How do I bundle a library within a Cocoa application? - cocoa

Question

I have the library libmysqlclient.16.dylib, which I need to have on the computer where my application is running, or I will get the following error:
Dyld Error Message: Library not
loaded:
/usr/local/mysql/lib/libmysqlclient_r.16.dylib
Referenced from: /Users/alex/snow
server 3.app/Contents/MacOS/snow
server Reason: image not found
This is very strange, because I linked the binary with this library.
If the same dylib exists on the target computer, but in a different version (for example, Snow Leopard Server), I get an error like the following:
Dyld Error Message: Library not
loaded:
/usr/local/mysql/lib/libmysqlclient_r.16.dylib
Referenced from: /Users/alex/snow
server 3.app/Contents/MacOS/snow
server Reason: no suitable image
found. Did find:
/usr/local/mysql/lib/libmysqlclient_r.16.dylib:
mach-o, but wrong architecture
I'd like to link against this library, but not have to use the local copy of it. Is this possible?
UPDATE - when i try to using install_name_tool i don't have any changes:
bash-3.2# otool -L
libmysqlclient.16.dylib
libmysqlclient.16.dylib:
libmysqlclient.16.dylib
(compatibility version 16.0.0, current
version 16.0.0)
/usr/lib/libSystem.B.dylib
(compatibility version 1.0.0, current
version 123.0.0)
/usr/lib/libz.1.dylib (compatibility
version 1.0.0, current version 1.2.3)
/usr/lib/libstdc++.6.dylib
(compatibility version 7.0.0, current
version 7.9.0) bash-3.2#
install_name_tool -change
libmysqlclient.16.dylib
#executable_path/../Frameworks/libmysqlclient.16.dylib
Usage: install_name_tool [-change old
new] ... [-rpath old new] ...
[-add_rpath new] ... [-delete_rpath
old] ... [-id name] input bash-3.2#
install_name_tool -change
libmysqlclient.16.dylib
#executable_path/../Frameworks/libmysqlclient.16.dylib
libmysqlclient.16.dylib bash-3.2#
otool -L libmysqlclient.16.dylib
libmysqlclient.16.dylib:
libmysqlclient.16.dylib
(compatibility version 16.0.0, current
version 16.0.0)
/usr/lib/libSystem.B.dylib
(compatibility version 1.0.0, current
version 123.0.0)
/usr/lib/libz.1.dylib (compatibility
version 1.0.0, current version 1.2.3)
/usr/lib/libstdc++.6.dylib
(compatibility version 7.0.0, current
version 7.9.0)
SOLUTION
i was add a script into build phase:
install_name_tool -change libmysqlclient.16.dylib #executable_path/../Frameworks/libmysqlclient.16.dylib $CONFIGURATION_BUILD_DIR/$PRODUCT_NAME.app/Contents/MacOS/$PRODUCT_NAME
this was fixed a libpath for executive product and working fine with lib in bundle.

Answer 1

First, you'll want to make sure that you're copying this library into your application bundle so that it will be available on the user's machine. To do this, add a new Copy Files build phase for your application to copy bundled frameworks. Within the properties of that build phase, make sure that the destination is Frameworks. Drag your library from your project into that build phase to make sure that it is packaged with your application.
You may also need to modify the library itself so that it points to the correct location within the application bundle. In the past, I've done this by making a copy of the library within my project's directory, then using the following command to modify where the library expects to find itself:
install_name_tool -id #executable_path/../Frameworks/libftd2xx.0.1.0.dylib libftd2xx.0.1.0.dylib
In this case, the library being modified was called libftd2xx.0.1.0.dylib.
You can use the command
otool -L [library filename]
to see the path where the library expects itself to be found and determine if this change needs to be made.
Make sure that you change the path on the library within your Xcode project so that you will be linking against this new, modified version of the library residing within your project directory.