Question

I am looking for an easy to use html parser library. Currently I am trying to setup libxml2 but am running into frustrating problems. The IDE I am using is Pelles C, I took the windows files for libxml2 and put them in the appropriate folders (headers in the correct header area, binaries in bin, libs in libraries etc.) but still whenever I try to compile a program the compiler just tells me that every libxml2 function I call is undefined. For example:

Linker Flags:

-subsystem:console -machine:amd64 kernel32.lib advapi32.lib delayimp64.lib Ws2_32.lib libxml2.lib

Code:

static void print_element_names(xmlNode * a_node)
{
xmlNode *cur_node = NULL;

for(cur_node = a_node; cur_node; cur_node = cur_node->next) 
{
    if (cur_node->type == XML_ELEMENT_NODE) 
    {
        printf("node type: Element, name: %s\n", cur_node->name);
    }
    print_element_names(cur_node->children);
}
}

int main(void)
{
xmlDoc *doc = NULL;
xmlNode *root_element = NULL;

LIBXML_TEST_VERSION
doc = xmlReadFile("XMLFILE"/*XML_FILE PUT HERE*/, NULL, 0);
if (doc != NULL) printf("error: could not parse file");
root_element = xmlDocGetRootElement(doc);
print_element_names(root_element);
xmlFreeDoc(doc);
xmlCleanupParser();

return 0;
}

just gives me the following errors when trying to compile:

POLINK: error: Unresolved external symbol 'xmlCheckVersion'.
POLINK: error: Unresolved external symbol 'xmlReadFile'.
POLINK: error: Unresolved external symbol 'xmlDocGetRootElement'.
POLINK: error: Unresolved external symbol 'xmlFreeDoc'.
POLINK: error: Unresolved external symbol 'xmlCleanupParser'.
POLINK: fatal error: 5 unresolved external(s).

this whole situation is driving me insane, if anybody could help me resolve this issue or perhaps suggest an easier to setup html parser I would immensely appreciate it.

Answer 1

Those errors are related to the linking stage: whatever library you used would give you the same issues.

Unless you did install a wrong package (e.g. 64 bits library instead of 32, or vice versa).

For XML parsing, libxml2 is quite a useful tool, it is pretty fast and quite powerful. Seeing as how you’ve already started with that, I’d try to solve the linker problems instead.