Re: [Boost-build] Errors when compiling Boost on Windows with MinGW

Subject: Re: [Boost-build] Errors when compiling Boost on Windows with MinGW
From: Lars Viklund (zao_at_[hidden])
Date: 2012-02-28 09:13:21

On Sun, Feb 26, 2012 at 07:02:44PM +0200, Paul wrote:
> Hi All,
> 
> Sorry if this has been answered, but I didn't find a search facility
> for this mailing list. I tried the archives here
> (http://lists.boost.org/boost-build/), but I don't see a search.

Was it you that I aided on IRC recently, or was that some other similar
bloke?

> I am trying to compile Boost on a windows machine. I have MinGW, with
> gcc version 4.5.2. I followed the instructions here
> (http://www.boost.org/doc/libs/1_49_0/more/getting_started/windows.html),
> building from source, using Boost version 1.49.0. Step 5.3.1 Install
> Boost.Build went fine, although I did need to append "mingw" to the
> bootstrap.bat command, and "--toolset=gcc" to the "b2 install" command.
> I invoked b2 (again, with "toolset=gcc", but without giving a
> --build-dir, as the instructions say it isn't strictly necessary if the

You say both "--toolset=gcc" and "toolset=gcc", while only the latter is
valid. The former is to my knowledge the same as omitting the toolset
option completely, resulting in autodetection of autodetectable
toolsets like Visual Studio.

> folder is writeable, which it is), and redirected the output to
> build.log, as explained in step 5.3.4 (using ">build.log 2>&1" as
> given). I've attached the log file.
> 
> when I examine the log, I see a bunch of errors, as well as some
> warnings about MPI and python.

Some libraries have external dependencies like MPI and Python, which
respectively depend on a platform MPI implementation and on a Python
development deployment.

> Most importantly, can someone explain the errors to me, please.
> 
> Also, can someone advise on the warnings. I am trying to build a
> windows port of a linux program written by a friend. I know he uses
> Boost, but I'm not sure if he built it with any special requirements,
> or just used a standard pre-built version that came with his distro.
> As I don't know Boost myself, I'm not really sure if I need the python
> or MPI stuff, or not, or even which questions to ask my friend around
> what he did with Boost.

If you do not need Boost.Python or Boost.MPI, you don't need to build
them and can ignore any errors caused by trying to build them.

Whatever libraries that successfully builds will be successfully built,
and usable.

If your software depends on something that doesn't build, you could
look into those failures in particular.

-- 
Lars Viklund | zao_at_[hidden]