I have a large codebase with Linux dependencies, and I would like to use CMake to compile my code into an executable that can be run on Windows, i.e. I want CMake to produce an ".exe" file or something of that nature.
I have tried using the solution provided on the CMake website: https://cmake.org/cmake/help/v3.4/manual/cmake-toolchains.7.html#cross-compiling
however it has not worked...
Here is my CMakeLists.txt
cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.10)
project(myProject VERSION 1.0 LANGUAGES C CXX)
set(CMAKE_CROSSCOMPILING true)
set(CMAKE_SYSTEM_NAME Windows)
set(CMAKE_SYSTEM_VERSION 10.0)
set(CMAKE_SYSTEM_PROCESSOR arm)
find_package(... *all my required packages* REQUIRED)
include(... *required include files*)
add_executable(${PROJECT_NAME} ...)
target_link_libraries(${PROJECT_NAME} ...)
It compiles and will execute on Linux, however I want it to produce a Windows compatible executable.
You need a mingw-w64 toolchain in Linux to do this, for example on Arch Linux you can get all the necessary mingw-w64-... packages through AUR, including mingw-w64-cmake. These packets should get you going:
mingw-w64-binutils-symlinks
mingw-w64-gcc
mingw-w64-cmake
Install others to fulfill any dependencies of your software.
Then you can just run mingw-w64-cmake instead of cmake using your regular CMakeLists.txt. E.g.:
mkdir build-mingw; cd build-mingw
x86_64-w64-mingw32-cmake ../
make
However typically it is a good idea to use a static build so your executable will work standalone. Here is how I do it:
# STATIC stuff (Windows)
if (${CMAKE_SYSTEM_NAME} MATCHES "Windows")
set(BUILD_FOR_WIN TRUE)
endif()
option(STATIC_BUILD "Build a static binary." ${BUILD_FOR_WIN})
if (STATIC_BUILD)
set(CMAKE_EXE_LINKER_FLAGS "-static")
set(CMAKE_FIND_LIBRARY_SUFFIXES ".a" CONFIG)
set(BUILD_SHARED_LIBS OFF)
endif()
Which creates a variable, STATIC_BUILD, that the user can set, and is defaulted to ON if compiling for Windows.
There is not much more you need to adapt in your CMake files. For example I need to include extra Qt platform plugins when building Qt:
if (STATIC_BUILD AND ${CMAKE_SYSTEM_NAME} MATCHES "Windows")
# include plugins into static build on windows
# (we lack support for static on other platforms right now)
set(QT_PLUGINS SvgIcon WindowsIntegration WindowsVistaStyle)
endif()
The key takeaway here for you is first to get the proper environment on your system.
I have a project which must be build for two different architectures. I am running a x86_64 Linux machine with gcc installed at default path and also I have a cross-compiler gcc for second PowerPC Linux machine.
I have one CMakeLists.txt file where compiler choice depends on passed variable.
The problem is that when it uses not default compiler it somehow uses default linker that obviously can not link the executable with provided libraries.
So, I set
set(CMAKE_C_COMPILER ${tools}/bin/powerpc-e500v2-linux-gnuspe-gcc)
set(CMAKE_CXX_COMPILER ${tools}/bin/powerpc-e500v2-linux-gnuspe-g++)
so it would use my cross-compiler but then there are errors in console
/usr/bin/ld: skipping incompatible /home/namtarr/Documents/libevent/usr/lib/powerpc-linux-gnuspe/libevent.a when searching for -levent
If I try to set
set(CMAKE_C_LINK_EXECUTABLE ${tools}/bin/powerpc-e500v2-linux-gnuspe-ld)
set(CMAKE_CXX_LINK_EXECUTABLE ${tools}/bin/powerpc-e500v2-linux-gnuspe-ld)
it throws another error
/home/namtarr/x-tools/powerpc-e500v2-linux-gnuspe/bin/powerpc-e500v2-linux-gnuspe-ld: no input files
So how can I properly set linker in Cmake and pass needed input files to it so I could build my project for two platforms with one CMakeLists.txt?
I am having difficulties with cross compiling stunnel for an ARM device.
Cross compiling OpenSSL was done via this CMake project: http://www.valvers.com/open-software/projects/openssl-cmake/ and it runs successfully on the target device.
