[Boost-users] Question about static linking of boost

From: Daniel Huber (dhuber_at_[hidden])
Date: 2004-08-17 18:20:37

Thanks to Stephen for helping me get my boost to link.  I feel bad for 
not thinking of this solution myself.

I have one final question/suggestion about the getting started document 
(which I found to be very well written).

I compile and install boost using the following command:

tools/build/jam_src/bin.linuxx86/bjam "-sTOOLS=gcc" "-sBUILD=release 
<runtime-link>static" --prefix=$HOME/linux/lib/boost install

My goal was to create a minimal set of boost libraries (basically, I 
just need the filesystem non-debug static version.  I was surprised to 
find that the above command installs shared libraries for some of the 
libraries, and it also installs both the -s- version of the static 
libraries and the -sd- version.  It seems to me that this might be a 
bug, since I specifically requested only the release version.

Am I confused about the difference between release version and debug 
version?

Also, I am confused about the meaning of the -s- flag in the runtime 
section of the filename.  Why do we get libraries that are shared but 
have the -s- flag?  That seems like a contradiction.  Similarly, if I 
don't specify static linking using the -sBUILD option (I assume the 
absence of the -s- flag means dynamic implicitly), I still get static 
libraries (i.e. .a extension files).  These files seem to be unusable 
more or less (when I try to link against them, the compiler uses the 
shared libraries instead even if they don't exist).

Anyway, all this is not much use to me, since I have it working now, but 
maybe someone could add a bit of text to the getting started document 
explaining this.

Also, it might be helpful to give an example compile command that shows 
linking in the boost libraries.

Thanks again for all your help.

Sincerely,
Daniel