Related
A particular C++ logging library called spdlog that I use in my project has a broken package on CentOS (the platform I'm trying to compile on) where the header file will only compile if SPDLOG_FMT_EXTERNAL is defined before any of its files are included. [And this will not be fixed.]
I am trying to find a way to use autoconf directives to test for the presence of this header file - previously I used a homegrown macro that compiles a program which uses that, but its speed latency is unacceptably slow so I am trying to replace it.
Here is the relevant snippet of my configure.ac:
dnl check for libfmt is done earlier...
AC_CHECK_HEADERS([spdlog/spdlog.h], [have_spdlog="yes"], [have_spdlog="no"])
if test x$have_spdlog = xyes; then
LDFLAGS="$LDFLAGS -lspdlog -lfmt";
else
AC_MSG_ERROR([spdlog is required for logging support but is missing.])
fi
The header file spdlog/spdlog.h exists, but Autoconf deems it as not usable because it won't compile by itself.
AC_CHECK_HEADERS has a parameter I can specify include files required to include that particular header file. I can use that to specify the #define macro before the file is included.
Is there an easier way to just directly specify a macro without creating a new header file?
After some experimenting, I learned that the fourth parameter to AC_CHECK_HEADERS accepts macros as well - anything that can be used in a C/C++ preprocessor works as well, such as #ifdef, #endif and so on. It is not restricted to only #include directives.
AC_CHECK_HEADERS([spdlog/spdlog.h], [have_spdlog="yes"], [have_spdlog="no"], [
#define SPDLOG_FMT_EXTERNAL
])
When compiling my project as a 64bit target (this isn't considered a warning on 32bit target) I get this warning:
5 enumeration values not handled in switch: 'kCreated', 'kLoaded', 'kConnected'...
I have somehow managed to turn off the error/warning message numbers, so I don't know what number to suppress in my code with #pragma warn.
I need to use #pragma warn because I only want to suppress approved places in my code (turning the warning off and on again).
Bonus question: Does anyone know how to get back the error/warning numbers again?
The 64bit compiler is based on CLang, which does not use warning numbers, which is why you do not see them. The following info comes from Bruneau Babet, one of C++Builder's chief developers, in the Embarcadero forums:
How do I suppress 64bit XE3 warnings?
Warnings in clang, hence bcc64, don't have the Wxxxx numbers. Behind the
scene there is a unique id generated for each warning but it's
auto-generated and cannot be assumed to remain constant across builds.
Instead each warning has a group. Related warnings are often in the same
group. Some groups have just one warning. To disable warnings of a group
you can use "-Wno-" on the command line, or via something like
the following in code:
#pragma clang diagnostic ignored "-W<groupname>".
For example, the first warning you listed is under the group "float-equal".
So, "-Wno-float-equal" should disable that warning. And to disable the one
about an enumerator not handled in the switch you can use the following in
code:
#pragma clang diagnostic ignored "-Wswitch"
So the next obvious question is how to find out about each group. The
"-fdiagnostics-show-option" should trigger the compiler to display the
option but unfortunately the IDE does not honor that option. So you must
either use the command line to find out about the group ach warning belongs
to, or you can peek at the Warning declarations here:
https://github.com/llvm/llvm-project/tree/main/clang/include/clang/Basic
The *.td files declare the various warnings. The ones mentioned above are
https://github.com/llvm/llvm-project/tree/main/clang/include/clang/Basic/DiagnosticSemaKinds.td
Oddly, #pragma clang is still not documented on the Embarcadero DocWiki.
I am getting this single error when I am linking my project,
COMMUNICATION.obj : fatal error LNK1179: invalid or corrupt file:
duplicate COMDAT '_IID_IXMLDOMImplementation'
What is the source of the problem?
This is a tricky one.
The issue is that the symbol(s)-generated is too-long, and an ambiguity exists:
//...
void MyVeryLongFunctionNameUnique_0(void);
void MyVeryLongFunctionNameUnique_1(void);
// ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
// (example max-symbol-length-seen-by-linker)
In this case, the linker "sees" these two functions as the "same", because the part that makes them "unique" is longer-than-the-max-symbol length.
This can happen in at least three cases:
Your symbol names are "too-long" to be considered unique to the linker, but may have been fine for the compiler (such as when you expand-out from many nested templates)
You did some "trickery" that is invalid C++, and it passed the compiler, but you now have an invalid *.obj, and it chokes the linker.
