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cmakejsoncpp

Error with cmake and jsonCPP static library target "jsoncpp_lib_static"

When I try to use cmake on the jsonCPP i get the following error

CMake Error at lib_json/CMakeLists.txt:73 (INSTALL):
install TARGETS given no ARCHIVE DESTINATION for static library target
"jsoncpp_lib_static"

I use the command from readme:

 cmake -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=debug -DJSONCPP_LIB_BUILD_STATIC=ON -DJSONCPP_LIB_BUILD_SHARED=OFF -G "Unix Makefiles" ../..
Solution

  • From the error, it looks as though you're pointing CMake to the CMakeLists.txt inside "/jsoncpp/src" rather than the root one at "/jsoncpp".

    The root CMakeLists.txt defines the variable ARCHIVE_INSTALL_DIR at this point and it's used in the "/jsoncpp/src/lib_json/CMakeLists.txt" at this point to define the target's ARCHIVE DESTINATION.

    Since you're skipping the root CMakeLists.txt, this variable never gets set.

    The error message mentions the path lib_json/CMakeLists.txt:73, and this is relative to the "main" CMakeLists.txt - i.e. the one you pointed CMake to when you first executed it. So CMake thinks the root is "/jsoncpp/src" instead of the real root.

    Basically, to fix your error, clean out your build folder then rerun CMake to point to the "/jsoncpp" folder.

    By the way, although the docs don't specifically mention it, I think the CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE is case-sensitive. You should be doing -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Debug.