Question

I’m trying to build a simple unit test executable, using cpputest. I’ve built the cpputest framework into a static library, and am now trying to link that into an executable. However, I’m tied into a fairly complicated Makefile setup, because of the related code.

This is my command line:

/usr/bin/qcc -V4.2.4,gcc_ntoarmle_acpp-ne -lang-c++ -O2 -g -g -o Application/UnitTests/Tests/symbols/UnitTestExe -Wl,--start-group Application/UnitTests/Tests/../.objs/main.o Application/UnitTests/lib/libcpputest.a -Wl,--end-group -lm 

I’m getting many errors like the following:

 Application/UnitTests/lib/libcpputest.a(CommandLineTestRunner.o): In function `CommandLineTestRunner::parseArguments(TestPlugin*)':
   Application/UnitTests/cpputest/src/CppUTest/.objs/../CommandLineTestRunner.cpp:114: undefined reference to `operator new(unsigned int, char const*, int)'

I can’t figure out what’s causing this. Don’t I get operator new for free with C++?

Answer 1

There’s very little information in your question to work from, but it looks like some code uses some form of placement new, and while that special operator new is declared (the compiler finds it and compiles the code using it), the linker can’t find its definition.

(Since this old answer of mine seems to still get attention: See here for an extensive discussion on declaration vs. definition.)