You specified duplicate "unnamed" classes/structs, and the linker cannot resolve them.
===[UPDATE]===, It's not your fault, it's an internal problem with the compiler and/or linker (see below for possible work-arounds).
Depending on the issue (above), you can "increase" your symbol-length (by limiting-your-decrease-of-symbol-length), or fix your code to make it valid (unambiguous) C++.
This error is (minimally) described by Microsoft at:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cddbs9aw(v=vs.90).aspx
NOTE: This max-symbol-length can be set with the /H option, see: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bc2y4ddf(v=vs.90).aspx
RECOMMEND: Check to see if /H is used on your command-line. If it is, delete it (do not specify max-symbol-length, it will default to 2,047, the /H can only DECREASE this length, not increase it).
However, you probably triggered it through the /Gy option (function-level-linking), which was probably implied through one of /Z7, /Zi, or /ZI: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/958x11bc(v=vs.90).aspx
One MSDN thread that talks about this issue is:
http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/vcmfcatl/thread/57e3207e-9fab-4b83-b264-79a8a717a8a7
This thread suggests that it's possible to trigger this issue with "invalid-C++-code-that-compiles" (you get your *.obj), but that invalid-*.obj chokes the linker (this example attempts to use main as both a function and as a template):
http://www.cplusplus.com/forum/lounge/46361/
===[UPDATE]===
I should have said this before, because I suspected, but I now have more information: It might not be your fault, there seems to be an issue in the compiler and/or linker that triggers this error. This is despite the fact that the only common denominator in all your failed relationships is you.
Recall that the "above-list" applies (it MIGHT be your fault). However, in the case where, "it's not your fault", here's the current-running-list (I'm confident this list is NOT complete).
There is an internal error/corruption in your *.ilk file (intermediate-link-file). Delete it and rebuild.
You have /INCREMENTAL turned on for linking, but somehow that incremental-linking is not working for your project, so you should turn it off and rebuild (Project-Properties=>Configuration Properties=>Linker=>General=>Enable Incremental Linking [set to "No" (/INCREMENTAL:NO)]
There's a problem with "Optimization" for "COMDAT Folding" in your use. Your can "Remove Redundant COMDATs" by going to Project Proerties=>Configuration Properties=>Linker=>Optimization=>Enable COMDAT Folding, set to "Remove Redundant COMDATs (/OPT:ICF)
Here's an interesting thread from a guy who sometimes can link, and sometimes not, by commenting in/out a couple lines of code. It's not the code that is the problem -- he just cannot link consistently, and it looks like the compiler and/or linker has an internal problem under some obscure use case:
http://www.pcreview.co.uk/forums/fatal-error-lnk1179-t1430593.html
Other observations from a non-trivial web search:
this problem appears to be non-rare
it seems to be related to some form of template<> use
others seem to see this problem with "Release" build when it did not have this problem with "Debug" build (but it is also seen on the "Debug" build in many cases)
if the link "fails" on one machine, it may "succeed" on another build machine (not sure why, a "clean-build" appears to have no effect)
if you comment in/out a particularly significant couple-lines-of-code, and finish your build, and keep doing this until all the code is un-commented again, your link may succeed (this appears to be repeatable)
if you get this error with MSVC2008, and you port your code to MSVC2010, you will still get this error
===[PETITION TO THE GOOD PEOPLE OF THE WORLD]===
If you have other observations on this error, please list them below (as other answers, or as comments below this answer). I have a similar problem, and it's not my fault, and none of these work-arounds worked for me (although they did appear to work for others in their projects in some cases).
I'm adding a bounty because this is driving me nuts.
===[UPDATE+2]===
(sigh), Here's more things to try (which apparently work for others, but did not work for me):
this guy changed his compile settings, and it worked (from thread at http://forums.codeguru.com/showthread.php?249603.html):
Project->Settings->C++ tab, Debug cathegory: Inline function expansion: change from 'None' to 'Only _inline'.
the above thread references another thread where the had to re-install MSVC
it is possibly related to linking modules with "subtle-differences" in possibly-incompatible compiler and/or link switches. Check that all the "contributing libs" are built with the exact same switches
Here's some more symptoms/observations on this error/bug:
list(s) for above issues still apply
the issue seems to "start-showing-up" with MSVC2005, and continues with the same behavior for MSVC2008 and MSVC2010 (error still occurs after porting code to newer compilers)
restarting IDE, rebooting machine doesn't seem to work for anybody
one guy said an explicit "clean" followed by a recompile worked for him, but many others say it did not work for them
is often related to "incremental linking" (e.g., turn it off)
Status: No joy.
