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1.. _BuildingLibcxx:
2
3===============
4Building libc++
5===============
6
7.. contents::
8  :local:
9
10.. _build instructions:
11
12Getting Started
13===============
14
15On Mac OS 10.7 (Lion) and later, the easiest way to get this library is to install
16Xcode 4.2 or later.  However if you want to install tip-of-trunk from here
17(getting the bleeding edge), read on.
18
19The basic steps needed to build libc++ are:
20
21#. Checkout LLVM:
22
23   * ``cd where-you-want-llvm-to-live``
24   * ``svn co http://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/llvm/trunk llvm``
25
26#. Checkout libc++:
27
28   * ``cd where-you-want-llvm-to-live``
29   * ``cd llvm/projects``
30   * ``svn co http://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/libcxx/trunk libcxx``
31
32#. Checkout libc++abi:
33
34   * ``cd where-you-want-llvm-to-live``
35   * ``cd llvm/projects``
36   * ``svn co http://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/libcxxabi/trunk libcxxabi``
37
38#. Configure and build libc++ with libc++abi:
39
40   CMake is the only supported configuration system.
41
42   Clang is the preferred compiler when building and using libc++.
43
44   * ``cd where you want to build llvm``
45   * ``mkdir build``
46   * ``cd build``
47   * ``cmake -G <generator> [options] <path to llvm sources>``
48
49   For more information about configuring libc++ see :ref:`CMake Options`.
50
51   * ``make cxx`` --- will build libc++ and libc++abi.
52   * ``make check-cxx check-cxxabi`` --- will run the test suites.
53
54   Shared libraries for libc++ and libc++ abi should now be present in llvm/build/lib.
55   See :ref:`using an alternate libc++ installation <alternate libcxx>`
56
57#. **Optional**: Install libc++ and libc++abi
58
59   If your system already provides a libc++ installation it is important to be
60   careful not to replace it. Remember Use the CMake option ``CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX`` to
61   select a safe place to install libc++.
62
63   * ``make install-cxx install-cxxabi`` --- Will install the libraries and the headers
64
65   .. warning::
66     * Replacing your systems libc++ installation could render the system non-functional.
67     * Mac OS X will not boot without a valid copy of ``libc++.1.dylib`` in ``/usr/lib``.
68
69
70The instructions are for building libc++ on
71FreeBSD, Linux, or Mac using `libc++abi`_ as the C++ ABI library.
72On Linux, it is also possible to use :ref:`libsupc++ <libsupcxx>` or libcxxrt.
73
74It is sometimes beneficial to build outside of the LLVM tree. An out-of-tree
75build would look like this:
76
77.. code-block:: bash
78
79  $ cd where-you-want-libcxx-to-live
80  $ # Check out llvm, libc++ and libc++abi.
81  $ ``svn co http://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/llvm/trunk llvm``
82  $ ``svn co http://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/libcxx/trunk libcxx``
83  $ ``svn co http://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/libcxxabi/trunk libcxxabi``
84  $ cd where-you-want-to-build
85  $ mkdir build && cd build
86  $ export CC=clang CXX=clang++
87  $ cmake -DLLVM_PATH=path/to/llvm \
88          -DLIBCXX_CXX_ABI=libcxxabi \
89          -DLIBCXX_CXX_ABI_INCLUDE_PATHS=path/to/libcxxabi/include \
90          path/to/libcxx
91  $ make
92  $ make check-libcxx # optional
93
94
95Experimental Support for Windows
96--------------------------------
97
98The Windows support requires building with clang-cl as cl does not support one
99required extension: `#include_next`.  Furthermore, VS 2015 or newer (19.00) is
100required.  In the case of clang-cl, we need to specify the "MS Compatibility
101Version" as it defaults to 2014 (18.00).
102
103CMake + Visual Studio
104~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
105
106Building with Visual Studio currently does not permit running tests. However,
107it is the simplest way to build.
108
109.. code-block:: batch
110
111  > cmake -G "Visual Studio 14 2015"              ^
112          -T "LLVM-vs2014"                        ^
113          -DLIBCXX_ENABLE_SHARED=YES              ^
114          -DLIBCXX_ENABLE_STATIC=NO               ^
115          -DLIBCXX_ENABLE_EXPERIMENTAL_LIBRARY=NO ^
116          \path\to\libcxx
117  > cmake --build .
118
119CMake + ninja
120~~~~~~~~~~~~~
121
122Building with ninja is required for development to enable tests.
123Unfortunately, doing so requires additional configuration as we cannot
124just specify a toolset.
