CMake and custom sdk (yocto+arm) for building target applications - gcc

I have received an SDK that is used to build c++/c applications for an embedded linux device. This is all new to me so some of my terminology may be wrong.
I followed their instructions and the SDK installs on my linux (ubuntu) system in /opt/. The compiler they are using appears to be arm-poky-linux-gnueabi-gcc. Part of their SDK sets some environment variables, like $CC and CPP for compiling C/C++. The environment variables run something like arm-poky-linux-gnueabi-gcc -march=armv7-a (and a bunch of other flags).
My question is: how can I utilize this using cmakelists/cmake? I currently have an entire library and application that is built around cmake.

The SDK should come with a toolchain file for cmake (for example named toolchain.cmake).
When you first call your cmake, you force it to use the SDK like this:
cmake -DCMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE=/opt/???/toolchain.cmake.

Related

Integrate CLion and Android NDK

Recently I've found CLion. I'm trying to configure it to work with Android ndk:
I want it to use the ndk sources and headers.
I want it to use the gcc and g++ compiler in the ndk.
I want it to use my makefile and not cmake.
Couldn't achieve those three targets, hope you can help me :).
By the way I'm using android ndk r10e if it matters.
You can set up CLion to build for android by doing the following:
Install the NDK Standalone Toolchain (https://developer.android.com/ndk/guides/standalone_toolchain.html)
In CLion Preference/Settings under Build, Execution, Deployment > Toolchains, add a new toolchain for ARM, set the C compiler path to $NDK_TOOLCHAIN_PATH/arm/bin/arm-linux-androideabi-clang, set the C++ compiler path to $NDK_TOOLCHAIN_PATH/arm/bin/arm-linux-androideabi-clang++, and if you're on Windows, set the MinGW path. The toolchain tab is a fairly new feature to Clion so make sure you have a recent version of Clion.
Repeat step 2 for any other architectures you want to support
Go to Build, Execution, Deployment > CMake. Add a new profile for ARM. Set the toolchain to the ARM toolchain and set the CMake options to
-DCMAKE_CXX_FLAGS="-fPIE -fPIC -lstdc++"
-DCMAKE_AR="$NDK_TOOLCHAIN_PATH/arm/bin/arm-linux-androideabi-ar"
-DCMAKE_RANLIB="$NDK_TOOLCHAIN_PATH/arm/bin/arm-linux-androideabi-ranlib"
If you're using a Mac you will need these too in order to tell CMake to not use the isysroot option
-DCMAKE_OSX_SYSROOT="/"
-DCMAKE_OSX_DEPLOYMENT_TARGET=""
Repeat step 4 for any other architectures you want to support
When building, set the profile to your desired architecture (instead of Debug/Release).
Ideally, you could specify the entire toolchain (ar, ranlib, etc.) through CLion instead of using CMake options, but I haven't found a way to do so yet.
CLion can work only with CMake-projects. Others are not possible at this stage.
However, you can use Android Studio. It include C++ support based on CLion and works nicely with ndk for sure.

How to build mingw32-make

I've just build a gcc 5.2.0 on windows according to this material:
http://preshing.com/20141108/how-to-install-the-latest-gcc-on-windows/
Everything went well. But then I've tried to build Qt with this newly built gcc and I'm getting an error that there is no mingw32-make. Checked directory and no, there isn't one.
But then I checked previously installed gcc, which was work of TDM, downloaded from:
http://tdm-gcc.tdragon.net/
and yes, in his build there is mingw32-make.
So, the question is, how is it that he has that tool, and many other which are absent in my build are present in his?
if you create from the gcc5.2.0 source, a build then you've just created the gcc compiler with all its necessary files. e.g. gcc-5.2.0.exe, gcc.exe, g++.exe, etc.
NOT the MinGW runtime environment for gcc, which contains the mingw32-make.exe !
if you follow your link from your question here you build it with the cygwin make.exe.
It's better to download the mingw 32 binary runtime environment for gcc
or
MinGW64 runtime environment for gcc
Then you have all the files needed to work with QT.
if you want to create a mingw build from source, you need first a MinGW runtime environment then you can use that to build your own mingw32-make.exe.

gcc dll - compiled under Linux

I have a project written in gcc - bison -flex on Linux environment. All the project is implemented into a *.so file and is called from python-tkinter graphic surface.
There is a need to run it on windows. However I'd avoid to install all the windows equivalent of gcc - bison -flex programs.
Is it possible to force gcc IN LINUX ENVIRONMENT to compile WINDOWS DLL instead of *.so? It could make life easier to use the same technics as I do now: just do calls from python-tkinter graphic surface.
You can, of course, cross-compile it.
You'll need some packages installed, though.
Your normal project would be able to build if you use the MINGW equivalent of GCC for the target architecture.
Also, take a look at this:
Manual for cross-compiling a C++ application from Linux to Windows?
The linking can be kind of troublesome though, since it could come a time where softlinking fails due to versions. In that case you'll need to create some symbolic links to the correct version.
The output of the compilation process should be with -o DYNAMIC-LIBRARIE-NAME.dll and of course use the -shared flag.
Hope it gives you some pointers..
Regards.

debug the environment used by make and port gcc from source

I know how to build gcc from source, what I still have to figure out is what are the exact environmental variables used by gcc when configure and building gcc itself, I'm actually trying to build the compiler from source using another version of gcc with different ABI.
Any idea on how to get this kind of information beside "try to grep all the variable that starts with $ inside all makefiles and configuration files" ?
You can see a list of Environment Variables Affecting GCC.
To create a completly independent gcc with a new toolset, have a look at LFS, they explain how to build gcc from an existing OS for a future OS.
There is also a page about building gcc, which talks about BOOT_CFLAGS='-O' and CFLAGS_FOR_TARGET and STAGE1_TFLAGS and BUILD_CONFIG. There is also some additional variables for cross-compiling and ada compiler.

powerpc compiler on windows gives "c++ compiler not installed on this system error"

I am trying to use msys powerpc-eabispe-gcc compiler on windows to compile a simple helloworld.cpp program, inorder to generate an elf for powerpc architecture, but I am getting "c++ compiler not installed on this system" error. The bin folder of powerpc-eabispe contains all the exe's, I dont understand why then I get this error??
I used MinGW command prompt to run this command: powerpc-eabispe-gcc.exe -o hello hello.cpp
You need to install the toolchain for the architecture you are targeting.
Search for "cctools" / "binutils" / "crosstools" or "ppc cross-compile environment".
You can also take a look at:
Building and Testing gcc/glibc cross toolchains (This will probably work)
Host/Target specific installation notes for GCC (search powerpc in the page)
However, I would encourage you to try this on a linux or on a mac computer. There are far more resources & docs available on the web for cross-compilation on these platforms.

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