I have a sub-sub-project (a child of a child of the top level project) in XCode that produces a static library that the top level project links against. The output of the sub-sub-project is in the Build Settings > Link Binary With Libraries list (though not in the Target Dependencies, because XCode will only let you put immediate children in there). If I delete the Executable Unix File in the AppPackage in the Build directory, it does build correctly. It's just not recognizing that the library being changed should cause the executable to link, even though it worked fine this morning. I've checked git and the project files are unchanged. What could be going on? (I'm gonna reboot as soon as I post this)
Edit: Rebooting didn't work. Going to a previous commit didn't work. I'm beginning to wonder if it never worked right.
I have the same problem. Only way to get the app to link to the new version of the static lib is to clean before building. And I even have the static lib project set as a dependency.
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Like many people, I would love to have Xcode use a folder structure that mirrors the folder-structure on disk. However, I cannot get the code in "folder references" (the cyan folders) to show up in my project targets under "Compile Sources." Is there any way to do this?
I have managed to even add a cyan folder to the "Compile Sources" build phase, but that does not result in the contents of that folder being added.
How can I use folder references for code?
The simple (and very unfortunate) answer is that Folder References under Xcode remain broken and buggy, they don't work. Tested 04-Mar-2017 in Xcode 8.2.1
Below is an example exploration so you do not have to waste your time replicating the Xcode failure.
(incidentally buggy Xcode crashed twice while I was producing this example)
Per the question, the overall desire is to use a folder reference in Xcode so Xcode picks up all the files in the folder and includes them in the project, and by proxy will update automatically based upon any Finder or Xcode changes of the folder. In this way 50 projects all leveraging the same set of common source code files do not have to be individually updated when those folders get changed. Below explores how this is broken in Xcode (tested in 8.2.1)
The example: ViewController.m includes NSError+Core.h so we want everything from the folder "NSError+Core" to be added to the project.
NSError+Core.h is in this centrally located development folder
Drag the source folder from the Finder into the Project under the "Support" group (nothing up my sleeves, simple drag)
Xcode dutifully offers to add the drag to the target, note the "Create folder references" is selected, not "Create group references". Note also it is clear that Xcode is offering and is told to add this folder and files to the targets.
Although everything looks like it should work, the compiler does not pick up the header file and a recompile yields the same results... can't find header. Ditching the DerivedData does not help either.
So doing a double check, we check the "Compile Sources" under the project and sure enough, the source file is not there either. Remember, Xcode 'added' it to the target...
So what if we drag it from the folder into the "Support" group...
It offers to add them to the project again?! Note that the settings are identical to the first time they were drug in by virtue of the parent folder drag instead of files...
And now the source file shows up in the "Compile Sources" list. Note the bizarre double listing of the files in the project.
(Xcode crashed shortly after snapping this screen shot)
And of course the compiler can now find the header file and the error clears on the import as it should have the first time we drug it in...
Did it just need a little help to "find" the file? If so, the "Create folder references" does exactly what?
So we try and tidy up and drag the files back from the parent "Supporting Files" group to their rightful folder. Without any confirmation, indication, notification, the files just vanish from the group and nothing happens in the NSError+Core folder.
Oh by the way, it really did delete them from the project too... The Compile Sources no longer has the NSError+Core.m reference.
SO to sum up, "Folder references" as implemented thus far do not seem to have any useful purpose... It would appear to be a 6+ year old dunsel on the USS Xcode.
Kevin - linked source folders, folder references, etc, are super useful for when you have a common code base shared across different IDEs, like I do for my games that I compile on Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, etc. I have 3 different IDEs all building the same shared codebase, so it's very helpful when one automatically picks up on a new file and adds it right into the project after I merely run svn update, and I svn commit from one IDE (say XCode) and my Eclipse in Windows project picks up the change. I have a different project for each because each IDE likes the project files in a certain configuration so it's easier for me to have multiple SVN directories (base-project, project-ios, project-android) that all share code in base-project than to have one mega project directory with the different IDE bits unhappily all shoved into subdirectories (which is what I tried the first time around).
Furthermore - it used to work fine in XCode 3. They seemed to not like that useful of a feature so it is no longer working in XCode 4 as I've just found out.
I just tried doing this to share code across multiple Xcode projects, and our team came to the conclusion that it's better to create an Xcode project that contains all of your shared classes, compiles them into a static/dynamic library, and then add that as a subproject to those that need the shared code. Then you can set up target dependencies and link your shared library. This will get you the "automatic updating" every time you add a new class to the shared library project.
This approach also works well with submodules or even cocoapods/carthage.