125
126.. code-block:: batch
127
128  > cmake -G Ninja                                                                    ^
129          -DCMAKE_MAKE_PROGRAM=/path/to/ninja                                         ^
130          -DCMAKE_SYSTEM_NAME=Windows                                                 ^
131          -DCMAKE_C_COMPILER=clang-cl                                                 ^
132          -DCMAKE_C_FLAGS="-fms-compatibility-version=19.00 --target=i686--windows"   ^
133          -DCMAKE_CXX_COMPILER=clang-c                                                ^
134          -DCMAKE_CXX_FLAGS="-fms-compatibility-version=19.00 --target=i686--windows" ^
135          -DLLVM_PATH=/path/to/llvm/tree                                              ^
136          -DLIBCXX_ENABLE_SHARED=YES                                                  ^
137          -DLIBCXX_ENABLE_STATIC=NO                                                   ^
138          -DLIBCXX_ENABLE_EXPERIMENTAL_LIBRARY=NO                                     ^
139          \path\to\libcxx
140  > /path/to/ninja cxx
141  > /path/to/ninja check-cxx
142
143Note that the paths specified with backward slashes must use the `\\` as the
144directory separator as clang-cl may otherwise parse the path as an argument.
145
146.. _`libc++abi`: http://libcxxabi.llvm.org/
147
148
149.. _CMake Options:
150
151CMake Options
152=============
153
154Here are some of the CMake variables that are used often, along with a
155brief explanation and LLVM-specific notes. For full documentation, check the
156CMake docs or execute ``cmake --help-variable VARIABLE_NAME``.
157
158**CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE**:STRING
159  Sets the build type for ``make`` based generators. Possible values are
160  Release, Debug, RelWithDebInfo and MinSizeRel. On systems like Visual Studio
161  the user sets the build type with the IDE settings.
162
163**CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX**:PATH
164  Path where LLVM will be installed if "make install" is invoked or the
165  "INSTALL" target is built.
166
167**CMAKE_CXX_COMPILER**:STRING
168  The C++ compiler to use when building and testing libc++.
169
170
171.. _libcxx-specific options:
172
173libc++ specific options
174-----------------------
175
176.. option:: LIBCXX_INSTALL_LIBRARY:BOOL
177
178  **Default**: ``ON``
179
180  Toggle the installation of the library portion of libc++.
181
182.. option:: LIBCXX_INSTALL_HEADERS:BOOL
183
184  **Default**: ``ON``
185
186  Toggle the installation of the libc++ headers.
187
188.. option:: LIBCXX_ENABLE_ASSERTIONS:BOOL
189
190  **Default**: ``ON``
191
192  Build libc++ with assertions enabled.
193
194.. option:: LIBCXX_BUILD_32_BITS:BOOL
195
196  **Default**: ``OFF``
197
198  Build libc++ as a 32 bit library. Also see `LLVM_BUILD_32_BITS`.
199
200.. option:: LIBCXX_ENABLE_SHARED:BOOL
201
202  **Default**: ``ON``
203
204  Build libc++ as a shared library. Either `LIBCXX_ENABLE_SHARED` or
205  `LIBCXX_ENABLE_STATIC` has to be enabled.
206
207.. option:: LIBCXX_ENABLE_STATIC:BOOL
208
209  **Default**: ``ON``
210
211  Build libc++ as a static library. Either `LIBCXX_ENABLE_SHARED` or
212  `LIBCXX_ENABLE_STATIC` has to be enabled.
213
214.. option:: LIBCXX_LIBDIR_SUFFIX:STRING
215
216  Extra suffix to append to the directory where libraries are to be installed.
217  This option overrides `LLVM_LIBDIR_SUFFIX`.
218
219
220.. _libc++experimental options:
221
222libc++experimental Specific Options
223------------------------------------
224
225.. option:: LIBCXX_ENABLE_EXPERIMENTAL_LIBRARY:BOOL
226
227  **Default**: ``ON``
228
229  Build and test libc++experimental.a.
230
231.. option:: LIBCXX_INSTALL_EXPERIMENTAL_LIBRARY:BOOL
232
233  **Default**: ``LIBCXX_ENABLE_EXPERIMENTAL_LIBRARY AND LIBCXX_INSTALL_LIBRARY``
234
235  Install libc++experimental.a alongside libc++.
236
237
238.. option:: LIBCXX_ENABLE_FILESYSTEM:BOOL
239
240  **Default**: ``LIBCXX_ENABLE_EXPERIMENTAL_LIBRARY``
241
242  Build filesystem as part of libc++experimental.a. This allows filesystem
243  to be disabled without turning off the entire experimental library.
