building boost using mingw
closed account (iw0XoG1T)
Three years-ago I built the boost libraries using the documentation found here:
http://www.boost.org/doc/libs/1_51_0/more/getting_started/windows.html
But I am not sure that this page has been updated since then; and the instructions, the way I read them, will not work if you are using a mingw gcc compiler.
I could not find any help Googling, and I now think it is because it is so easy that many people don't bother to explain it.
So I thought that I would put it down somewhere in case someone else tries to google how.
1.) download boost.
2.) extract the files.
3.) navigate to the main directory containing "bootstrap.bat" using cmd.
4.) from the command line enter: bootstrap.bat mingw
5.) from the command line enter: bjam.exe --toolset=gcc install
6.) done.
http://www.boost.org/doc/libs/1_51_0/more/getting_started/windows.html
But I am not sure that this page has been updated since then; and the instructions, the way I read them, will not work if you are using a mingw gcc compiler.
I could not find any help Googling, and I now think it is because it is so easy that many people don't bother to explain it.
So I thought that I would put it down somewhere in case someone else tries to google how.
1.) download boost.
2.) extract the files.
3.) navigate to the main directory containing "bootstrap.bat" using cmd.
4.) from the command line enter: bootstrap.bat mingw
5.) from the command line enter: bjam.exe --toolset=gcc install
6.) done.
This may be a stupid question, so forgive me as I am relatively new to programming and especially programming that needs compiling, but what exactly does "boost" do? Does it speed up the compiling process or something?
Boost is just a library, sometimes considered an extension of the C++ standard library, though that isn't true.
It just provides much more functionality in pretty much anyway that you could want.
It just provides much more functionality in pretty much anyway that you could want.
closed account (3hM2Nwbp)
You're not alone chwsks - I spent a whole week trying to build boost with (specifically) mingw-w64 to no avail. I couldn't find support anywhere either, and when I asked for help, boost users directed me to mingw-w64, and mingw-w64 users directed me to boost for assistance. In the end, I just gave up. The main issue that I was having was that in order to find out if a build succeeded or not, I'd have to wait the entire ~0.5 - 1.5 hours for it to finish.
It would be very nice if someone would start something like http://www.boostpro.com for mingw builds.
It would be very nice if someone would start something like http://www.boostpro.com for mingw builds.
Last edited on
I think I'll make an article on this.
You can compile individual components of boost with bjam with the -enable-foo command arguments.
Boost should be built on top of ICU. (Which is, surprisingly, easier to build than Boost.)
Once done, you need to go play with the ~/include and ~/lib directories, and familiarity with the fsutil hardlink create command helps a lot also.
There are also some needed tips on how to handle things when stuff breaks. (I just installed ICU and recompiled Boost, and had to fix a couple of errors in the make scripts.)
You can compile individual components of boost with bjam with the -enable-foo command arguments.
Boost should be built on top of ICU. (Which is, surprisingly, easier to build than Boost.)
Once done, you need to go play with the ~/include and ~/lib directories, and familiarity with the fsutil hardlink create command helps a lot also.
There are also some needed tips on how to handle things when stuff breaks. (I just installed ICU and recompiled Boost, and had to fix a couple of errors in the make scripts.)
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