Problems using an external library (GEGELATI)

Question

Recently I start to learn about machine learning and download a library that work with it: GEGELATI for C++, in Visual Studio. Link to the library: https://github.com/gegelati/gegelati. I also download the example "stick-game" from the same page. I follow all the points to build the library and the example, but it throw an error: "can't find gegelati.h". When I saw that, I remember the advice the "cmake .." command gave me when I build the library in the project:

*CMake Warning at CMakeLists.txt:68 (find_package):
  By not providing "FindGEGELATI.cmake" in CMAKE_MODULE_PATH this project has
  asked CMake to find a package configuration file provided by "GEGELATI",
  but CMake did not find one.

Could not find a package configuration file provided by "GEGELATI" with any of the following names:

GEGELATIConfig.cmake
gegelati-config.cmake

Add the installation prefix of "GEGELATI" to CMAKE_PREFIX_PATH or set "GEGELATI_DIR" to a directory containing one of the above files. If "GEGELATI" provides a separate development package or SDK, be sure it has been installed.*

If you need to know, this is the code in my CMakeList.txt: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hDkC6coCWaQNb1Cv1QzrJbUMucjYE68y/view?usp=sharing

To solve the problem, I decided to copy the gegelati.h and GEGELATIConfig.cmake files (from the folder where I installed gegelati), but when I tried to compile again, the error E1696 showed up; it can't open gegelati.h.

Finally, I tried to put the gegelati files directly in the "stick-game/lib/gegelatilib" folder and include its path in the "AdditionalIncludeDirectories". I put an image about this (sorry, it is in Spanish):

The new program output throw me 19 'LNK2019' errors and 8 'LNK2001' errors. Example of two:

Error  LNK2019  símbolo externo "public: unsigned int __thiscall Instructions::Set::getNbInstructions(void)const " (?getNbInstructions@Set@Instructions@@QBEIXZ) sin resolver al que se hace referencia en la función _main

Error   LNK2001 símbolo externo "public: virtual class Learn::LearningEnvironment * __thiscall Learn::LearningEnvironment::clone(void)const " (?clone@LearningEnvironment@Learn@@UBEPAV12@XZ) sin resolver

Also, at the beginning, when I install doxygen for use gegelati, it throws some errors:

*Checking Build System
  Generating doxygen documentation in C:/Users/Acel Guilts/gegelati/bin/doc
CUSTOMBUILD : warning : tag INPUT: input source 'C:/Users/Acel' does not exist [C:\Users\Acel Guilts\gegelati\bin\doc\d
oc.vcxproj]
CUSTOMBUILD : warning : tag INPUT: input source 'Guilts/gegelati/gegelatilib' does not exist [C:\Users\Acel Guilts\gege
lati\bin\doc\doc.vcxproj]
CUSTOMBUILD : warning : tag INPUT: input source 'C:/Users/Acel' does not exist [C:\Users\Acel Guilts\gegelati\bin\doc\d
oc.vcxproj]
CUSTOMBUILD : warning : tag INPUT: input source 'Guilts/gegelati/doc' does not exist [C:\Users\Acel Guilts\gegelati\bin
\doc\doc.vcxproj]
CUSTOMBUILD : error : source C:/Users/Acel is not a readable file or directory... skipping. [C:\Users\Acel Guilts\gegel
ati\bin\doc\doc.vcxproj]
CUSTOMBUILD : error : source Guilts/gegelati/gegelatilib is not a readable file or directory... skipping. [C:\Users\Ace
l Guilts\gegelati\bin\doc\doc.vcxproj]
CUSTOMBUILD : error : source C:/Users/Acel is not a readable file or directory... skipping. [C:\Users\Acel Guilts\gegel
ati\bin\doc\doc.vcxproj]
CUSTOMBUILD : error : source Guilts/gegelati/doc is not a readable file or directory... skipping. [C:\Users\Acel Guilts
\gegelati\bin\doc\doc.vcxproj]*

Do you have any idea about how to solve the problem?

Answer 1

The installation process of GEGELATI for the latest version of Microsoft Visual Studio on Windows (x64) can be done with the following steps:

1. Download the application of your choice from the GEGELATI-APPS repository (or any other application built with the library).

2. Download the latest binary of the GEGELATI library from here. Make sure to select the gegelatilib-x.y.z.zip at the bottom of the page.

3. Unzip the content of gegelatilib-x.y.z.zip into the lib folder of your application. For example, for the stick-game application, the folder will be stick-game/lib/gegelatilib-0.2.1, and it should contain the following subfolders: bin, CMake, doc, include, lib.

4. Open a terminal in the stick-game/bin folder, and simply type:

     cmake ..
   

   This should produce the following output:

   -- Building for: Visual Studio 16 2019
   -- Selecting Windows SDK version 10.0.18362.0 to target Windows 6.1.7601.
   -- The C compiler identification is MSVC 19.26.28806.0
   -- The CXX compiler identification is MSVC 19.26.28806.0
   -- Check for working C compiler: C:/Program Files (x86)/Microsoft Visual Studio/2019/Community/VC/Tools/MSVC/14.26.28801/bin/Hostx64/x64/cl.exe
   -- Check for working C compiler: C:/Program Files (x86)/Microsoft Visual Studio/2019/Community/VC/Tools/MSVC/14.26.28801/bin/Hostx64/x64/cl.exe -- works
   -- Detecting C compiler ABI info
   -- Detecting C compiler ABI info - done
   -- Detecting C compile features
   -- Detecting C compile features - done
   -- Check for working CXX compiler: C:/Program Files (x86)/Microsoft Visual Studio/2019/Community/VC/Tools/MSVC/14.26.28801/bin/Hostx64/x64/cl.exe
   -- Check for working CXX compiler: C:/Program Files (x86)/Microsoft Visual Studio/2019/Community/VC/Tools/MSVC/14.26.28801/bin/Hostx64/x64/cl.exe -- works
   -- Detecting CXX compiler ABI info
   -- Detecting CXX compiler ABI info - done
   -- Detecting CXX compile features
   -- Detecting CXX compile features - done
   Copy GEGELATI DLLs into <YOUR_PATH>/stick-game/bin
   -- Configuring done
   -- Generating done
   -- Build files have been written to: <YOUR_PATH>/stick-game/bin
   

5. Now you can open the project by opening the stick-game/bin/stick-game.sln solution. To launch the application from Visual Studio, right-click on the stick-game project in the Solution Explorer and select Set as Startup Project.

Alternatively

5. Still in the terminal, from the bin directory:

   cmake --build . --target stick-game --config Release
   

   Then

   .\Release\stick-game.exe
   

Best,

Karol

Answer 2

1. Download GEGELATI here and generate it Cmake solution
2. Download stick-game Project here and generate it Cmake solution
3. Add path of gegelati.h to Additional include directories. In my case G:\CMake\Sources\gegelati-master\gegelatilib\include\ (a better solution is to use relative path with ../../.. but it is not our problem)

4. Check that you edit for current configuration (see red arrow)
5. Find path of the generated GEGELATI libraries, in my case : G:\CMake\Build\gegelati\lib\Debug

6. Add this path (G:\CMake\Build\gegelati\lib\Debug) to Additional library Directories

7. Add gtestd.lib and GEGELATId.lib in input:

8. It should be good now!