Question

I am having trouble getting my project to link to the Boost (version 1.37.0) Filesystem lib file in Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 Express Edition. The Filesystem library is not a header-only library. I have been following the Getting Started on Windows guide posted on the official boost web page. Here are the steps I have taken:

1. I used bjam to build the complete set of lib files using:

   bjam --build-dir='C:\Program Files\boost\build-boost' --toolset=msvc --build-type=complete 

2. I copied the /libs directory (located in C:\Program Files\boost\build-boost\boost\bin.v2) to C:\Program Files\boost\boost_1_37_0\libs.

3. In Visual C++, under Project > Properties > Additional Library Directories I added these paths:

   • C:\Program Files\boost\boost_1_37_0\libs
   • C:\Program Files\boost\boost_1_37_0\libs\filesystem\build\msvc-9.0express\debug\link-static\threading-multi

   I added the second one out of desperation. It is the exact directory where libboost_system-vc90-mt-gd-1_37.lib resides.

4. In Configuration Properties > C/C++ > General > Additional Include Directories I added the following path:

   • C:\Program Files\boost\boost_1_37_0

5. Then, to put the icing on the cake, under Tools > Options VC++ Directories > Library files, I added the same directories mentioned in step 3.

Despite all this, when I build my project I get the following error:

fatal error LNK1104: cannot open file 'libboost_system-vc90-mt-gd-1_37.lib' 

Additionally, here is the code that I am attempting to compile as well as a screen shot of the aformentioned directory where the (assumedly correct) lib file resides:

#include 'boost/filesystem.hpp'   // includes all needed Boost.Filesystem declarations #include <iostream>               // for std::cout using boost::filesystem;          // for ease of tutorial presentation;                                   //  a namespace alias is preferred practice in real code  using namespace std;  int main() {     cout << 'Hello, world!' << endl;      return 0; } 

Answer 1

Ferruccio’s answer contains most of the insight. However, Pukku made me realize my mistake. I am posting my own answer to give a full explanation. As Ferruccio explained, Filesystem relies on two libraries. For me, these are:

• libboost_system-vc90-mt-gd-1_37.lib
• libboost_filesystem-vc90-mt-gd-1_37.lib

I must not have noticed that when I supplied the directory for libboost_filesystem-vc90-mt-gd-1_37.lib, the error output changed from

fatal error LNK1104: cannot open file 'libboost_filesystem-vc90-mt-gd-1_37.lib' 

to

fatal error LNK1104: cannot open file 'libboost_system-vc90-mt-gd-1_37.lib' 

Causing me to think that the error was persisting. This lead me to post some rather inaccurate information. Also, after reading that Filesystem requires two libraries, I now see the significance of the keyword stage for the bjam command. Supplying

bjam --build-dir='C:\Program Files\boost\build-boost' --toolset=msvc --build-type=complete stage 

Causes bjam to place an additional directory, aptly named stage, in the boost_1_37_0 directory. This folder contains a folder named /lib, which has copies of all of the lib files in one place. This is convenient for Visual C++ because you can supply it with this single directory and it will take care of all of the dependencies.