How to Link Multiple Libraries Using Cmake?

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To link multiple libraries using CMake, you need to specify the libraries you want to link in your CMakeLists.txt file. You can do this using the target_link_libraries command. This command takes the target executable or library as the first argument, followed by the names of the libraries you want to link against.


For example, if you have an executable target named my_executable and you want to link against two libraries named lib1 and lib2, you would add the following line to your CMakeLists.txt file:

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target_link_libraries(my_executable lib1 lib2)


Make sure that the libraries you want to link against are available and correctly specified in your CMakeLists.txt file. This will ensure that CMake correctly generates the build files that link against the specified libraries when you build your project.


How to link multiple libraries using cmake in Linux?

To link multiple libraries using CMake in Linux, you can use the target_link_libraries command in your CMakeLists.txt file. Here is an example of how you can link multiple libraries:

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# Add executable
add_executable(my_executable main.cpp)

# Link libraries
target_link_libraries(my_executable 
    library1
    library2
    library3
)


In the above example, library1, library2, and library3 are the names of the libraries that you want to link with your executable. Make sure that these libraries are correctly installed and that CMake can find them.


You can also specify the full path to the libraries if they are stored in a specific directory:

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# Link libraries with full path
target_link_libraries(my_executable 
    /path/to/library1.so
    /path/to/library2.so
    /path/to/library3.so
)


After specifying the libraries you want to link with your executable, run CMake to generate the build files and then use a build system like Make to build your project.


What is the syntax for specifying library dependencies in CMakeLists.txt?

To specify library dependencies in CMakeLists.txt, you can use the target_link_libraries() command. The syntax for specifying library dependencies is as follows:

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target_link_libraries(target_name PUBLIC|PRIVATE|INTERFACE library_name)


  • target_name is the name of the target for which the dependencies are being specified.
  • PUBLIC specifies that the library will be linked to both the target and any targets that depend on it.
  • PRIVATE specifies that the library will only be linked to the target.
  • INTERFACE specifies that the library will only be linked to targets that depend on the target.
  • library_name is the name of the library that the target depends on.


For example, to link a target named my_target to a library named my_library, you can use the following syntax:

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target_link_libraries(my_target PRIVATE my_library)



How to link a static library in CMake?

To link a static library in CMake, you can use the target_link_libraries command in your CMakeLists.txt file. Here's how you can do it:

  1. Specify the static library you want to link with by using the add_library() command to create a target for the library. For example, if you have a static library named mylib.a, you can add it to your project like this:
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add_library(mylib STATIC path/to/mylib.a)


  1. Then, in your executable target, use the target_link_libraries() command to link the static library with your target. For example, if you have an executable target named myapp, you can link the static library like this:
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target_link_libraries(myapp mylib)


  1. Make sure to properly set the include directories and library directories for the static library in your CMakeLists.txt file:
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target_include_directories(myapp PUBLIC path/to/include/directory)
link_directories(path/to/library/directory)


  1. Finally, configure your project using CMake to generate the build files. When you build your project, CMake will link the static library with your executable target.


That's it! Your static library should now be linked with your CMake project.


How to link a dynamic library in CMake?

To link a dynamic library in CMake, you can use the target_link_libraries command in your CMakeLists.txt file. Here's an example:

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# CMakeLists.txt

cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.0)

project(MyProject)

# Specify the location of the dynamic library
set(LIB_DIR "path/to/library")

# Create an executable target
add_executable(MyExecutable main.cpp)

# Link the dynamic library to the executable target
target_link_libraries(MyExecutable ${LIB_DIR}/libmylibrary.so)


In this example, MyExecutable is the name of the executable target you want to build, LIB_DIR is the path to the directory where the dynamic library (libmylibrary.so in this case) is located, and ${LIB_DIR}/libmylibrary.so is the path to the dynamic library file that you want to link to the executable target.


Make sure to replace MyProject, path/to/library, MyExecutable, and libmylibrary.so with your actual project name, library path, executable target name, and dynamic library file name, respectively.

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