The CMake toolchain file I use when compiling OpenSSL:
SET(CMAKE_SYSTEM_NAME Linux)
SET(CMAKE_C_COMPILER /home/elias/toolchains/axotec/3.4.1/bin/arm-linux-gcc)
SET(CMAKE_CXX_COMPILER /home/elias/toolchains/axotec/3.4.1/bin/arm-linux-g++)
SET(CMAKE_FIND_ROOT_PATH /home/elias/toolchains/axotec/3.4.1/arm-linux /home/elias/toolchains/axotec/3.4.1/library-for-ramdisk )
set(CMAKE_FIND_ROOT_PATH_MODE_PROGRAM NEVER)
set(CMAKE_FIND_ROOT_PATH_MODE_LIBRARY ONLY)
set(CMAKE_FIND_ROOT_PATH_MODE_INCLUDE ONLY)
My question is how do I cross compile stunnel in a similar fashion? I'm struggling with passing stunnel makefile the whole sysroot dir just like in the cmake toolchain file SET(CMAKE_FIND_ROOT_PATH /home/elias/toolchains/axotec/3.4.1/arm-linux /home/elias/toolchains/axotec/3.4.1/library-for-ramdisk )
My atempts include, after running the configure, rewriting the makefile CFLAGS with --sysroot= but where to put the second folder?(library-for-arm)
General idea:
The openssl-cmake project uses CMake build infrastructure. Hence just specifying the toolchain worked for you. I looked at stunnel source code and they use the traditional GNU Autotools for the build infrastructure which means you cannot use cmake directly on that project. (./configure && make && make install)
You would have to use ExternalProject_Add to compile stunnel using cmake.
Take a look at the following links for more information.
http://www.kitware.com/media/html/BuildingExternalProjectsWithCMake2.8.html
http://www.cmake.org/cmake/help/v3.2/module/ExternalProject.html
Also this:
Pass parameter with spaces to CMake ExternalProject_Add BUILD_COMMAND
CMakeLists.txt
cmake_minimum_required (VERSION 3.2)
include(ExternalProject)
set(CROSS_INFO CC=${CMAKE_C_COMPILER} CXX=${CMAKE_CXX_COMPILER} AR=${CMAKE_AR})
ExternalProject_Add(
stunnel
URL http://www.stunnel.org/downloads/stunnel-5.17.tar.gz
CONFIGURE_COMMAND <SOURCE_DIR>/configure --host=powerpc --with-sysroot=${CMAKE_FIND_ROOT_PATH} ${CROSS_INFO}
)
Additional info:
I tried to run the above project locally on my system and I ended up spending an hour debugging it with the powerpc toolchain file I have. There is some problem with the configure script of stunnel. The way sysroot and with-ssl dir are being calculated is kind of not correct. You might have to mess with the configure file to get the cross compile to work. But the general idea is specified above.
I am trying to build c file included by ndk under cygwin
In Android.mk, I add -I/usr/include to LOCAL_FLAGS like
LOCAL_FLAGS := -I/usr/include
And I have checked that openssl does under /usr/include
But when I run ndk-build under by project dir, it output
"fatal error: openssl/ssl.h: No such file or directory"
I think I have specified the include directory, but not solve this problem.
Is there any other way can I try?
You seem to have some gaps in your knowledge:
C code compiles to processor's native instruction set. Your desktop/build machine probably has a different architecture from your Android device(thus a different instruction set).
NDK doesn't just compile, it cross-compiles. It means that the NDK runs on the build machine, but the executable it produces cannot run on the build machine(different instruction sets).
All libraries on your desktop are in your desktop's processoer's instruction set. Thus, you cannot link any program build by the NDK using the desktop's libraries. This means:
No includes from '/usr/include/'
No libs from /lib, /usr/lib, /lib64 or /usr/lib64
No Cygwin packages under on Windows
What you need to do is build your own openssl using the NDK and use that to link against when you build your executable.
Please note that the answer is missing a lot of information (at least 3 Bachelor's level Computer Science courses worth of information).
+1 for each piece of information that helps to complete the whole picture. You don't need to know the whole answer. I'll appreciate individual pieces of the puzzle just as much. Thanks.
I am about to attempt my first cross-compilation. I have searched both SO and the web and found many pieces of information, but I don't always know how to put those pieces together because there are still some missing pieces.
My host: linux Kubuntu amd64.
Target: linux kubuntu x86 (32bit) (should be easy, no?)
Tools: g++ and cmake.
Here is the information I found:
How to compile a 32-bit binary on a 64-bit linux machine with gcc/cmake
mentions export CFLAGS=-m32. That's one piece.
