Linker Error on Clang++ on Mac OS (ARM64) When Using the (C) TA-Lib Header Files

Question

Whenever I attempt to build my cpp C++ source code file using Clang++, I get a linker error.

I am trying to use the TA-lib library (a C Library) that I have installed via brew install ta-lib. I have already sym-linked /opt/homebrew/include/ta-lib/ to the directory /usr/local/include (which Clang++ is searching judging from the output).

Here is the verbose Clang++ output:

Apple clang version 14.0.3 (clang-1403.0.22.14.1)
Target: arm64-apple-darwin22.4.0
Thread model: posix
InstalledDir: /Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer/Toolchains/XcodeDefault.xctoolchain/usr/bin
 "/Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer/Toolchains/XcodeDefault.xctoolchain/usr/bin/clang" -cc1 -triple arm64-apple-macosx13.0.0 -Wundef-prefix=TARGET_OS_ -Wdeprecated-objc-isa-usage -Werror=deprecated-objc-isa-usage -Werror=implicit-function-declaration -emit-obj -mrelax-all --mrelax-relocations -disable-free -clear-ast-before-backend -disable-llvm-verifier -discard-value-names -main-file-name test.cpp -mrelocation-model pic -pic-level 2 -mframe-pointer=non-leaf -fno-strict-return -ffp-contract=on -fno-rounding-math -funwind-tables=1 -fobjc-msgsend-selector-stubs -target-sdk-version=13.3 -fvisibility-inlines-hidden-static-local-var -target-cpu apple-m1 -target-feature +v8.5a -target-feature +crc -target-feature +lse -target-feature +rdm -target-feature +crypto -target-feature +dotprod -target-feature +fp-armv8 -target-feature +neon -target-feature +fp16fml -target-feature +ras -target-feature +rcpc -target-feature +zcm -target-feature +zcz -target-feature +fullfp16 -target-feature +sm4 -target-feature +sha3 -target-feature +sha2 -target-feature +aes -target-abi darwinpcs -fallow-half-arguments-and-returns -mllvm -treat-scalable-fixed-error-as-warning -debugger-tuning=lldb -target-linker-version 857.1 -v "-fcoverage-compilation-dir=/Users/me/C++ Projects" -resource-dir /Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer/Toolchains/XcodeDefault.xctoolchain/usr/lib/clang/14.0.3 -isysroot /Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer/Platforms/MacOSX.platform/Developer/SDKs/MacOSX.sdk -I/usr/local/include -stdlib=libc++ -internal-isystem /Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer/Platforms/MacOSX.platform/Developer/SDKs/MacOSX.sdk/usr/include/c++/v1 -internal-isystem /Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer/Platforms/MacOSX.platform/Developer/SDKs/MacOSX.sdk/usr/local/include -internal-isystem /Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer/Toolchains/XcodeDefault.xctoolchain/usr/lib/clang/14.0.3/include -internal-externc-isystem /Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer/Platforms/MacOSX.platform/Developer/SDKs/MacOSX.sdk/usr/include -internal-externc-isystem /Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer/Toolchains/XcodeDefault.xctoolchain/usr/include -Wno-reorder-init-list -Wno-implicit-int-float-conversion -Wno-c99-designator -Wno-final-dtor-non-final-class -Wno-extra-semi-stmt -Wno-misleading-indentation -Wno-quoted-include-in-framework-header -Wno-implicit-fallthrough -Wno-enum-enum-conversion -Wno-enum-float-conversion -Wno-elaborated-enum-base -Wno-reserved-identifier -Wno-gnu-folding-constant -fdeprecated-macro "-fdebug-compilation-dir=/Users/me/C++ Projects" -ferror-limit 19 -stack-protector 1 -fstack-check -mdarwin-stkchk-strong-link -fblocks -fencode-extended-block-signature -fregister-global-dtors-with-atexit -fgnuc-version=4.2.1 -fno-cxx-modules -no-opaque-pointers -fcxx-exceptions -fexceptions -fmax-type-align=16 -fcommon -fcolor-diagnostics -clang-vendor-feature=+disableNonDependentMemberExprInCurrentInstantiation -fno-odr-hash-protocols -clang-vendor-feature=+enableAggressiveVLAFolding -clang-vendor-feature=+revert09abecef7bbf -clang-vendor-feature=+thisNoAlignAttr -clang-vendor-feature=+thisNoNullAttr -mllvm -disable-aligned-alloc-awareness=1 -D__GCC_HAVE_DWARF2_CFI_ASM=1 -o /var/folders/p0/c_w05z0n12v2vv_vwy6z85100000gn/T/test-ad0cad.o -x c++ test.cpp
clang -cc1 version 14.0.3 (clang-1403.0.22.14.1) default target arm64-apple-darwin22.4.0
ignoring nonexistent directory "/Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer/Platforms/MacOSX.platform/Developer/SDKs/MacOSX.sdk/usr/local/include"
ignoring nonexistent directory "/Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer/Platforms/MacOSX.platform/Developer/SDKs/MacOSX.sdk/Library/Frameworks"
#include "..." search starts here:
#include <...> search starts here:
 /usr/local/include
 /Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer/Platforms/MacOSX.platform/Developer/SDKs/MacOSX.sdk/usr/include/c++/v1
 /Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer/Toolchains/XcodeDefault.xctoolchain/usr/lib/clang/14.0.3/include
 /Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer/Platforms/MacOSX.platform/Developer/SDKs/MacOSX.sdk/usr/include
 /Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer/Toolchains/XcodeDefault.xctoolchain/usr/include
 /Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer/Platforms/MacOSX.platform/Developer/SDKs/MacOSX.sdk/System/Library/Frameworks (framework directory)
End of search list.
test.cpp:205:10: warning: 'auto' type specifier is a C++11 extension [-Wc++11-extensions]
    for (auto i=SMAData.begin();i!=SMAData.end();i++)
         ^
1 warning generated.
 "/Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer/Toolchains/XcodeDefault.xctoolchain/usr/bin/ld" -demangle -lto_library /Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer/Toolchains/XcodeDefault.xctoolchain/usr/lib/libLTO.dylib -no_deduplicate -dynamic -arch arm64 -platform_version macos 13.0.0 13.3 -syslibroot /Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer/Platforms/MacOSX.platform/Developer/SDKs/MacOSX.sdk -o test -L/usr/local/include -L/usr/local/lib /var/folders/p0/c_w05z0n12v2vv_vwy6z85100000gn/T/test-ad0cad.o -lc++ -lSystem /Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer/Toolchains/XcodeDefault.xctoolchain/usr/lib/clang/14.0.3/lib/darwin/libclang_rt.osx.a
Undefined symbols for architecture arm64:
  "_TA_SMA", referenced from:
      _main in test-ad0cad.o
ld: symbol(s) not found for architecture arm64
clang: error: linker command failed with exit code 1 (use -v to see invocation)

