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-cl                                                ^
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.. option:: LIBCXX_INSTALL_PREFIX:STRING
220
221  **Default**: ``""``
222
223  Define libc++ destination prefix.
224
225.. _libc++experimental options:
226
227libc++experimental Specific Options
228------------------------------------
229
230.. option:: LIBCXX_ENABLE_EXPERIMENTAL_LIBRARY:BOOL
231
232  **Default**: ``ON``
233
234  Build and test libc++experimental.a.
235
236.. option:: LIBCXX_INSTALL_EXPERIMENTAL_LIBRARY:BOOL
237
238  **Default**: ``LIBCXX_ENABLE_EXPERIMENTAL_LIBRARY AND LIBCXX_INSTALL_LIBRARY``
239
240  Install libc++experimental.a alongside libc++.
241
242
243.. option:: LIBCXX_ENABLE_FILESYSTEM:BOOL
244
245  **Default**: ``LIBCXX_ENABLE_EXPERIMENTAL_LIBRARY``
246
247  Build filesystem as part of libc++experimental.a. This allows filesystem
248  to be disabled without turning off the entire experimental library.
249
250
251.. _ABI Library Specific Options:
252
253ABI Library Specific Options
254----------------------------
255
256.. option:: LIBCXX_CXX_ABI:STRING
257
258  **Values**: ``none``, ``libcxxabi``, ``libcxxrt``, ``libstdc++``, ``libsupc++``.
259
260  Select the ABI library to build libc++ against.
261
262.. option:: LIBCXX_CXX_ABI_INCLUDE_PATHS:PATHS
263
264  Provide additional search paths for the ABI library headers.
265
266.. option:: LIBCXX_CXX_ABI_LIBRARY_PATH:PATH
267
268  Provide the path to the ABI library that libc++ should link against.
269
270.. option:: LIBCXX_ENABLE_STATIC_ABI_LIBRARY:BOOL
271
272  **Default**: ``OFF``
273
274  If this option is enabled, libc++ will try and link the selected ABI library
275  statically.
276
277.. option:: LIBCXX_ENABLE_ABI_LINKER_SCRIPT:BOOL
278
279  **Default**: ``ON`` by default on UNIX platforms other than Apple unless
280  'LIBCXX_ENABLE_STATIC_ABI_LIBRARY' is ON. Otherwise the default value is ``OFF``.
281
282  This option generate and installs a linker script as ``libc++.so`` which
283  links the correct ABI library.
284
285.. option:: LIBCXXABI_USE_LLVM_UNWINDER:BOOL
286
287  **Default**: ``OFF``
288
289  Build and use the LLVM unwinder. Note: This option can only be used when
290  libc++abi is the C++ ABI library used.
291
292
293libc++ Feature Options
294----------------------
295
296.. option:: LIBCXX_ENABLE_EXCEPTIONS:BOOL
297
298  **Default**: ``ON``
299
300  Build libc++ with exception support.
301
302.. option:: LIBCXX_ENABLE_RTTI:BOOL
303
304  **Default**: ``ON``
305
306  Build libc++ with run time type information.
307
308.. option:: LIBCXX_INCLUDE_BENCHMARKS:BOOL
309
310  **Default**: ``ON``
311
312  Build the libc++ benchmark tests and the Google Benchmark library needed
313  to support them.
314
315.. option:: LIBCXX_BENCHMARK_NATIVE_STDLIB:STRING
316
317  **Default**:: ``""``
318
319  **Values**:: ``libc++``, ``libstdc++``
320
321  Build the libc++ benchmark tests and Google Benchmark library against the
322  specified standard library on the platform. On linux this can be used to
323  compare libc++ to libstdc++ by building the benchmark tests against both
324  standard libraries.
325
326.. option:: LIBCXX_BENCHMARK_NATIVE_GCC_TOOLCHAIN:STRING
327
328  Use the specified GCC toolchain and standard library when building the native
329  stdlib benchmark tests.
330
331
332libc++ ABI Feature Options
333--------------------------
334
335The following options allow building libc++ for a different ABI version.
336
337.. option:: LIBCXX_ABI_VERSION:STRING
338
339  **Default**: ``1``
340
341  Defines the target ABI version of libc++.
342
343.. option:: LIBCXX_ABI_UNSTABLE:BOOL
344
345  **Default**: ``OFF``
346
347  Build the "unstable" ABI version of libc++. Includes all ABI changing features
348  on top of the current stable version.
349
350.. option:: LIBCXX_ABI_DEFINES:STRING
351
352  **Default**: ``""``
353
354  A semicolon-separated list of ABI macros to persist in the site config header.
355  See ``include/__config`` for the list of ABI macros.
356
357.. _LLVM-specific variables:
358
359LLVM-specific options
360---------------------
361
362.. option:: LLVM_LIBDIR_SUFFIX:STRING
363
364  Extra suffix to append to the directory where libraries are to be
365  installed. On a 64-bit architecture, one could use ``-DLLVM_LIBDIR_SUFFIX=64``
366  to install libraries to ``/usr/lib64``.
367
368.. option:: LLVM_BUILD_32_BITS:BOOL
369
370  Build 32-bits executables and libraries on 64-bits systems. This option is
371  available only on some 64-bits unix systems. Defaults to OFF.
