Configuring Code::Blocks to use the Boost Libraries in Windows and Linux

Some examples of how to configure Code::Blocks to use the Boost C++ libraries:

1. Header-only (Windows)
2. Compiled libraries (Windows)
3. Compiled libraries (Ubuntu Linux)

1. Header-only (Windows)

To configure Code::Blocks to use a header-only Boost library: Boost.DateTime. Select File > New > Project > Empty Project:

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Give the project a name and click Next:

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Choose the C++ compiler you are currently using, such as Cygwin or MinGW and then click Finish:

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Add the main.cpp source file by selecting File > New > Empty File. Click Yes when prompted if we wish to add this to the current active project:

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And then save your file:

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Then make sure the Debug and Release checkboxes are set:

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An example that only requires the use of non-compiled libraries, the Boost.DateTime example. Paste the following into the main.cpp file you just created:

#include <boost/format.hpp>
#include <boost/date_time.hpp>
#include <iostream>

int main()
{
    const boost::posix_time::ptime now = boost::posix_time::second_clock::local_time();

    const boost::wformat f = boost::wformat( L"%02d.%02d.%s  %02d:%02d" )
                    % now.date().year_month_day().day.as_number()
                    % now.date().year_month_day().month.as_number()
                    % now.date().year_month_day().year
                    % now.time_of_day().hours()
                    % now.time_of_day().minutes();

    std::wcout << f.str() << std::endl;
}

Notice that the Code::Blocks compiler still needs to know where to find the Boost.Format and Boost.Datetime libraries otherwise it will not successfully compile:

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Right-click your project folder and select Build Options. Select the Search Directories tab and then select the Compiler tab:

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Click the Add button and notice that the Add Directory dialog defaults to the current project folder location:

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Click the browse button to the right in order to locate and select your Boost root directory:

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Click OK and choose Yes to keep this as a relative path if prompted:

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Like so:

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You are then returned to the Project Build Options dialog. Click OK.

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Choose Build again and this time the project will build successfully:

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Clicking the run button will the give the following output:

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2. Compiled libraries (Windows)

An example this time using a Boost library requiring additional compilation, Boost.FileSystem.

To generate the necessary library files, open a command prompt, navigate to the Boost root directory and execute the commands. In this example I am using compiled libraries generated for MinGW:

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As with the header-only example, create the empty project, set the compiler choice and set the Debug/Release targets:

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Insert a new empty file and save it as our main.cpp. Insert the following code which exercises the file system library:

#include "boost/filesystem.hpp"
#include "boost/foreach.hpp"
#include <iostream>

int main()
{
    boost::filesystem::path targetDir( "C:\\MyStuff" );

    boost::filesystem::directory_iterator it( targetDir ), eod;

    BOOST_FOREACH( boost::filesystem::path const &p, std::make_pair( it, eod ) )
    {
        if( is_regular_file( p ) )
        {
            std::string filename = p.filename().string();
            std::cout << filename << std::endl;
        }
    }

    std::getchar();

    return 0;
}

As before, right-click your project folder and select Build Options. Select the Search Directories tab and then select the Compiler tab. Set the location of the Boost root directory:

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Select the Linker tab and set the location of the library files:

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In the Linker Setting tab add the necessary library names, which in this example will be the filesystem and system libraries:

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These are the libraries that are generated through running the bootstrap.bat and b2.exe via command line in the Boost root directory.

The compiled-library example should now compile and run the example to read and display the file names inside my “MyStuff” directory:

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3. Compiled libraries (Ubuntu Linux)

One more example, this time using Code::Blocks in a Linux (Ubuntu) environment, using Boost.Threads as the compiled library example.

First make sure you have an up-to-date Boost installed using the apt-get command:

sudo apt-get install libboost-all-dev

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Create a new Empty Project as with the previous Windows examples. This time we will call it BoostThreads:

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Set the Compiler configuration and click Finish:

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Insert a new empty file and save it as our main.cpp. Do this by selecting New > Empty File:

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Insert the following code in main.cpp which exercises the Boost Threads library:


#include <iostream>
#include <boost/thread.hpp>
#include <boost/date_time.hpp>

void workerFunc()
{
    boost::posix_time::seconds workTime(3);

    std::cout << "Worker: running" << std::endl;

    // Pretend to do something useful...
    boost::this_thread::sleep(workTime);

    std::cout << "Worker: finished" << std::endl;
}

int main(int argc, char* argv[])
{
    std::cout << "main: startup" << std::endl;

    boost::thread workerThread(workerFunc);

    std::cout << "main: waiting for thread" << std::endl;

    workerThread.join();

    std::cout << "main: done" << std::endl;

    return 0;
}

We now configure the include and library paths etc. If you are unsure of where your Boost libraries have been installed in Linux, the

locate

can be fairly useful:

locate libboost

On my machine the compiled library files were located in the /usr/lib/i386-linux-gnu/ folder:

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As with the Windows compiled library example, right-click your project folder and select Build Options. Select the Search Directories tab and then select the Compiler tab. Set the location of the include directory:

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Click the Linker tab, and select the location of the compiled libraries

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Select the ‘Linker Settings’ tab and add the names of the compiled Boost libraries that we will need: boost_thread and boost_system (for some reason any program using Boost threads needs to use this)

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This should then compile.

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