Any ideas on how to fix this? I have never written C++ or C on a Mac before, but I suspect that I can't use the linker ld correctly for some reason.

I have also run

clang++ -L /usr/local/include -o test test.cpp -v, clang++ -I /usr/local/include -L /usr/local/include -o test test.cpp -v, and clang++ -I /usr/local/include -o test test.cpp -v, all displaying output similar to the above.

EDIT: I have tried to use other C libraries to the same effect. It seems like clang++ is not linking the C headers properly (and yes, the headers are designed to be compatible with C as judging via the extern "C" {} pre-processor directives).

None of the invocations you've shown are specifying the actual library (option `-l`). You're only specifying the library search path (option `-L`). At the very least you need to do that. If you still have the error after correctly linking, then it's possible the library is missing C++ awareness (usually you'll see `extern "C"` preprocessor stuff in the header, if it's a C++-compatible C library). Regarding the warning you get about `auto`, it's recommended to instruct the compiler to use C++11 (`-std=c++11`) if you're using those language features. — paddy, Apr 12 '23 at 23:12
Recommended reading: [What is an undefined reference/unresolved external symbol error and how do I fix it?](https://stackoverflow.com/q/12573816/1553090) — paddy, Apr 12 '23 at 23:15
That symlink sounds like a bad idea. Better to pass the appropriate '-I' and '-L' flags to the compiler. Or pass a full path to `-l` for that `TA-lib` thingy. — Paul Sanders, Apr 12 '23 at 23:19
Hi Paddy. Thanks for the tip about setting the standard. I have tried another C header file (that I know is compatible with C++ via the "extern "C"" pre-processor directives, but I am getting the same error message — amateurBarista, Apr 14 '23 at 03:39

Linker Error on Clang++ on Mac OS (ARM64) When Using the (C) TA-Lib Header Files

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