Re: [xml] libxml2-2.5.7 on vs.net

[Igor Zlatkovic <igor zlatkovic com>]

> Hi Igor (and everybody else),

Ho Gustaf,

> I downloaded the "igor-binary" 2.5.7 and have only had problems since.
> The issue is linking. I get:
> error LNK2019: unresolved external symbol _xmlParseMemory 8 referenced
> in function [foo bar].....
> (and a few other unresolved as well (all I tend to use)).
>
> What's weird is that it seems like I haven't told vs.net to link to the
> libxml2.lib library (or _a), but I have. I've tried over and over again,
> with and without _a, with and without full path, with and without quotes
> around the path and it Just Won't Work!

Take a deep breath, calm down, get yourself a mug of your favourite
caffeinated beverage and try again :-)
The binary package contains xmllint.exe and other utilities, all of them
successfully linked to libxml2.dll. They all run properly. I believe that's
proof enough that it does work.

> Is it supposed to be this way with vs.net? I'm running it on Win XP.
>
> Anyway, I skipped that binary, it won't help me anymore that's for sure,
> so I downloaded the source. What a mistake :/
> Not surprised it didn't work neither, when it tried to compile (with
> conversion offcourse) the win32\dsp\libxml2.dsp (that became
> libxml2.sln), and it complained on libxml2.def.src line 20, since it
> refered to the file xmlwin32version.h. I don't have that file. Who does?
> Is it some secret file that I'm not supposed to be aware of? ;)
> It was also refered to in the win32\dsp\Readme.txt: "Check the file
> xmlwin32version.h for optional features", well honestly, I would love to
> check that file if I had it...

The dsp files in the win32\dsp subdirectory haven't been touched in more
than a year. They are certainly outdated and won't work properly without
tweaking. I cannot tweak them because I neither have nor use Visual Studio
IDE.

This win32/dsp subdirectory has been confusing people long enough. Its
contents isn't usable in its current state. If anyone is really using it,
then they certainly have locally adapted versions. I shall now post a
separate message considering the removal of the win32/dsp directory from the
CVS.

> I would like to use libxml2, since it "seems like" a good parser, but
> the proofs remain unfortunately. How am I supposed to get it to work?
> What am I doing wrong? If anyone out there can here me, please give me a
> few hints. I don't want to spend hours bug-tracking these things.

If you want to build libxml2 from the source, then use the command-line
build as described in win32\readme.txt. If you must build it through Visual
Studio, then you are on your own, I cannot help you without having Visual
Studio installed.

Regarding the link problems, please post a minimal C program which shows
them. Please do not send VS project files. Rather ask your IDE which
command-line parameters it passes to the compiler and show these. Without
this information, I have no idea what you are doing wrong.

And don't forget to drink coffee before you answer :-)

Ciao,
Igor