===[UPDATE+3 : LINK SUCCESS]===
Super-wacky-makes-no-sense fix to successfully link discovered!
This is a variation on (above), where you "fiddle-with-the-code-until-the-compiler-and/or-linker-behaves". NOT GOOD that one might need to do this.
Specific single linker-error (LNK1179) was for MyMainBody<>():
#include "MyClassA.hpp"
#include "MyClassB.hpp"
#include "MyClassC.hpp"
#include "MyClassD.hpp"
#include "MyMainBody.hpp"
int main(int argc, char* argv[])
{
// Use a function template for the "main-body",
// implementation is "mostly-simple", instantiates
// some local "MyClass" instances, they reference
// each other, and do some initialization,
// (~50 lines of code)
//
// !!! LNK1179 for `MyMainBody<>()`, mangled name is ~236 chars
//
return MyMainBody<MyClassA,MyClassB,MyClassC,MyClassD>(argc,argv);
}
THE FIX:
Convert MyMainBody<>() from a "template<>" to an explicit function, LINK SUCCESS.
THIS FIX SUX, as I need the EXACT-SAME-CODE for other types in other utilities, and the MyMainBody<>() implementation is non-trivial (but mostly simple) instantiations-and-setups that must be done in a specific way, in a specific order.
But hey, it's a temporary work-around for now: Confirmed on MSVC2008 and MSVC2010 compilers (same LNK1179 error for each, successful link on each after applying the work-around).
THIS IS A COMPILER AND/OR LINKER ERROR, as the code is "simple/proper-C++" (not even C++11).
So, I'm happy (that I got a link after suffering full-time for 2+weeks). But, disappointed (that the compiler and/or linker has a STUPID GLARING PROBLEM with linking a SIMPLE TEMPLATE<> in this use-case that I couldn't figure out how to address).
FURTHER, the "Bounty Ended", but nobody else wanted to take this on (no other answers?), so looks like "+100" goes to nobody. (heavy-sigh)
This question has a lot of answers but none of them quite capture what was happening in my codebase, and what I suspect the OP was seeing back in 2012 when this question was asked.
The Problem
The COMDAT error on an IID_* type is easy to accidentally reproduce by using the #import directive with both the rename_namespace and named_guids attributes.
If two #imported type libraries contain the same interface, as is likely the case for OP's IXMLDOMImplementation, then the generated .tlh files will declare IID_IXMLDOMImplementation in both namespaces, leading to the duplicate.
For example, the code generated for:
#import <foo.tlb> rename_namespace("FOO") named_guids;
#import <bar.tlb> rename_namespace("BAR") named_guids;
...could be simplified into something like this:
namespace FOO {
extern "C" __declspec(selectany) const GUID IID_IFOOBAR = {0};
}
namespace BAR {
extern "C" __declspec(selectany) const GUID IID_IFOOBAR = {0};
}
Here's a simple RexTester reproduction of the problem: https://rextester.com/OLAC10112
The named_guids attribute causes the IID_* to be generated and the rename_namespace attribute wraps it in the namespace.
Unfortunately, in this case, extern "C" does not seem to work as expected when it appears inside a C++ namespace. This causes the compiler to generate multiple definitions for IID_FOOBAR in the same .obj file.
DUMPBIN /SYMBOLS or a hex editor confirms the duplicate symbols.
The linker sees these multiple definitions and issues a duplicate COMDAT diagnostic.
A Solution
Knowing that rename_namespace doesn't play well with named_guids, the obvious solution is to simply not use them together. It's probably easiest to remove the named_guids attribute and instead use the _uuidof() operator.
After removing named_guids from #import directives and touching up the code, replacing all uses of FOO::IID_IFooBar with _uuidof(FOO::IFooBar), my COM-heavy codebase is back to building again.