You can't. Why are you even trying? A folder reference's job is to embody a folder, without having entries for all the individual files in the folder. It's primary use is for copying an entire folder of resources verbatim into a project. If you want to compile the sources though, then those sources must be referenced in the Compile Sources build phase of the target, which requires having individual entries for each file.
Depending on what's in the folder, it might make more sense to have a Makefile or some other external build process that builds the content in the folder into a static library. This way you can invoke that build process from a Shell Script Phase, and then just link in the resulting static library. Alternatively if you're using this folder as a way to have a shared bit of code (e.g. an svn:externals or git submodule), you could give that folder its own Xcode project and then embed that project into any of your other projects which share this folder.
I'm having a myriad of problems with Xcode 4 and nested projects that worked just well under Xcode 3.2. Here's a very basic one I cannot solve:
I'm building a cocoa framework that requires another cocoa framework for which I have the source. So I perform the usual steps:
Drag the .xcodeproj file of the required framework into my main framework project
In my main framework under TARGETS > MyFramework > Build Phases > Target Dependencies: Add the nested project's target
Make sure the header files of the nested framework are public
In Xcode Settings > Locations > Build Location I have it set to Place build products in derived data location (recommended)
Build products path of both targets are set to ${BUILT_PRODUCTS_DIR} and tell me they are at the DerivedData/Debug (or Release) location
Architecture settings for both targets are identical
Then I hit [CMD] + B to build and it tells me that it doesn't find the header files of the nested framework. When I check the settings, User Header Search Paths contain the path to DerivedData/Debug, and inside there is the nested framework target with the header files in Versions/A/Headers.
I'm sitting here, anybody an idea what I'm doing wrong?
The issue goes away when building for Debug when I change the User header search paths to ${BUILT_PRODUCTS_DIR}/MyFramework.framework/Headers. However this doesn't work when building for Distribution as the frameworks then use their Release settings, which ends up in a different subdirectory...
My temporary solution is to also define a Distribution configuration for the nested projects. This way the headers are found and the linker can link successfully.
Here's my synthesized knowledge so far:
Forget the whole public header thing with Xcode, it's a PITA and doesn't work correctly when archiving your app. Instead, have all static library header files on the project level and tell your app where to find it.
Ease your pain by making sure all targets have the same name for the build configuration (i.e. add an "AdHoc" and "Deployment" configuration to the static libraries).
In build settings, point the Header Search Paths (if you use #include <file.h>) or User Header Search Paths (if you use #include "file.h") to the directory of the static library project. If the static library project is inside your app directory, use this:
"$(PROJECT_DIR)" (recursive enabled)
If you have a directory which contains a) the static library project and b) your app, then this should work:
"$(PROJECT_DIR)/.." (recursive enabled)
If the submodule contains compiled libraries, set your Library Search Paths to:
"$(TARGET_BUILD_DIR)"
Make sure all the static library projects that you use have Skip Install set to YES.
Again, no public header files (Build Phases » Copy Headers) in any of the static libraries, otherwise Xcode will not be able to archive an app.
Make sure to tell Xcode when to build the static libraries, as shown in this Tech Doc from Apple.
Old Answer:
I still haven't found a real solution to this problem with static libraries. What works for me is:
Create an "AdHoc" Configuration for the static library
Add $(BUILT_PRODUCTS_DIR) to User Header Search paths for the application (with recursive checked) -> this is used when running the app
In the Xcode menu, select Product > Build For > Build For Archiving
This works, the app finds the header files and builds itself, it ends up in DerivedData//Build/Products/AdHoc-iphoneos/ as an App bundle. Following these simple instructions (dead link) from TestFlightApp.com I can pack this App into an IPA and send it around. Simply selecting to Archive the app from Xcode does again not find the headers, even if they truly are in the AdHoc-iphoneos build directory.
(As of Xcode 5.1)
When the subproject is built by XCode, the subproject header files are copied into the build directory. When archiving, it seems that this copy destination directory is not added to the header/include search path. You'll want to go to your Build Settings and add
$(BUILD_ROOT)/../IntermediateBuildFilesPath/UninstalledProducts/include
to the "Header Search Paths" for the scheme that you use for archiving.
If you're not sure which scheme is used for archiving, go to Product -> Scheme -> Edit Schemes and look for Archive in the left column.
Make sure your third party framework is added as «group» to your main project, so you can see it in your project's hierarchy...
I had the same problem here and I could solve the problem by setting "Build Location" to Place build products in locations specified by targets"
I had this problem: I could build both Debug and App Store configurations, but not Ad Hoc. Building Ad Hoc gave me errors because it couldn't find .h files needed by nested projects.