244
245
246.. _ABI Library Specific Options:
247
248ABI Library Specific Options
249----------------------------
250
251.. option:: LIBCXX_CXX_ABI:STRING
252
253  **Values**: ``none``, ``libcxxabi``, ``libcxxrt``, ``libstdc++``, ``libsupc++``.
254
255  Select the ABI library to build libc++ against.
256
257.. option:: LIBCXX_CXX_ABI_INCLUDE_PATHS:PATHS
258
259  Provide additional search paths for the ABI library headers.
260
261.. option:: LIBCXX_CXX_ABI_LIBRARY_PATH:PATH
262
263  Provide the path to the ABI library that libc++ should link against.
264
265.. option:: LIBCXX_ENABLE_STATIC_ABI_LIBRARY:BOOL
266
267  **Default**: ``OFF``
268
269  If this option is enabled, libc++ will try and link the selected ABI library
270  statically.
271
272.. option:: LIBCXX_ENABLE_ABI_LINKER_SCRIPT:BOOL
273
274  **Default**: ``ON`` by default on UNIX platforms other than Apple unless
275  'LIBCXX_ENABLE_STATIC_ABI_LIBRARY' is ON. Otherwise the default value is ``OFF``.
276
277  This option generate and installs a linker script as ``libc++.so`` which
278  links the correct ABI library.
279
280.. option:: LIBCXXABI_USE_LLVM_UNWINDER:BOOL
281
282  **Default**: ``OFF``
283
284  Build and use the LLVM unwinder. Note: This option can only be used when
285  libc++abi is the C++ ABI library used.
286
287
288libc++ Feature Options
289----------------------
290
291.. option:: LIBCXX_ENABLE_EXCEPTIONS:BOOL
292
293  **Default**: ``ON``
294
295  Build libc++ with exception support.
296
297.. option:: LIBCXX_ENABLE_RTTI:BOOL
298
299  **Default**: ``ON``
300
301  Build libc++ with run time type information.
302
303.. option:: LIBCXX_INCLUDE_BENCHMARKS:BOOL
304
305  **Default**: ``ON``
306
307  Build the libc++ benchmark tests and the Google Benchmark library needed
308  to support them.
309
310.. option:: LIBCXX_BENCHMARK_NATIVE_STDLIB:STRING
311
312  **Default**:: ``""``
313
314  **Values**:: ``libc++``, ``libstdc++``
315
316  Build the libc++ benchmark tests and Google Benchmark library against the
317  specified standard library on the platform. On linux this can be used to
318  compare libc++ to libstdc++ by building the benchmark tests against both
319  standard libraries.
320
321.. option:: LIBCXX_BENCHMARK_NATIVE_GCC_TOOLCHAIN:STRING
322
323  Use the specified GCC toolchain and standard library when building the native
324  stdlib benchmark tests.
325
326
327libc++ ABI Feature Options
328--------------------------
329
330The following options allow building libc++ for a different ABI version.
331
332.. option:: LIBCXX_ABI_VERSION:STRING
333
334  **Default**: ``1``
335
336  Defines the target ABI version of libc++.
337
338.. option:: LIBCXX_ABI_UNSTABLE:BOOL
339
340  **Default**: ``OFF``
341
342  Build the "unstable" ABI version of libc++. Includes all ABI changing features
343  on top of the current stable version.
344
345.. _LLVM-specific variables:
346
347LLVM-specific options
348---------------------
349
350.. option:: LLVM_LIBDIR_SUFFIX:STRING
351
352  Extra suffix to append to the directory where libraries are to be
353  installed. On a 64-bit architecture, one could use ``-DLLVM_LIBDIR_SUFFIX=64``
354  to install libraries to ``/usr/lib64``.
355
356.. option:: LLVM_BUILD_32_BITS:BOOL
357
358  Build 32-bits executables and libraries on 64-bits systems. This option is
359  available only on some 64-bits unix systems. Defaults to OFF.
360
361.. option:: LLVM_LIT_ARGS:STRING
362
363  Arguments given to lit.  ``make check`` and ``make clang-test`` are affected.
364  By default, ``'-sv --no-progress-bar'`` on Visual C++ and Xcode, ``'-sv'`` on
365  others.
366
367
368Using Alternate ABI libraries
369=============================
370
371
372.. _libsupcxx:
373
374Using libsupc++ on Linux
375------------------------
376
377You will need libstdc++ in order to provide libsupc++.