This issue is reported as a bug in some specific versions of Visual Studio 2017. Try patching 15.9.1 or later to fix this issue
Reported Issue in VS 15.8 Preview 4
Resolved patchs in VS 15.9 Preview 2
I encountered this problem whilst porting some code (1) from MSVC to GCC. To get the build to link on GCC, I had to provide empty implementations for some specialised templated functions (2), and this resulted in LNK1179 on MSVC. I was able to resolve by inlining the functions (3), i.e.
template<> template<> void LongName1<LongName2>::FunctionName(boost::library::type1 & a, const unsigned int b);
template<> template<> void LongName1<LongName2>::FunctionName(boost::library::type1 & a, const unsigned int b) {};
template<> template<> inline void LongName1<LongName2>::FunctionName(boost::library::type1 & a, const unsigned int b) {};
I had to do
c++ -> code generation -> enable function - level linking -> no
Hopefully my lame workaround will help someone: I make sure to manually delete ALL .obj AND intermediate build files (including at least .pch, .pdb, .tlog, .lastbuildstate and anything else just hanging out looking suspicious) and rebuild from scratch.
I suggest without evidence that having some files left over from a previous build tends to cause the problem to happen more frequently. In my specific build system, I delete and recreate the .vcxproj and .sln files from scratch as well.
My own personal suspicion is that some kind of race condition exists in the build/link process between the time that intermediate files are read and the time they are written in a large project. Again, I have no evidence this is true, but this is my only guess that seems to fit all the known facts of the bug.
I wrote Outlook addins years ago and I was asked to write another. Right off the bat, I ran into this problem and through a little process of elimination, I fixed mine.
It turns out that when you choose an extensibity project(I hand coded mine back in the day), it creates and save 2 objects that I was unaware of: DTE and DTE80. To create the interfaces that manipulate these objects, they import directly from the DLLs in stdafx.h. Being that I'm working on Outlook, I also needed to import a couple of interfaces: Office and Outlook.
So, seeing as this error popped up almost immediately after writing my first tidbits of code, I started over, and added one thing at a time. The project blew chunks in the described way right after I added:
//Added mvc
//The following #import imports MSO based on it's LIBID
#import "libid:2DF8D04C-5BFA-101B-BDE5-00AA0044DE52" version("2.2") lcid("0") rename_namespace("Office") raw_interfaces_only named_guids
using namespace Office;
//The following #import imports Outoloks Object lib based on it's LIBID
#import "libid:00062FFF-0000-0000-C000-000000000046" rename_namespace("Outlook") raw_interfaces_only named_guids
using namespace Outlook;
So, seeing as I had no intention of figuring out the DTE stuff, I just commented out them and anything having to do with them:
//The following #import imports VS Command Bars based on it's LIBID
// #import "libid:1CBA492E-7263-47BB-87FE-639000619B15" version("8.0") lcid("0") raw_interfaces_only named_guids
//The following #import imports DTE based on it's LIBID
// #import "libid:80cc9f66-e7d8-4ddd-85b6-d9e6cd0e93e2" version("8.0") lcid("0") raw_interfaces_only named_guids
//The following #import imports DTE80 based on it's LIBID
// #import "libid:1A31287A-4D7D-413e-8E32-3B374931BD89" version("8.0") lcid("0") raw_interfaces_only named_guids
After wandering around fixing the compile errors, it compiled and linked just fine. I'm not suggesting this will work for everybody, but it worked for me. Good luck to any who pass by here....
I got this error and was really confused about it. Ended commenting out everything in the referenced cpp and reintroduce things in small batches until the file was back in the same state as when I started. And I don't get the error anymore. To me this points to this in my case being a bug in the compiler but since I can't reproduce it anymore I can't get help further than that.
I'm on:
Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019
Version 16.11.3
I need to branch a certain statement in a precompiled-header .h file, based on whether the .h is now being used to create the PCH (i.e., included in a cpp compiled with /Yc), or now included just to use the PCH (i.e., included in a cpp compiled with /Yu).
In other words, I'm looking for something like -
#ifdef NOW_CREATING_THE_PCH
#import yadayada_with_option_a
#else
#import yadayada_with_option_b
#endif
...and can't find anything.
Any ideas would be appreciated!
Thanks,
-Ofek
[Edit:] The reason I need this is that I use Incredibuild, and have started getting this warning. Per the FAQ suggestion, I wish to #import with no_implementation during PCH creation, and with implementation_only during PCH usage.