Turned out I had an expired provisioning lingering in my Release configuration. I updated that provisioning link and now I can both build Ad Hoc and use the Archive feature to package it.
Took me hours to figure it out! My mind just didn't jump from missing .h files to provisioning errors just by itself. =) There might have been an error or warning complaining about the missing provisioning, but if so it was well buried among the hundreds of .h related errors.
I was having the same issue with a Configuration named "Ad Hoc" (as per TestFlight recommendation at http://help.testflightapp.com/customer/portal/articles/402782-how-to-create-an-ipa-xcode-4) and the main project could not find some of the headers from the nested projects. I renamed the project to "AdHoc" (no spaces) and the problem went away; seems like spaces can mess up header search paths in some cases, although I haven't figured out the specifics of when that might happen and why.
I was having this issue with a nested project that built a static library. I found this doc on apples site that completely saved my life.
http://developer.apple.com/library/ios/#DOCUMENTATION/Xcode/Conceptual/ios_development_workflow/AA-Developing_a_Static_Library_and_Incorporating_It_in_Your_Application/archiving_an_application_that_uses_a_static_library.html
I'm so glad I didn't have to muck around with the derived data paths.
For me, this happened after a GIT merge, which created many conflicts, one of them related to the project file. After the merge, I'm sure the structure of the project file changed.
What I ended up doing was going into the project "Build Settings", then looking for "Always Search User Paths" and turning it to Yes.
I guess the merge turned this boolean to No, therefore the project wasn't looking in the right places for the header files.
Why would a Copy Files build phase fail? I'm working with Nick Zman's Hyperspace code, and added a Copy Files build phase with an Absolute Path target of "Library/Screen Savers" - the exact same (I think) phase I have in another project (Hypertorus). Hypertorus compiles fine and installs fine, Hyperspace compiles, but doesn't copy. The compiled saver does show up in the build/Release directory, but not in Library/Screen Savers. The error recurs with a fresh download of the source too, which seems odd. Any ideas, or should I reinstall xCode (or the entire system..)
Okay, I found the answer to this one too which might be of use to someone else. xCode didn't automatically add the product target under the Copy Files item in the left pane hierarchy. It does seem a bit strange that if you double click on the Copy Files build phase, the window has an explicit place for the destination, but not the source, since apparently you must be able to put things there other than just the product.
I am trying to set up Xcode for a project which contains multiple executables and static libraries. I have created multiple targets and set up the linking and dependencies, and initially everything works great. The catch...
This is an existing project which already has Visual Studio and Makefile builds. Those builds put the libraries in a lib/Debug directory and the executables in bin/Debug. So in Xcode I changed the Build Products Path to "lib" and "bin" respectively (so we can use one set of documentation for all of the platforms). This puts the compiled targets in the right place, but completely breaks both the linking (Library not found) and the dependencies.
I can fix the linking by adding $(SRCROOT)/lib/Debug to the Library Search Paths for each executable (but it feels like Xcode should be able to figure this out on its own, which makes me think I'm doing something wrong).
But — I can't figure out how to get the dependencies working again. If I change a library source file, the library will rebuild but not the dependent executables. If I force a build of the executable Xcode returns success without doing anything; it thinks the target is up to date. If I clean the target and then rebuild it works.
So, any ideas here? Is Xcode being fundamentally stupid in this regard, or is it me (I'm leaning toward the latter)?
Update: I've posted a sample project to demonstrate the issue at http://share.industriousone.com/XcodeDepsIssue.zip. Build it once, then modify MyStaticLib.c and build it again. The executable will not relink (and it should). Many thanks for any help on this one.
starkos, thanks for publishing your conclusion. It validated my experience as well. This situation really screwed me, so it was nice to know I wasn't just missing something.
I did however discover a workaround that avoids creating multiple projects or keeping the library and its dependent in the same directory. It is a hack, but it does work here.
I know it's a bit late but better than never.
For the dependency library, add a "Copy Files Build Phase", with Absolute Path as the destination, and the path text field should be the directory where the DEPENDENT target lives. Then click on Products, find the dependency library (will end with .a), and drag it into the "Copy Files Build Phase." If you now build, this will put the library into its own directory like before and THEN also copy it into the dependent's target directory.
For the dependent, you can now remove the dependency's output directory from the Library Search Paths. This will cause it to find the library copy. If you do this, the dependent will indeed be relinked each time the dependency .a is relinked.
The negatives are, of course, the extra time for the copy, and the necessity to specify (in the Copy phase) the target directory for each dependent of your library. Beats the hell out of the alternatives though....
Xcode doesn't automatically set up dependencies based on use of build products; you have to set up explicit target dependencies yourself.
