Build fails in release mode

Bryan Kelly 486

I am far from expert in VS so please be explicit
Windows 11, Visual Studio 2019, C++

Trying to learn wxWidgets. The basic Hello World file compiles in debug but not in release.
The first few lines look like this.

I have tried changing PATH, and the properties pages

For example wxprec.h is found here:

C:\WXWIDGETS\3.2.0\include\wx\wxprec.h

Environment variable WXWIN is set to C:\WXWIDGETS\3.2.0

What needs to be different?

David Lowndes 4,726 Reputation points

2022-07-17T20:56:08.2+00:00

Note that the project has different settings for debug & release configurations. Presumably you have the debug one's set correctly, but not the release.
Bryan Kelly 486 Reputation points

2022-07-17T21:30:26.147+00:00

Re: Presumably you have the debug one's set correctly, but not the release.

Why yes, that appears to be the problem. So where are those that need to be set for release mode?
I am far from a VS expert and need some detailed guidance.
David Lowndes 4,726 Reputation points

2022-07-17T21:33:51.74+00:00

Your screen shows shows your debug configuration - pick the release one from the combo box and then compare and contrast the differences you have.
YujianYao-MSFT 4,296 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff

2022-07-18T03:58:14.41+00:00

Hi @Bryan Kelly ,

I found this question is similar to your previous question, could you please tell me what is the difference between the two questions?
Bryan Kelly 486 Reputation points

2022-07-18T18:20:34.953+00:00

Does this mean that for every solution a user creates, we must show the configuration, capture it with a screen capture, change the mode (debug to release or reverse), show the config again, and compare every detail?
There are multiple config dialogs so this will take significant time and be tedious.
RLWA32 49,536 Reputation points

2022-07-18T18:51:37.433+00:00

As I explained in my posted answer you should be using the provided property sheet which would handle the situation that you describe automatically.

And the guidance from How to use wxMSW binaries -

"Using Binaries with Visual Studio

Next step is to set up your project to use these files: for this, simply add the provided wxwidgets.props file as a property sheet to your project. This can be done using View|Property Manager menu item in the IDE and selecting "Add Existing Property Sheet..." from the project popup menu.

Note: your project must use "Unicode Character Set" option.

Now you should be able to build and run your project successfully, both in "Debug" and "Release" configurations. Please note that during run-time the executables will require wxWidgets DLLs in addition to MSVC run-time DLLs, so you should consider adding the directory containing these DLLs to your PATH and either distributing them with your application or instructing your users to download them."
Bryan Kelly 486 Reputation points

2022-07-21T21:18:35.037+00:00

I tried replying to the reply from DavidLowndes-6766, but my post disappeared.

Re: Your screen shows shows your debug configuration - pick the release one from the combo box and then compare and contrast the differences you have.

That seems like for every project I will need to show each of the properties sheets in Debug, capture the images, then show each in Release mode and look for differences. That seems ridiculous so I presume there is something I don't understand about the reply.
David Lowndes 4,726 Reputation points

2022-07-21T22:25:15.21+00:00

The VS IDE allows you to select all configurations to be edited at once and indicates where there are differences between configurations by displaying <different options>.

20 answers

Bryan Kelly 486 Reputation points

2022-07-22T17:02:40.227+00:00

Wow. You put a lot of effort into your reply.
I struggle with clinical depression and have been getting frustrated at my inability to get something working.

And sometimes when clicking Post Your Answer, a new page opens stating that my request could not be performed. I will watch for that next time, screen capture, and post in the right forum.

Just wanted to let you know I am working your reply and will post again soon.
Thank you for your time and thank you for your patience.
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Bryan Kelly 486 Reputation points

2022-07-22T17:05:51.78+00:00

At the moment I cannot post a comment to an earlier post, so make a reply.

From the detail instructions posted as an image: DO NOT DO A BATCH BUILD.

In a thread, I think on a wxWidgets forum, doing a batch build was suggested. At a high level, why do you make this statement?

And why Win32 rather than x64 or x86? At a relative high level. That means I need to go with a 32 bit application.

Meanwhile, I am following those instructions.

Edit

Step 4) build the solution...

The almost immediate response in the Output dialog is:

Build started...

==========
Build: 0 succeeded, 0 failed, 24 up-to-date, 0 skipped ==========

That indicates, to me, it did not really do a clean. Is this a problem?

Edit:
I discovered that the four existing directories (in that wxWidtets lib directory) were created when I did a build. Deleted all four of them and it built as expected.

8) Go into the project property sheet Configuration Properties -> Linker -> System. Make sure you have select “All Configurations” and “All Platforms” from the dropdowns and change the SubSystem property to "/SUBSYSTEM:WINDOWS”

I don’t find the “All Configurations” or “All Platforms”
I did change SubSystem as noted.
Am I OK?
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RLWA32 49,536 Reputation points

2022-07-22T17:27:59.833+00:00

From the detail instructions posted as an image: DO NOT DO A BATCH BUILD.