You can specifically change the configuration (in Visual Studio) of stdafx.cpp (or whatever source file you have that gets compiled with /Yc) to define the symbol NOW_CREATING_THE_PCH, leaving the symbol undefined for the rest of the source files (which get compiled with /Yu).
That's not something you get out-of-the-box, but if you need to do it just for one project (or a few), it's not a problem.
While this is not a direct answer to your question, the simplest way of solving this problem is to use the #import statement with no_implementation in the header file which is used to generate the precompiled header (usually StdAfx.h) and re-#import the header file into the source file that is used to trigger the generation of the pch with the parameter implementation_only. That way the implementation of the wrapper functions are being defined, but only in one place.
Can anyone explain how compilation works?
I can't seem to figure out how compilation works..
To be more specific, here's an example.. I'm trying to write some code in MSVC++ 6 to load a Lua state..
I've already:
set the additional directories for the library and include files to the right directories
used extern "C" (because Lua is C only or so I hear)
include'd the right header files
But i'm still getting some errors in MSVC++6 about unresolved external symbols (for the Lua functions that I used).
As much as I'd like to know how to solve this problem and move on, I think it would be much better for me if I came to understand the underlying processes involved, so could anyone perhaps write a nice explanation for this? What I'm looking to know is the process.. It could look like this:
Step 1:
Input: Source code(s)
Process: Parsing (perhaps add more detail here)
Output: whatever is output here..
Step 2:
Input: Whatever was output from step 1, plus maybe whatever else is needed (libraries? DLLs? .so? .lib? )
Process: whatever is done with the input
Output: whatever is output
and so on..
Thanks..
Maybe this will explain what symbols are, what exactly "linking" is, what "object" code or whatever is..
Thanks.. Sorry for being such a noob..
P.S. This doesn't have to be language specific.. But feel free to express it in the language you're most comfortable in.. :)
EDIT: So anyway, I was able to get the errors resolved, it turns out that I have to manually add the .lib file to the project; simply specifying the library directory (where the .lib resides) in the IDE settings or project settings does not work..
However, the answers below have somewhat helped me understand the process better. Many thanks!.. If anyone still wants to write up a thorough guide, please do.. :)
EDIT: Just for additional reference, I found two articles by one author (Mike Diehl) to explain this quite well.. :)
Examining the Compilation Process: Part 1
Examining the Compilation Process: Part 2
From source to executable is generally a two stage process for C and associated languages, although the IDE probably presents this as a single process.
1/ You code up your source and run it through the compiler. The compiler at this stage needs your source and the header files of the other stuff that you're going to link with (see below).
Compilation consists of turning your source files into object files. Object files have your compiled code and enough information to know what other stuff they need, but not where to find that other stuff (e.g., the LUA libraries).
2/ Linking, the next stage, is combining all your object files with libraries to create an executable. I won't cover dynamic linking here since that will complicate the explanation with little benefit.
Not only do you need to specify the directories where the linker can find the other code, you need to specify the actual library containing that code. The fact that you're getting unresolved externals indicates that you haven't done this.
As an example, consider the following simplified C code (xx.c) and command.
#include <bob.h>
int x = bob_fn(7);
cc -c -o xx.obj xx.c
This compiles the xx.c file to xx.obj. The bob.h contains the prototype for bob_fn() so that compilation will succeed. The -c instructs the compiler to generate an object file rather than an executable and the -o xx.obj sets the output file name.
But the actual code for bob_fn() is not in the header file but in /bob/libs/libbob.so, so to link, you need something like:
cc -o xx.exe xx.obj -L/bob/libs;/usr/lib -lbob
This creates xx.exe from xx.obj, using libraries (searched for in the given paths) of the form libbob.so (the lib and .so are added by the linker usually). In this example, -L sets the search path for libraries. The -l specifies a library to find for inclusion in the executable if necessary. The linker usually takes the "bob" and finds the first relevant library file in the search path specified by -L.
A library file is really a collection of object files (sort of how a zip file contains multiple other files, but not necessarily compressed) - when the first relevant occurrence of an undefined external is found, the object file is copied from the library and added to the executable just like your xx.obj file. This generally continues until there are no more unresolved externals. The 'relevant' library is a modification of the "bob" text, it may look for libbob.a, libbob.dll, libbob.so, bob.a, bob.dll, bob.so and so on. The relevance is decided by the linker itself and should be documented.