Project > Edit Target Settings, General tab, + button, add any targets that are prerequisites to building the selected target. That should get you going again.
I've researched this some more and the answer is no, Xcode 3.x doesn't track dependencies between targets that live in different directories. You can work around it by giving each library its own project, and adding each of those to a master project. Or you can keep all of your targets in one directory. Pick your poison.
Here is my solution for this weird behavior in xcode 4.3.1. You have to add build pre-action in scheme:
rm -f ${BUILT_PRODUCTS_DIR}/${EXECUTABLE_PATH}
and choose which build settings to use for this script. Each time before build, target executable will be removed and rebuild completely. It helped for me, and i hope it helps you.
NOTE: Have tried to put this script in project build phase, and result was negative - debugger could not connect process to start debugging.
Good luck!
OK, it would help to have the text of the Linking... build line that's failing. But a couple of things:
1) You shouldn't be linking to anything in $(SRCROOT). That's your project sources. The two places to find things to link are $(SYMROOT) (the Build Products directory) or $(DSTROOT) (the Installed Products directory).
One thing you could do is to have a common Build Directory, then use 'xcodebuild install' action to install the products in the Installation Directory. The other is to use a Copy Files build phase to copy them after building, so you can link against them in $(SYMROOT) but still have them where your Windows compatriots expect them.
THere is probably a way to set up the per-target build products directories correctly, but I'd really have to see the project itself to figure it out.
I'm an experienced VS.NET user and trying to get up and running on Xcode 3.1.1.
Here's what I'm trying to accomplish:
I'd like a static library ("Lib") to have its own xcodeproj file. I'd an executable application ("App") that makes use of Lib to reference Lib's xcodeproj file so that changes to Lib cause App to relink. Ideally, I'd like to be able to edit Lib's source files inside App's Xcode workspace so I don't have to task around all the time to make changes.
I figured out from the online help that I can simply drag the static lib xcodeproj in to my app's project and it gets the reference. I see that once my static lib xcodeproj is in my app's project, I can simply drag it to the App's target and it understands that App depends on Lib. This seems like the right path, but things aren't quite working the way I'd like yet.
Here are my questions:
It seems that simply having App depend on Lib doesn't cause App to link with Lib. It seems that I have to explicitly drag libLib.a from the Lib folder into App's "Link Binary With Libraries" build stage. In VS.NET, simply specifying the project as a solution dependency adds it to the link line. I just want to make sure I'm not missing anything.
When I have App open in Xcode and I drag Lib.xcodeproj into it, I don't get any of Lib's source files there. I only get libLib.a under the "Lib.xcodeproj" folder. In VS.NET, I can edit Lib's source files right there and rebuild it, etc... but with this approach in Xcode, changes to Lib.cpp don't cause Lib to rebuild when I rebuild App. Ideally, I'd get all of Lib's source files and targets to show up when I drag Lib.xcodeproj into App. Is there any way of doing this?
Thanks in advance for any responses!
You're correct that making target A depend upon target B (whether within the same project or across projects) does not cause target A to link against target B. You need to specify them distinctly; this is because they're separate concepts, and you might have dependencies between targets that you don't want to link to each other — for example, a command-line tool that gets built by target C and is used as part of the build process for target A.
Also, you're correct that referencing project B from within project A will not let you see project B's source code in project A's window. That's because Xcode does not have the same "workspace" model that Visual Studio and Eclipse do; you above alluded to the existence of "a workspace containing project A" but Xcode doesn't really have any such thing, just a window representing project A.
Open the App project. Right-click on the App target and choose "Get Info." Then go to the "General Tab" and find "Direct Dependencies." Click the ( + ) (plus sign) button to add a direct dependency. The Lib.xcodeproj should appear among a list of possibilities for you. Choose the Lib target from that list.
That should accomplish that the Lib project must build (or rebuild) when you build the App target.
(Editing my own post now. I realize I said nothing about point number 2 in the question. I am actually still thinking about number 2. I am not sure if that is possible or not.)
I'm also novice to Xcode 3.1, just played with mentioned by you issues and found that there is no problem regarding to your second question. Whatever application you use to edit the dependence library source code, your main project will rebuild the dependence target. I checked it by:
edited the source file, of the library your app depend on, by notepad application.
Selected dependence library project reference, mouse right-click, and select 'Open With Finder', then selected wanted source file and edited it.
Everything working well.
I am also a fairly new user of Xcode. Most of what I know I learned from an Xcode book by James Bucanek (ISBN 047175479x). It is an older book that was written for/with Xcode 2.2, but I find that pretty much all of it still applies for me today, and I currently use Xcode 3.1
You can probably find a cheap used copy if you are interested.