initializer for 'in6_addr::<anonymous union>'
......libsboost_1_44/boost/asio/ip/impl/address_v6.ipp:259: warning: missing braces around initializer for 'u_char [16]'
In file included from ......libsboost_1_44/boost/asio/ip/detail/endpoint.hpp:139,
from ......libsboost_1_44/boost/asio/ip/basic_endpoint.hpp:20,
from ......libsboost_1_44/boost/asio.hpp:49,
from ..SIDControllermain.cpp:3:
......libsboost_1_44/boost/asio/ip/detail/impl/endpoint.ipp: In constructor 'boost::asio::ip::detail::endpoint::endpoint(int, short unsigned int)':
......libsboost_1_44/boost/asio/ip/detail/impl/endpoint.ipp:60: warning: missing braces around initializer for 'in6_addr::<anonymous union>'
......libsboost_1_44/boost/asio/ip/detail/impl/endpoint.ipp:60: warning: missing braces around initializer for 'u_char [16]'

[golgobot]

Part 2

bq. g++ -enable-stdcall-fixup -Wl,-enable-auto-import -Wl,-enable-runtime-pseudo-reloc -Wl,-s -Wl,-subsystem,console -mthreads -Wl -o releaseSIDController.exe release/main.o -L"c:Qt2010.05qtlib" -LC:/workspaces/qt/SIDController/../../../libs/boost_1_44/stage/lib/ -lboost_filesystem-mgw44-mt-1_44 -lboost_system-mgw44-mt-1_44 -lQtGui4 -lQtCore4
mingw32-make[1]: Leaving directory C:/workspaces/qt/SIDController-build-desktop' release/main.o:main.cpp:(.text+0xda): undefined reference to WSAStartup@8'
release/main.o:main.cpp:(.text+0xff): undefined reference to boost::system::generic_category()' release/main.o:main.cpp:(.text+0x109): undefined reference to boost::system::generic_category()'
release/main.o:main.cpp:(.text+0x113): undefined reference to boost::system::system_category()' release/main.o:main.cpp:(.text+0x138): undefined reference to boost::system::system_category()'
release/main.o:main.cpp:(.text+0x142): undefined reference to boost::system::system_category()' release/main.o:main.cpp:(.text+0x14c): undefined reference to boost::system::system_category()'
release/main.o:main.cpp:(.text+0xa6): undefined reference to WSACleanup@0' release/main.o:main.cpp:(.text$_ZN5boost4asio6detail18win_tss_ptr_createEv[boost::asio::detail::win_tss_ptr_create()]+0x28): undefined reference to boost::system::system_category()'
collect2: ld returned 1 exit status
mingw32-make[1]: *** [releaseSIDController.exe] Error 1
mingw32-make: *** [release] Error 2
The process "C:Qtqtcreator-2.1.84mingwbinmingw32-make.exe" exited with code 2.
Error while building project SIDController (target: Desktop)
When executing build step 'Make

[golgobot]

Ok I got it to compile, but it's not pretty at all.

Firstly, I added the preprocessor definition mentioned above and documented "here":http://www.boost.org/doc/libs/1_44_0/libs/system/doc/reference.html to my .pro file, plus I also had to add a windows library called ws2_32, so my new .pro file looks like this (ignore how it's not cross platform)

@
DEFINES += BOOST_SYSTEM_NO_DEPRECATED

win32: LIBS += -L$$PWD/../../../libs/boost_1_44/stage/lib/ -lboost_filesystem-mgw44-mt-1_44 -lboost_system-mgw44-mt-1_44 -lws2_32
@

After all that I was getting one more error

bq.
error.hpp:220: error: 'get_system_category' is not a member of 'boost::system'

So I just commented that line out like so

@
inline const boost::system::error_category& get_system_category()
{
//return boost::system::get_system_category();
}
@

At least it compiles. I have no idea if it runs yet or how important that line of code is. That method is defined inside an "#ifndef BOOST_SYSTEM_NO_DEPRECATED", so I don't know why that function uses a method that can potentially by ifdef'ed out.

I'm used to running in Visual Studio where all this stuff just work.

If anyone has a better way, PLEASE, let me know! Thanks for everyone's help so far.

[mlong]

bq. So I just commented that line out... At least it compiles.

I don't want this to devolve into a discussion of how to debug and patch boost, but from a general coding standpoint this doesn't seem like a very good idea at all. You now have a method that has no return value at all. While it may compile, it's just setting the stage for an unknown bug to pop up down the line if the get_system_category() method should be called somewhere down the line. At the very least, if you do go this route, you might consider putting some sort of warning debug message in that method and returning some known default value.

[raulgd]

I know this is a very old post, but just for reference in case someone needs it in the future, the best way to get ASIO working with Qt is using it by itself instead of using the Boost integrated version.

Asio is a project on its own, and it doesn't need the Boost dependency in case you need to use it in something else (like Qt). Here's the project link in case someone needs it: "Think Async ASIO":http://think-async.com

I had a lot of issues until I was able to just get rid of Boost, which has things that I can already do with Qt, and in a much easier and cleaner way.

Thanks

[DanielS]

Thanks a lot, i really helped me and save coutless hours of research!!!