How to compile/link Boost with clang++/libc++?

Question

The answer to this question Why can't clang with libc++ in c++0x mode link this boost::program_options example? states "You need to rebuild boost using clang++ -stdlib=libc++."

I'm using MacOS Lion with clang v3.0. How do I build Boost v1.48.0 using clang and link it with libc++?

Update: I've created a user-config.jam file with the following:

using clang-darwin

...which will build Boost with clang instead of gcc. How do I link with libc++ instead of libstdc++?

score 106 · Accepted Answer · edited Jul 09 '18 at 22:59

106

I didn't know how to do this either. But after poking around in here, the getting started, and trial and error:

$ ./bootstrap --with-toolset=clang
$ ./b2 clean
$ ./b2 toolset=clang cxxflags="-stdlib=libc++" linkflags="-stdlib=libc++"

You'll get lots of warnings. And the signals library will fail to build due to LWG 2059. But otherwise I think it works.

edited Jul 09 '18 at 22:59

Chris Chiasson

answered Dec 13 '11 at 23:22

Howard Hinnant

Just to add, boost::signals2 (`#include `) has a similar API to boost::signal and is header only, so not being able to build signals may not be so bad. – Chris Devereux Apr 01 '12 at 23:58
Is it just boost::signal not getting built? I think I am missing a lot of variants when build complete – Negative Zero Apr 28 '12 at 00:37
nevermind. i think the bootstrap for boost wasn't finding iconv for some reason and cause it not build some of my boost variant – Negative Zero Apr 28 '12 at 03:07
This saved my day! It compiles fine with no warnings latest Boost 1.62 with Apple LLVM ver 7.0.2. – vsoftco Oct 03 '16 at 17:27
Note that depending on one's system, one might also need to explicitly use `update-alternatives` to configure aliases for `clang++` (otherwise `b2` can't find the proper toolset). The packages from [apt.llvm.org](http://apt.llvm.org) don't set these aliases automatically. – TemplateRex Oct 09 '16 at 10:00
On Windows, the toolset is ```clang-win``` – tim_hutton Jan 28 '20 at 13:08

score 14 · Answer 2 · edited Mar 26 '14 at 21:58

14

Another option is to use Homebrew:

brew install boost --c++11

To get information on all options use:

brew info boost

edited Mar 26 '14 at 21:58

Community

answered Sep 03 '13 at 09:13

Jonas K

2

Does this link against `libc++` instead of `libstdc++`? – Theo Belaire May 12 '14 at 17:58
1

if clang is available it links with libc++. – Jonas K May 20 '14 at 15:50
1

I ran "brew install boost --c++11" followed by "otool -L /usr/local/Cellar/boost/1.57.0/lib/libboost_regex-mt.dylib" and can confirm that Boost is now linking against libc++. Thanks! – Stéphane Apr 02 '15 at 06:07
2

Related lines in brew's boost formula - https://github.com/Homebrew/homebrew/blob/c77a584/Library/Formula/boost.rb#L121-L126 – Marius Mar 21 '16 at 09:46
Does this have `boost::mpl`? – The Vivandiere Jun 19 '16 at 10:37

2 Answers2