Compiling custom applications in Linux with a Makefile and pkg-config

Note: See the preferred, simpler way of building in any platform using CMake above.
Apart of the CMake approach, MRPT also can be used from users programs built with GNU make by means of pkg-config.

Please, refer to the README and commented Makefile that can be found in MRPT/doc/mrpt_example1-with-Makefile/.

For pkg-config to work you will have to either:

Install MRPT in your system, from an Ubuntu repository (libmrpt-dev) or with a “sudo make install”.
or, set the environment variable PKG_CONFIG_PATH to include the directory pkgconfig-no-install, for example adding the following to your ~/.basrc file:

Shell

export PKG_CONFIG_PATH=[YOUR_MRPT_BUILD_DIR]/pkgconfig-no-install:$PKG_CONFIG_PATH

1

export PKG_CONFIG_PATH=[YOUR_MRPT_BUILD_DIR]/pkgconfig-no-install:$PKG_CONFIG_PATH

Below follows an example Makefile which demonstrated the usage of pkg-config (or see it online):

# Example Makefile script
# Purpose: Demonstrate usage of pkg-config with MRPT libraries
# By: Jose Luis Blanco, 2010.
#
# ========================= *IMPORTANT* ================================
# For this method to work MRPT must be installed in your
# system in a path accesible to pkg-config. To check if pkg-config
# sees MRPT config files, execute:
# pkg-config --list-all | grep mrpt
# If no package appears, MRPT is not installed or something else is wrong.
# ======================================================================
#

# Set up basic variables:
CC = g++
CFLAGS = -c -Wall
LDFLAGS =

# List of sources:
SOURCES = test.cpp
OBJECTS = $(SOURCES:.cpp=.o)

# Name of executable target:
EXECUTABLE = mrpt-example1

# MRPT specific flags:
# Here we invoke "pkg-config" passing it as argument the list of the
# MRPT libraries needed by our program (see available libs
# with "pkg-config --list-all | grep mrpt").
#
CFLAGS += `pkg-config --cflags mrpt-base`
LDFLAGS += `pkg-config --libs mrpt-base`

all: $(SOURCES) $(EXECUTABLE)

$(EXECUTABLE): $(OBJECTS)
$(CC) $(OBJECTS) -o $@ $(LDFLAGS)

.cpp.o:
$(CC) $(CFLAGS) $< -o $@

clean:
rm $(OBJECTS) $(EXECUTABLE)

# Example Makefile script

# Purpose: Demonstrate usage of pkg-config with MRPT libraries

# By: Jose Luis Blanco, 2010.

# ========================= *IMPORTANT* ================================

# For this method to work MRPT must be installed in your

# system in a path accesible to pkg-config. To check if pkg-config

# sees MRPT config files, execute:

# pkg-config --list-all | grep mrpt

# If no package appears, MRPT is not installed or something else is wrong.

# ======================================================================

# Set up basic variables:

CC = g++

CFLAGS = -c -Wall

LDFLAGS =

# List of sources:

SOURCES = test.cpp

OBJECTS = $(SOURCES:.cpp=.o)

# Name of executable target:

EXECUTABLE = mrpt-example1

# MRPT specific flags:

# Here we invoke "pkg-config" passing it as argument the list of the

# MRPT libraries needed by our program (see available libs

# with "pkg-config --list-all | grep mrpt").

CFLAGS += `pkg-config --cflags mrpt-base`

LDFLAGS += `pkg-config --libs mrpt-base`

all: $(SOURCES) $(EXECUTABLE)

$(EXECUTABLE): $(OBJECTS)

$(CC) $(OBJECTS) -o $@ $(LDFLAGS)

.cpp.o:

$(CC) $(CFLAGS) $< -o $@

clean:

rm $(OBJECTS) $(EXECUTABLE)