static building with 3rd party library

mzimmers

Hi all -

I posted about this awhile back, and had it working, but upon updating to 5.14.1 and doing a rebuild, the problem has recurred.

I need to build a static, standalone app that uses a 3rd-party library (expat). I've added this to my .pro file:

expatInstallsDebug.files = "C:/Program Files (x86)/Expat 2.2.5/Bin/libexpat.dll"
expatInstallsDebug.path = $$OUT_PWD

expatInstallsRelease.files = "C:/Program Files (x86)/Expat 2.2.5/Bin/libexpat.lib"
expatInstallsRelease.path = $$OUT_PWD

INSTALLS += expatInstallsDebug expatInstallsRelease

And added a "make install" step to my build. Now my dynamic build works. But when I build static, and remove the .exe from its directory, I get an error:

The code execution cannot proceed because libexpat.dll was not found. Reinstalling the program may fix this problem.

It appears that I need to add some logic in my .pro file that is debug/release specific. Can someone suggest how I might best accomplish this?

Thanks...

kshegunov

@mzimmers said in static building with 3rd party library:

It appears that I need to add some logic in my .pro file that is debug/release specific. Can someone suggest how I might best accomplish this?

CONFIG(static, shared|static): // Stuff for static

CONFIG(debug, debug|release): // Stuff for debug
 
CONFIG(release, debug|release): // Stuff for release

mzimmers

@kshegunov thanks. I've read the documentation about the CONFIG variable; seems kind of like a Swiss army knife -- lots of uses. I still don't understand the syntax (in terms of how to fully form the CONFIG statement) but I'm guessing I need to use the "link_prl" option somehow?

I'm starting to remember a previous go with this...I think you were one of the people who helped me. I seem to recall problems with using the .lib directly, and needing the .dll. You provided a rather elaborate solution, the details of which I can't recall nor find by searching this forum. Does this ring a bell with you?

kshegunov

@mzimmers said in static building with 3rd party library:

I've read the documentation about the CONFIG variable; seems kind of like a Swiss army knife -- lots of uses.

Yes, it has.

I still don't understand the syntax (in terms of how to fully form the CONFIG statement)

It's a sort of string matching machinery.

CONFIG(debug, debug|release): # evaluates to true if debug is present in CONFIG out of the possible `debug` and `release` values

I'm starting to remember a previous go with this...I think you were one of the people who helped me. I seem to recall problems with using the .lib directly, and needing the .dll. You provided a rather elaborate solution, the details of which I can't recall nor find by searching this forum. Does this ring a bell with you?

Usually it's the other way around, but it may be and I've just forgotten. I have no recollection of it, sorry.

mzimmers

Found it!

link text

I'm using MinGW (not MSVC). Are the C-runtime libraries available in static form, or do I need to build them?

Perhaps I should stop focusing on building the standalone app, and instead just supplying a .msi style installation?

SGaist

Hi,

IIRC, you would also have to rebuild Qt itself to use the static runtime (at least that's what you have to do with Visual Studio). You have four option static/shared using static/shared runtime. I am not sure MinGW provides the equivalent for the runtime part.

mzimmers

@SGaist I use -static -static-runtime in my configure command; is that what you're talking about?

kshegunov

@SGaist said in static building with 3rd party library:

I am not sure MinGW provides the equivalent for the runtime part.

No not that I know of. MinGW uses a thin wrapper around the MS C runtime, but I don't believe you can instruct it to link the msvcrt statically. I think the best that can be accomplished is to force it to not depend on its wrapper dynamically.

@mzimmers said in static building with 3rd party library:

Are the C-runtime libraries available in static form, or do I need to build them?

If you mean the microsoft's runtime, yes, they're available. But I don't think there's a straightforward (or any) way to use them with mingw.

Perhaps I should stop focusing on building the standalone app, and instead just supplying a .msi style installation?

That's what'd be my preferred method, honestly. Static binaries have some advantages (and disadvantages), but my personal preference is to just deploy with dynamic libraries.

I use -static -static-runtime in my configure command; is that what you're talking about?

Yes, that's the two relevant flags.

mzimmers

@kshegunov yeah, I suppose you're right. I have one customer who likes things as simple as possible, and to him, simple equates to a single .exe file that he can move anywhere. He's a HW engineer, incipiently mistrustful of SW, and more so when it gets what he perceives as complicated. But...maybe it's time I reminded him that Clinton's out of office, and times have changed.

I'm really close to getting this to work, though...the only file that my .exe needs is the libexpat.dll. If I move that file with my .exe it runs.

kshegunov

@mzimmers said in static building with 3rd party library:

@kshegunov yeah, I suppose you're right. I have one customer who likes things as simple as possible, and to him, simple equates to a single .exe file that he can move anywhere. He's a HW engineer, incipiently mistrustful of SW, and more so when it gets what he perceives as complicated. But...maybe it's time I reminded him that Clinton's out of office, and times have changed.

Comes with the territory, I guess. As a physicist, I don't put much faith in engineers either ... although I must admit my reservations are mostly misguided ...

I'm really close to getting this to work, though...the only file that my .exe needs is the libexpat.dll. If I move that file with my .exe it runs.

Hm, is that a Qt dependency, or one of your own? I don't recall deploying it ...

mzimmers

expat is a 3rd party library XML parser. It's built into the IDF for my target processor (with which my Qt program communicates), so I just decided to use it with Qt as well.