Code::Blocks, MinGW, libsdl, and GNU C++ compiler: undefined reference to `WinMain@16

Question

I have been trying to compile the most basic SDL application, but no matter what I do I keep getting this error:

c:/program files (x86)/codeblocks/mingw/bin/../lib/gcc/mingw32/4.4.1/../../../libmingw32.a(main.o):main.c:(.text+0xd2): undefined reference to `WinMain@16'

I searched for solutions for this, but they all had to do with either Visual C++ or a missing main. I am not using Visual C++, and I have defined main.

Here's my code:

#include "SDL/SDL.h"

int main( int argc, char* args[] )
{
    //Start SDL
    SDL_Init( SDL_INIT_EVERYTHING );

    //Quit SDL
    SDL_Quit();
    return 0;
}

make sure you don't have `main` inside a namespace. And link against `-lmingw32` — , Apr 04 '13 at 17:03
try this link: (you may tried already) http://wiki.libsdl.org/moin.fcg/FAQWindows — taocp, Apr 04 '13 at 17:04
I went to the linker settings in Code::blocks and under "Other linker options" I put "-lmingw32 -lSDLmain -lSDL -mwindows", but I still get the error. — FrederickEason, Apr 04 '13 at 17:16
Have you looked here? http://stackoverflow.com/questions/5259714/undefined-reference-to-winmain16 — Display Name is missing, Apr 04 '13 at 17:19

score 6 · Answer 1 · answered Apr 04 '13 at 17:25

6

Don't use "Other linker options". Use the "Link libraries" section. Add the following items.

mingw32
SDLmain
SDL

You can put -mwindows in the "Other linker options" section.

answered Apr 04 '13 at 17:25

TheBuzzSaw

8,648
5
39
58

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Mar 05 '14 at 03:43

0

In case someone else comes across this, I put -lmingw32 after -lSDLmain and -lSDL which caused this issue for me. Putting -lmingw32 first fixed it.

answered Mar 05 '14 at 03:43

Austin Salgat

416
5
13

score 0 · Answer 3 · edited Apr 14 '14 at 21:52

I encountered the same error in a project of mine that I want to compile both on linux and windows. I use a makefile to compile the project. A solution that has worked for me, although I admit it is a bit of a hack is adding this to main.cpp (wherever your main function would be)

extern "C" {

    int WinMain(int argc, char** argv)
    {
        return main(argc, argv);
    }
}

This makes the linker find WinMain and use it as the entry point in the program. I can also hope that this solution doesn't break linux compilability, hopefully it will be considered just an unused function.

Code::Blocks, MinGW, libsdl, and GNU C++ compiler: undefined reference to `WinMain@16

3 Answers3