378
379Figure out where the libsupc++ headers are on your system. On Ubuntu this
380is ``/usr/include/c++/<version>`` and ``/usr/include/c++/<version>/<target-triple>``
381
382You can also figure this out by running
383
384.. code-block:: bash
385
386  $ echo | g++ -Wp,-v -x c++ - -fsyntax-only
387  ignoring nonexistent directory "/usr/local/include/x86_64-linux-gnu"
388  ignoring nonexistent directory "/usr/lib/gcc/x86_64-linux-gnu/4.7/../../../../x86_64-linux-gnu/include"
389  #include "..." search starts here:
390  #include &lt;...&gt; search starts here:
391  /usr/include/c++/4.7
392  /usr/include/c++/4.7/x86_64-linux-gnu
393  /usr/include/c++/4.7/backward
394  /usr/lib/gcc/x86_64-linux-gnu/4.7/include
395  /usr/local/include
396  /usr/lib/gcc/x86_64-linux-gnu/4.7/include-fixed
397  /usr/include/x86_64-linux-gnu
398  /usr/include
399  End of search list.
400
401Note that the first two entries happen to be what we are looking for. This
402may not be correct on other platforms.
403
404We can now run CMake:
405
406.. code-block:: bash
407
408  $ CC=clang CXX=clang++ cmake -G "Unix Makefiles" \
409    -DLIBCXX_CXX_ABI=libstdc++ \
410    -DLIBCXX_CXX_ABI_INCLUDE_PATHS="/usr/include/c++/4.7/;/usr/include/c++/4.7/x86_64-linux-gnu/" \
411    -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=/usr \
412    <libc++-source-dir>
413
414
415You can also substitute ``-DLIBCXX_CXX_ABI=libsupc++``
416above, which will cause the library to be linked to libsupc++ instead
417of libstdc++, but this is only recommended if you know that you will
418never need to link against libstdc++ in the same executable as libc++.
419GCC ships libsupc++ separately but only as a static library.  If a
420program also needs to link against libstdc++, it will provide its
421own copy of libsupc++ and this can lead to subtle problems.
422
423.. code-block:: bash
424
425  $ make cxx
426  $ make install
427
428You can now run clang with -stdlib=libc++.
429
430
431.. _libcxxrt_ref:
432
433Using libcxxrt on Linux
434------------------------
435
436You will need to keep the source tree of `libcxxrt`_ available
437on your build machine and your copy of the libcxxrt shared library must
438be placed where your linker will find it.
439
440We can now run CMake like:
441
442.. code-block:: bash
443
444  $ CC=clang CXX=clang++ cmake -G "Unix Makefiles" \
445          -DLIBCXX_CXX_ABI=libcxxrt \
446          -DLIBCXX_CXX_ABI_INCLUDE_PATHS=path/to/libcxxrt-sources/src \
447                -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release \
448                -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=/usr \
449                <libc++-source-directory>
450  $ make cxx
451  $ make install
452
453Unfortunately you can't simply run clang with "-stdlib=libc++" at this point, as
454clang is set up to link for libc++ linked to libsupc++.  To get around this
455you'll have to set up your linker yourself (or patch clang).  For example,
456
457.. code-block:: bash
458
459  $ clang++ -stdlib=libc++ helloworld.cpp \
460            -nodefaultlibs -lc++ -lcxxrt -lm -lc -lgcc_s -lgcc
461
462Alternately, you could just add libcxxrt to your libraries list, which in most
463situations will give the same result:
464
465.. code-block:: bash
466
467  $ clang++ -stdlib=libc++ helloworld.cpp -lcxxrt
468
469.. _`libcxxrt`: https://github.com/pathscale/libcxxrt/
470
471
472Using a local ABI library installation
473---------------------------------------
474
475.. warning::
476  This is not recommended in almost all cases.
477
478These instructions should only be used when you can't install your ABI library.
479
480Normally you must link libc++ against a ABI shared library that the
481linker can find.  If you want to build and test libc++ against an ABI
482library not in the linker's path you needq to set
483``-DLIBCXX_CXX_ABI_LIBRARY_PATH=/path/to/abi/lib`` when configuring CMake.
484
485An example build using libc++abi would look like:
486
487.. code-block:: bash
488
489  $ CC=clang CXX=clang++ cmake \
490              -DLIBCXX_CXX_ABI=libc++abi  \
491              -DLIBCXX_CXX_ABI_INCLUDE_PATHS="/path/to/libcxxabi/include" \
492              -DLIBCXX_CXX_ABI_LIBRARY_PATH="/path/to/libcxxabi-build/lib" \
493               path/to/libcxx
494  $ make
495
496When testing libc++ LIT will automatically link against the proper ABI
497library.
498