In a thread, I think on a wxWidgets forum, doing a batch build was suggested. At a high level, why do you make this statement?

I'm trying to keep it simple. By only building one configuration/platform you eliminate sources of error and confusion.

And why Win32 rather than x64 or x86? At a relative high level. That means I need to go with a 32 bit application.

First, Win32 is what the wx_vc16.sln will show. Again, look at the image I posted for Step 3. And, as before, keep it simple. After you can get a Debug/32-bit build of the wxwidgets DLLs created and successfully build and run the "Hello World" sample we can work on other things.

========== Build: 0 succeeded, 0 failed, 24 up-to-date, 0 skipped ==========
That indicates, to me, it did not really do a clean. Is this a problem?

I want you to start with a clean slate and without any remnants of your prior efforts. So yes, it defeats the purpose of starting fresh.

RLWA32 49,536 Reputation points

2022-07-22T18:55:56.907+00:00

I don’t find the “All Configurations” or “All Platforms”

If you look again at the image posted for step 8 you should notice that at the top of the dialog next to "Configuration:" and "Platforms:" there are dropdown combo boxes. Click on them and dropdowns will open from which you can make the selections.. I want you to do it for All Configurations and All Platforms to avoid future linker errors.
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Bryan Kelly 486 Reputation points

2022-07-22T19:27:43.557+00:00

Got it. Have some priorities but will be working it.
Thank you profusely.
EDIT
My Property Manager looks a bit different from yours in that it does not have the sub-item named wsWidgets Setup Options in each of the four categories. An image is attached.

I don't know if this will be a problem.
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RLWA32 49,536 Reputation points

2022-07-22T23:39:35.783+00:00

Look again, my friend. Do you see the arrows to the left of the wxWidgets nodes? Click on them to expand and you will see the other property sheets. :)
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Bryan Kelly 486 Reputation points

2022-07-23T00:45:52.02+00:00

I get down to step 12 where it compiles good but does not link I did edit PATH to no avail.
Then I returned to the wxWidgets, used the batch build to build everything, then added all the new libraries into PATH.
The results are exactly the same. That puzzles me.

But as has been seen, posting complex information has proven to be a problem here, I posted the files to a personal web site.
https://mbkelly.net/software/

I copied the instructions into a MS Word document along with comments as I progressed. That file was saved as a MS Word document and as an htm document. The htm is exported Word document and does not show the images. Edit: fixed that little problem.
The first few and last few lines of dialog Output are shown in both formats.

and for here, the first few lines of Output:

Build started...
1>------ Build started: Project: hello_world_10, Configuration: Release Win32 ------
1>hello_world_10.cpp
1>hello_world_10.obj : error LNK2001: unresolved external symbol "__declspec(dllimport) public: static class wxString __cdecl wxString::FormatV(class wxString const &,char *)" (__imp_?FormatV@wxString@@SA?AV1@ABV1@Pawel @Z)
1>hello_world_10.obj : error LNK2001: unresolved external symbol "__declspec(dllimport) public: static class wxString __cdecl wxString::FromAscii(char const *)" (__imp_?FromAscii@wxString@@SA?AV1@PBD@Z)

There are 475 errors so obviously a configuration problem. I am reviewing but don't yet see my omission.
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RLWA32 49,536 Reputation points

2022-07-23T01:33:00.5+00:00

I instructed you to do a a 32-bit Debug DLL build of wxWidgets. But you are trying to build a Release version of your project. That is the cause of your linker errors. Build a debug version of your project.
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Bryan Kelly 486 Reputation points

2022-07-23T15:34:19.067+00:00

I followed your instructions instruction precisely. I think I did it right.
I did purge those directories from wxWidget lib directory and did the single debug build for the wxwidgets.
Then built hello world 32 bit debug.
When things did not work out well, I tried to be a thinking person and built wxwidgets for everything and tried different versions.
Just now I set Debug and x86, then visited Property Pages and changed it to be specifically Debug and Win32.
I have written all the instructions down and if I errored, will make changes and do it again.
I know I am testing your patience and am deeply appreciative of your time and knowledge.
Hopefully this will post with the image.

Edit: Its a linking error, so added in the widgets lib directory, clean, rebuild.
No help so added in each of the widget libs and again clean, rebuild. no help.

And the last attempt was to return to property pages, set All Configurations and All Platforms, same results.
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RLWA32 49,536 Reputation points

2022-07-23T15:58:51.957+00:00

Revert every single change you made to your project properties other than the ones that you have been instructed to make.

Delete every folder other than C:\WXWIDGETS\3.2.0\lib\vc_dll

Post an image of your project's configuration manager dialog -
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Build fails in release mode

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