How to link libraries to MinGW?

I've been trying to get SDL to work with my MinGW GCC compiler but when I try to link the libs from the command line, it searches through all the default search paths and misses the libraries that I have already saved in there. I'm trying to link them through options from the DOS prompt like so:

Code:

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gcc foo.c -l libSDL.la -l libSDLmain.a -l libSDL.dll.a

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I'm not using any IDE with MinGW because I'm accustomed to compiling on the command line.

So does anyone know what the issue is?

The Unix tradition is that a library called libfoo.a is passed to the compiler/linker using -lfoo

That is, the lib prefix and .a suffix is automatically assumed.

Extension or not, it doesn't work on my windows system, I know for fact that the rules are different, but I can't figure them out.

Are those .a files in the compiler's lib directory? If not, did you specify the directory that they are in with the -L option?

yes, they are in the lib directory, but they aren't being recognized by the compiler for some reason.

I don't what the reason is, but I do know that it should work with MinGW. You'll need to provide more information.

say I put in the following compilation command when writing an SDL program:

Quote:

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GCC foo.c

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I get a heap of error messages due to the libraries failing to be referenced. I try it again, this time manually appending the libs to compiler, like so:

Quote:

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GCC foo.c -l libSDLmain.a

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It goes through the default search paths, and still find nothing, even though the libraries are lying right inside the search path.

Right, but that completely ignores Salem's correct advice. What happens when you try this?

Code:

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gcc foo.c -l SDLmain

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Also, it could be that the order matters. Have you tried specifying the library before your file foo.c?

BTW, I use SDL 1.3 on Linux, it's fantastic. Good choice!

Huh. Well what do you know, it worked, I actually tried it the way Salem suggested, but I forgot to exclude "lib" from the name, thanks for writing it out, now I see what was the issue.

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Originally Posted by ahernan17

Huh. Well what do you know, it worked, I actually tried it the way Salem suggested, but I forgot to exclude "lib" from the name, thanks for writing it out, now I see what was the issue.

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Enjoy writing your OpenGL code, or whatever it is you're doing. If it's OpenGL stuff, I recommend DevIL as an image loader. It's easy enough that I was able to figure it out.