372
373.. option:: LLVM_LIT_ARGS:STRING
374
375  Arguments given to lit.  ``make check`` and ``make clang-test`` are affected.
376  By default, ``'-sv --no-progress-bar'`` on Visual C++ and Xcode, ``'-sv'`` on
377  others.
378
379
380Using Alternate ABI libraries
381=============================
382
383
384.. _libsupcxx:
385
386Using libsupc++ on Linux
387------------------------
388
389You will need libstdc++ in order to provide libsupc++.
390
391Figure out where the libsupc++ headers are on your system. On Ubuntu this
392is ``/usr/include/c++/<version>`` and ``/usr/include/c++/<version>/<target-triple>``
393
394You can also figure this out by running
395
396.. code-block:: bash
397
398  $ echo | g++ -Wp,-v -x c++ - -fsyntax-only
399  ignoring nonexistent directory "/usr/local/include/x86_64-linux-gnu"
400  ignoring nonexistent directory "/usr/lib/gcc/x86_64-linux-gnu/4.7/../../../../x86_64-linux-gnu/include"
401  #include "..." search starts here:
402  #include &lt;...&gt; search starts here:
403  /usr/include/c++/4.7
404  /usr/include/c++/4.7/x86_64-linux-gnu
405  /usr/include/c++/4.7/backward
406  /usr/lib/gcc/x86_64-linux-gnu/4.7/include
407  /usr/local/include
408  /usr/lib/gcc/x86_64-linux-gnu/4.7/include-fixed
409  /usr/include/x86_64-linux-gnu
410  /usr/include
411  End of search list.
412
413Note that the first two entries happen to be what we are looking for. This
414may not be correct on other platforms.
415
416We can now run CMake:
417
418.. code-block:: bash
419
420  $ CC=clang CXX=clang++ cmake -G "Unix Makefiles" \
421    -DLIBCXX_CXX_ABI=libstdc++ \
422    -DLIBCXX_CXX_ABI_INCLUDE_PATHS="/usr/include/c++/4.7/;/usr/include/c++/4.7/x86_64-linux-gnu/" \
423    -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=/usr \
424    <libc++-source-dir>
425
426
427You can also substitute ``-DLIBCXX_CXX_ABI=libsupc++``
428above, which will cause the library to be linked to libsupc++ instead
429of libstdc++, but this is only recommended if you know that you will
430never need to link against libstdc++ in the same executable as libc++.
431GCC ships libsupc++ separately but only as a static library.  If a
432program also needs to link against libstdc++, it will provide its
433own copy of libsupc++ and this can lead to subtle problems.
434
435.. code-block:: bash
436
437  $ make cxx
438  $ make install
439
440You can now run clang with -stdlib=libc++.
441
442
443.. _libcxxrt_ref:
444
445Using libcxxrt on Linux
446------------------------
447
448You will need to keep the source tree of `libcxxrt`_ available
449on your build machine and your copy of the libcxxrt shared library must
450be placed where your linker will find it.
451
452We can now run CMake like:
453
454.. code-block:: bash
455
456  $ CC=clang CXX=clang++ cmake -G "Unix Makefiles" \
457          -DLIBCXX_CXX_ABI=libcxxrt \
458          -DLIBCXX_CXX_ABI_INCLUDE_PATHS=path/to/libcxxrt-sources/src \
459                -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release \
460                -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=/usr \
461                <libc++-source-directory>
462  $ make cxx
463  $ make install
464
465Unfortunately you can't simply run clang with "-stdlib=libc++" at this point, as
466clang is set up to link for libc++ linked to libsupc++.  To get around this
467you'll have to set up your linker yourself (or patch clang).  For example,
468
469.. code-block:: bash
470
471  $ clang++ -stdlib=libc++ helloworld.cpp \
472            -nodefaultlibs -lc++ -lcxxrt -lm -lc -lgcc_s -lgcc
473
474Alternately, you could just add libcxxrt to your libraries list, which in most
475situations will give the same result:
476
477.. code-block:: bash
478
479  $ clang++ -stdlib=libc++ helloworld.cpp -lcxxrt
480
481.. _`libcxxrt`: https://github.com/pathscale/libcxxrt/
482
483
484Using a local ABI library installation
485---------------------------------------
486
487.. warning::
488  This is not recommended in almost all cases.
489
490These instructions should only be used when you can't install your ABI library.
491
492Normally you must link libc++ against a ABI shared library that the
493linker can find.  If you want to build and test libc++ against an ABI
494library not in the linker's path you needq to set
495``-DLIBCXX_CXX_ABI_LIBRARY_PATH=/path/to/abi/lib`` when configuring CMake.
496
497An example build using libc++abi would look like:
498
499.. code-block:: bash
500
501  $ CC=clang CXX=clang++ cmake \
502              -DLIBCXX_CXX_ABI=libc++abi  \
503              -DLIBCXX_CXX_ABI_INCLUDE_PATHS="/path/to/libcxxabi/include" \
504              -DLIBCXX_CXX_ABI_LIBRARY_PATH="/path/to/libcxxabi-build/lib" \
505               path/to/libcxx
506  $ make
507
508When testing libc++ LIT will automatically link against the proper ABI
509library.
510