Cross-platform: selecting data types to use 32/64 bit
mentions data types. I may have to pay attention to that within my code.
#ifdef for 32-bit platform
#ifdef for 32-bit platform
links to the following, although I am not too sure yet how to use it:
http://predef.sourceforge.net/prearch.html
http://ww.ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1377396
I did: sudo apt-get install g++-multilib
missing pieces:
Ideally, when I do 'make' (with cmake), it should spit out both a amd64 binary and a x86 one.
Part of my CMakeLists.txt looks like this:
add_definitions(-Wall -pthread)
add_executable (../run.amd64 user.cpp time.cpp init.cpp utils.cpp main.cpp)
target_link_libraries(../run.amd64 cppcms dbixx config++ ctemplate)
How do I introduce the flag -m32 to create a second executable?
Should I want to make only one executable (e.g. for testing and debugging), how do I tell cmake to make either one or both binaries?
Also, you can see that I use some third party libraries, some of which I had to compile myself. Does this mean that I need to compile each of those binaries for the target host as well? Some use cmake and some use: ./configure; make;
How would I do about compiling those libraries for the target host (flags to use, etc.)?
Note: the dynamically linked libraries are already compiled and installed on the target computer, so maybe I don't need to worry about this step... I am not sure: this is one of my missing pieces...
What I need is a kind of tutorial, or at least some of the missing pieces. I'll update this post with more details on what I achieved and how.
Thanks.
P.S.
Is it possible at all?
Searching more, I found this:
http://www.mail-archive.com/cmake#cmake.org/msg26265.html
"The original design doesn't seem to be designed for anything more than windows-linux or linux-windows cross compiles."
cmake is NOT tested for linux amd64 to linux x86.
http://www.cmake.org/Wiki/CMake_Cross_Compiling#FAQ.2FPotential_Problems
"On mixed 32/64 bit Linux installations cross compilation cannot be used to build for 32/64 bit only."
??
If you want to use a toolchain file there is an easier solution (IMHO) than what is proposed by #auledoom. You do not need to write the shell wrapper scripts at all, simply put this in the toolchain file:
# the name of the target operating system
set(CMAKE_SYSTEM_NAME Linux)
# Which compilers to use for C and C++
set(CMAKE_C_COMPILER gcc -m32)
set(CMAKE_CXX_COMPILER g++ -m32)
This will make it a "list variable" in cmake. This solution works for me. Benefit of the toolchain file is that you can there also define paths for 32bit libraries etc, which is usually different from standard paths.
This solution will allow you cross-compile your cmake project on a linux64 host targeting 32bits, on systems with multi-arch support.
It's uses a "fake" cmake toolchain so CMAKE somehow "believes" it's on 32bit system, so no additional modifications are needed inside your cmake project files, no special configurations, no special settings (well almost).
Install multilib support:
$sudo apt-get install gcc-multilib
Create a "fake" linux32 toolchain
First, we create a "fake" i686 compiler. Go where your CMakeLists.txt resides and create a bin directory. Open your preferred editor and create this simple bash script for gcc compiler.
#!/bin/sh
/usr/bin/gcc -m32 "$#"
As you see, it's just make a call to the system compiler adding the -m flag. Save this as i686-linux-gnu-gcc. Do the same for the g++ compiler
#!/bin/sh
/usr/bin/g++ -m32 "$#"
Save it as i686-linux-gnu-g++. Remember to set the executable flags on this scrips
Create also a symlink to the system ar binary in this form
$ln /usr/bin/ar i686-linux-gnu-ar
At last create the toolchain-linux32.cmake file
# the name of the target operating system
set(CMAKE_SYSTEM_NAME Linux)
# Which compilers to use for C and C++
set(CMAKE_C_COMPILER ${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR}/bin/i686-linux-gnu-gcc)
set(CMAKE_CXX_COMPILER ${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR}/bin/i686-linux-gnu-g++)
and create the build directory and call cmake with the toolchain file as argument
$mkdir build && cd build
$cmake -DCMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE=../toolchain-linux32.cmake ..
and your done!!!!!
I'll write a more complete guide here, which covers some problems i have with libraries not multi-lib compliant
this is a simplified version of what I use, and it does create x86 binaries:
set( TargetName myExe )
set( SOURCES a.cpp b.cpp )
add_executable( ${TargetName} ${SOURCES} )
target_link_libraries( ${TargetName} m pthread stdc++ )
set_target_properties( ${TargetName} PROPERTIES COMPILE_FLAGS -m32 LINK_FLAGS -m32 )
furthermore you'll use add_definitions to set compiler flags like -W -Ox -Dxxx etc.