How it works depends on the linker but this is basically it.
1/ All of your object files contain a list of unresolved externals that they need to have resolved. The linker puts together all these objects and fixes up the links between them (resolves as many externals as possible).
2/ Then, for every external still unresolved, the linker combs the library files looking for an object file that can satisfy the link. If it finds it, it pulls it in - this may result in further unresolved externals as the object pulled in may have its own list of externals that need to be satisfied.
3/ Repeat step 2 until there are no more unresolved externals or no possibility of resolving them from the library list (this is where your development was at, since you hadn't included the LUA library file).
The complication I mentioned earlier is dynamic linking. That's where you link with a stub of a routine (sort of a marker) rather than the actual routine, which is later resolved at load time (when you run the executable). Things such as the Windows common controls are in these DLLs so that they can change without having to relink the objects into a new executable.
Step 1 - Compiler:
Input: Source code file[s]
Process: Parsing source code and translating into machine code
Output: Object file[s], which consist[s] of:
The names of symbols which are defined in this object, and which this object file "exports"
The machine code associated with each symbol that's defined in this object file
The names of symbols which are not defined in this object file, but on which the software in this object file depends and to which it must subsequently be linked, i.e. names which this object file "imports"
Step 2 - Linking:
Input:
Object file[s] from step 1
Libraries of other objects (e.g. from the O/S and other software)
Process:
For each object that you want to link
Get the list of symbols which this object imports
Find these symbols in other libraries
Link the corresponding libraries to your object files
Output: a single, executable file, which includes the machine code from all all your objects, plus the objects from libraries which were imported (linked) to your objects.
The two main steps are compilation and linking.
Compilation takes single compilation units (those are simply source files, with all the headers they include), and create object files. Now, in those object files, there are a lot of functions (and other stuff, like static data) defined at specific locations (addresses). In the next step, linking, a bit of extra information about these functions is also needed: their names. So these are also stored. A single object file can reference functions (because it wants to call them when to code is run) that are actually in other object files, but since we are dealing with a single object file here, only symbolic references (their 'names') to those other functions are stored in the object file.
Next comes linking (let's restrict ourselves to static linking here). Linking is where the object files that were created in the first step (either directly, or after they have been thrown together into a .lib file) are taken together and an executable is created.
In the linking step, all those symbolic references from one object file or lib to another are resolved (if they can be), by looking up the names in the correct object, finding the address of the function, and putting the addresses in the right place.
Now, to explain something about the 'extern "C"' thing you need:
C does not have function overloading. A function is always recognizable by its name. Therefore, when you compile code as C code, only the real name of the function is stored in the object file.
C++, however, has something called 'function / method overloading'. This means that the name of a function is no longer enough to identify it. C++ compilers therefore create 'names' for functions that include the prototypes of the function (since the name plus the prototype will uniquely identify a function). This is known as 'name mangling'.
The 'extern "C"' specification is needed when you want to use a library that has been compiled as 'C' code (for example, the pre-compiled Lua binaries) from a C++ project.
For your exact problem: if it still does not work, these hints might help:
* have the Lua binaries been compiled with the same version of VC++?
* can you simply compile Lua yourself, either within your VC solution, or as a separate project as C++ code?
* are you sure you have all the 'extern "C"' things correct?
You have to go into project setting and add a directory where you have that LUA library *.lib files somewhere on the "linker" tab. Setting called "including libraries" or something, sorry I can't look it up.
The reason you get "unresolved external symbols" is because compilation in C++ works in two stages. First, the code gets compiled, each .cpp file in it's own .obj file, then "linker" starts and join all that .obj files into .exe file. .lib file is just a bunch of .obj files merged together to make distribution of libraries just a little bit simplier.
So by adding all the "#include" and extern declaration you told the compiler that somewhere it would be possible to find code with those signatures but linker can't find that code because it doesn't know where those .lib files with actual code is placed.
Make sure you have read REDME of the library, usually they have rather detailed explanation of what you had to do to include it in your code.
You might also want to check this out: COMPILER, ASSEMBLER, LINKER AND LOADER: A BRIEF STORY.