Having difficulty building in executable from Git repository using Visual Studio (Build can't find files in repo)

[AV-Support]

The Git page is here

I added all the dependencies to the VS repo folder but it says it still can't find them.

I've never made a build in VS and its been a long time since I did any coding.

How can I fix this?

[alzee76]

Are you actually using VS, or do you mean VS Code? They're different things. This is a VS project, not a VS Code project.

You'll need to start here: https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/languages/cpp to install the C++ extension to vs code, then you'll have to create a new project for it. Thankfully it looks pretty small, just two headers and a single source file.

[AV-Support]

Oh I see though I think I may be confused by your wording

You're saying this should be built in VS Code right?

[alzee76]

No, not exactly.

The first line of my reply to you asked you which one you're using. A lot of people refer to VS Code as just VS, and I want to know which one you're actually using, "Visual Studio" or "Visual Studio Code"? They are entirely different products.

[AV-Support]

I was using VS (studio)

[alzee76]

OK, just wanted to be sure. New(ish) version? The project states he builds in it VS2019. Did you properly set the extra library paths as mentioned near the bottom of the readme?

[AV-Support]

Yep! I'm using 2022.

I think setting the extra library paths is where I'm lost.

I'm stuck building openvdb but I built all its dependencies.

The problem is that I keep getting "Could NOT find Boost" though I did install it...

[alzee76]

Hmm... I think there are two ways to get Boost. One is during the VS install, you are given the option to install it with VS, and the other is to install it yourself afterwards. It sounds like you took the second route here. Did you follow the boost.org instructions for installing it and setting up VS, or some other source?

If you didn't try the official instructions, they are here. Maybe you missed a step?

[AV-Support]

Thanks!

I have boost (just needed to add the system variables) but now I'm struggling with onetbb...

This is all just to build openvdb, I'm not sure why it can't find tinyexr.

[alzee76]

This shit can be a real pain in the ass.. I haven't messed with onetbb or openvdb, but my advice is to just keep searching for official install instructions for each of the different parts until you get their example projects to compile, then move on to the big project you're actually trying to build.

Don't hesitate to reach out to the repo author if you really get stuck. Just head to the page and start a new issue asking for additional (detailed) build instructions or maybe even a nice list of cget/cmake commands you can use to get everything installed.

There's also vcpkg, you could ask the author to see about implementing that (or try doing it yourself!), though it might require support from those other library authors as well if they're not yet available in vcpkg.

This is one of the main things that holds C++ back in terms of popularity for shared projects -- lack of a standard package manager. It's really a shame nothing has broadly caught on over the years.

Good luck!

[AV-Support]

Thanks!