All the lines above are actually split in seperate cmake files, and to get one file to build a number of executables, I generate a master cmake file containing all different configurations I want to build:
project( myProject )
set( SOURCES a.cpp b.cpp )
if( ${ConfigurationType} strequal "Debugx86" )
include( debugopts.cmake )
include( x86.cmake )
include( executable.cmake )
...
elseif( ${ConfigurationType} strequal "Releasex64" )
include( debugopts.cmake )
include( x86.cmake )
include( executable.cmake )
...
etc
Then there's a driver shell script to build it all. It takes commandline options to set some extra options and select to build everything or just one configuration. Here's a piece of it:
if [ "$myConfig" = "all" -o "$myConfig" = "Debugx86" ]; then
mkdir -p project_Debugx86
cd project_Debugx86
cmkake "$sourceDir" "$cmakeOpts" -DConfigurationType="Debugx86"
make clean
make "$makeopts"
fi
if [ "$myConfig" = "all" -o "$myConfig" = "Releasex64" ]; then
mkdir -p project_Releasex64
cd project_Releasex64
cmkake "$sourceDir" "$cmakeOpts" -DConfigurationType="Releasex64
make clean
make "$makeopts"
fi
While this is not exactly what you ask for, it works flawlessly and does the same. (Not sure if it is possible in cmake to define any number of targets in cmake itself, and have them built all together by one file.) It just takes some time to write the generator for this files, but once that is done all I have to do is point the generator to a directory with sources, let ir run, then invoke the build script to make everything.
All you need is to add -m32 to CFLAGS and CXXFLAGS when running CMake. This can be done via environment variables:
$ CFLAGS=-m32 CXXFLAGS=-m32 cmake .
or by setting corresponding CMake variables:
$ cmake -DCMAKE_C_FLAGS=-m32 -DCMAKE_CXX_FLAGS=-m32 .
This can easily tested with a simple CMake project:
$ uname -m
x86_64
$ CFLAGS=-m32 CXXFLAGS=-m32 cmake .
-- The C compiler identification is GNU 4.8.1
-- The CXX compiler identification is GNU 4.8.1
....
$ make
Scanning dependencies of target foo
[100%] Building CXX object CMakeFiles/foo.dir/foo.cc.o
Linking CXX executable foo
[100%] Built target foo
$ file foo
foo: ELF 32-bit LSB executable, Intel 80386, version 1 (SYSV), dynamically linked (uses shared libs), for GNU/Linux 2.6.24, BuildID[sha1]=0x5b1871446c92cbdcbf905583e16189f68f3bf5f2, not stripped
where CMakeLists.txt is a trivial CMake file:
project(TEST)
add_executable(foo foo.cc)
and foo.cc is as follows:
int main () {}
Here is the basic recipe I use all the time for cmake projects..
OPTION(FORCE32 "Force a 32bit compile on 64bit" OFF)
IF(FORCE32)
if(APPLE)
SET(CMAKE_OSX_ARCHITECTURES "i386")
else()
SET(CMAKE_C_FLAGS "${CMAKE_C_FLAGS} -m32")
SET(CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS "${CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS} -m32")
endif()
ENDIF()
IF(APPLE)
set(BIN_LIBROOT "macosx")
ELSE()
if(CMAKE_SIZEOF_VOID_P MATCHES "8" AND NOT(FORCE32) )
set(BIN_LIBROOT "linux64")
set(CMAKE_EXECUTABLE_SUFFIX ".bin.x86_64")
set(BIN_RPATH "\$ORIGIN/lib64")
else()
set(BIN_LIBROOT "linux")
set(CMAKE_EXECUTABLE_SUFFIX ".bin.x86")
set(BIN_RPATH "\$ORIGIN/lib")
endif()
set(CMAKE_SKIP_BUILD_RPATH TRUE)
set(CMAKE_BUILD_WITH_INSTALL_RPATH TRUE)
set(CMAKE_INSTALL_RPATH ${BIN_RPATH})
set(CMAKE_INSTALL_RPATH_USE_LINK_PATH FALSE)
ENDIF()
Then every target automatically has the .bin.${arch} extension and I never have to think about this for any targets I add. the ${BIN_LIBROOT} is useful if you have a bunch of precompiled libraries as you as you can use that to dynamically search for libs in your private lib dirs based on the target platform/arch.