C++ – Qt Creator LNK1104: cannot open file ‘glu32.lib’

cqtvisual c++

I have been learning C++ for about a year now, not a complete noobie, but recently decided to learn how to create GUIs, so after a little research I figured Qt was the tool for me.

Grabbed Qt and wanted to get into the Qt Creator following thenewboston's Youtube tutorials, but any (even empty) project I attempt to run gets an error

LNK1104: cannot open file 'glu32.lib'.

I've been scouring the internet for a solution to this problem for a while – the question has been posed a few times, but solutions either don't apply to me or I can't make head or tail of them (I'm still somewhat of a noobie in many respects).

I could really use some advice on this.

Edit: @hyde Here's the compiler output:

17:58:09: Running steps for project untitled…

17:58:09: Configuration unchanged, skipping qmake step.

17:58:09: Starting: "C:\Qt\Tools\QtCreator\bin\jom.exe"
C:\Qt\Tools\QtCreator\bin\jom.exe -f Makefile.Debug
echo 1 /* CREATEPROCESS_MANIFEST_RESOURCE_ID / 24 / RT_MANIFEST */ "debug\untitled.exe.embed.manifest">debug\untitled.exe_manifest.rc

if not exist debug\untitled.exe if exist debug\untitled.exe.embed.manifest del debug\untitled.exe.embed.manifest

if exist debug\untitled.exe.embed.manifest copy /Y debug\untitled.exe.embed.manifest debug\untitled.exe_manifest.bak

link /NOLOGO /DYNAMICBASE /NXCOMPAT /DEBUG /SUBSYSTEM:WINDOWS "/MANIFESTDEPENDENCY:type='win32' name='Microsoft.Windows.Common-Controls' version='6.0.0.0' publicKeyToken='6595b64144ccf1df' language='' processorArchitecture=''" /MANIFEST /MANIFESTFILE:debug\untitled.exe.embed.manifest /OUT:debug\untitled.exe @C:\Users\Immi\AppData\Local\Temp\untitled.exe.3464.31.jom

LINK : fatal error LNK1104: cannot open file 'glu32.lib'

jom: C:\Qt\Tools\QtCreator\bin\build-untitled-Desktop_Qt_5_3_MSVC2012_OpenGL_32bit-Debug\Makefile.Debug [debug\untitled.exe] Error 1104

jom: C:\Qt\Tools\QtCreator\bin\build-untitled-Desktop_Qt_5_3_MSVC2012_OpenGL_32bit-Debug\Makefile [debug] Error 2

17:58:10: The process "C:\Qt\Tools\QtCreator\bin\jom.exe" exited with code 2.

Error while building/deploying project untitled (kit: Desktop Qt 5.3 MSVC2012 OpenGL 32bit)

When executing step "Make"

17:58:10: Elapsed time: 00:01.

Best Answer

I had the same problem and I solved it like this:

In Qt Creator I selected Projects.
In Build & Run – Build Enviroment I clicked Details.
I started to edit the LIB variable and added the following to the string C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft SDKs\Windows\v7.1A\Lib\ (you need to have some Windows SDK installed).

Now then I rebuild my project it compiled and I was able to run. But debugging wasn’t working. I solved that by reading on this page http://qt-project.org/doc/qtcreator-2.6/creator-debugger-engines.html where I found (after some guessing) that I needed to install Get the standalone debugging tools (WinDbg) as part of Windows 8.1 SDK from this page: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/hardware/hh852365

Personal note: I you are new to GUI development I would recommend that you start to look on something else. I’m not saying QT is bad in any way, but it feels like the environment could you cause a lot of problem which may take your motivation away (to be fair: I’m a QT newbie). I would start with C# (very easy if you know C++) and create some programs with Visual Studio – it’s very easy to learn and you will be productive and creative and having fun which is important when you want to learn something.

Related Solutions

C++ – Why can templates only be implemented in the header file

Caveat: It is not necessary to put the implementation in the header file, see the alternative solution at the end of this answer.

Anyway, the reason your code is failing is that, when instantiating a template, the compiler creates a new class with the given template argument. For example:

template<typename T>
struct Foo
{
    T bar;
    void doSomething(T param) {/* do stuff using T */}
};

// somewhere in a .cpp
Foo<int> f;

When reading this line, the compiler will create a new class (let's call it FooInt), which is equivalent to the following:

struct FooInt
{
    int bar;
    void doSomething(int param) {/* do stuff using int */}
}

Consequently, the compiler needs to have access to the implementation of the methods, to instantiate them with the template argument (in this case int). If these implementations were not in the header, they wouldn't be accessible, and therefore the compiler wouldn't be able to instantiate the template.

A common solution to this is to write the template declaration in a header file, then implement the class in an implementation file (for example .tpp), and include this implementation file at the end of the header.

Foo.h

template <typename T>
struct Foo
{
    void doSomething(T param);
};

#include "Foo.tpp"

Foo.tpp

template <typename T>
void Foo<T>::doSomething(T param)
{
    //implementation
}

This way, implementation is still separated from declaration, but is accessible to the compiler.

Alternative solution

Another solution is to keep the implementation separated, and explicitly instantiate all the template instances you'll need:

Foo.h

// no implementation
template <typename T> struct Foo { ... };

Foo.cpp

// implementation of Foo's methods

// explicit instantiations
template class Foo<int>;
template class Foo<float>;
// You will only be able to use Foo with int or float

If my explanation isn't clear enough, you can have a look at the C++ Super-FAQ on this subject.

Best Answer

Related Solutions

C++ – Why can templates only be implemented in the header file

Alternative solution

Related Topic