GLFW MinGW link error

Question

I've been attempting to test out GLFW with C++ for quite a while and am having constant linker issues. I am fairly new to C++, although I have experience in Java and C#, working directly with the compiler is fairly new to me. Here's my setup information.

IDE: Qt Creator

OS: Windows 7 64-bit

Compiler: MinGW32 4.8.1

01:23:26: Starting: "C:\MinGW\bin\mingw32-make.exe" 
C:/MinGW/bin/mingw32-make -f Makefile.Debug
mingw32-make[1]: Entering directory 'A:/workspace_cpp/Test-Debug'
g++ -Wl,-subsystem,console -mthreads -o debug\Test.exe debug/main.o  -lglfw3 -lopengl32 
c:/mingw/bin/../lib/gcc/mingw32/4.8.1/../../../libglfw3.a(win32_monitor.c.obj):win32_monitor.::(.text+0x2c7): undefined reference to `CreateDCW@16'
c:/mingw/bin/../lib/gcc/mingw32/4.8.1/../../../libglfw3.a(win32_monitor.c.obj):win32_monitor.c:(.text+0x358): undefined reference to `GetDeviceCaps@8'
Makefile.Debug:77: recipe for target 'debug\Test.exe' failed
mingw32-make[1]: Leaving directory 'A:/workspace_cpp/Test-Debug'
Makefile:34: recipe for target 'debug' failed
c:/mingw/bin/../lib/gcc/mingw32/4.8.1/../../../libglfw3.a(win32_monitor.c.obj):win32_monitor.c:(.text+0x370): undefined reference to `GetDeviceCaps@8'
c:/mingw/bin/../lib/gcc/mingw32/4.8.1/../../../libglfw3.a(win32_monitor.c.obj):win32_monitor .c:(.text+0x39e): undefined reference to `DeleteDC@4'
c:/mingw/bin/../lib/gcc/mingw32/4.8.1/../../../../mingw32/bin/ld.exe:     c:/mingw/bin/../lib/gcc/mingw32/4.8.1/../../../libglfw3.a(win32_monitor.c.obj): bad reloc address 0x20 in section `.eh_frame'
c:/mingw/bin/../lib/gcc/mingw32/4.8.1/../../../../mingw32/bin/ld.exe: final link failed: Invalid operation
collect2.exe: error: ld returned 1 exit status

The code I'm testing is the code on the GLFW Documentation Page, I'm using my own build of GLFW, and have already tried this and several other potential solutions. I have tried using the prebuilt GLFW mingw libraries but I couldn't get them to work.

Phenomenalism

It looks like you've missed a library there. CreateDCW, GetDeviceCaps and DeleteDC all exist in gdi32.dll - you need to add the gdi32 import lib as a minimum. Just add it in the same way you added the glfw3 and opengl32 libraries. – Diagram

Thank you very much! I was struggling with that for so long, I wasn't aware of the gdi32 library, it wasn't mentioned anywhere, I don't know how to upvote your comment or select a best answer but you're a huge help! – Phenomenalism

You're welcome. I have old copies of "Win32API.hlp" and "win32sdk.hlp". In each of these, there's a button labelled "Quick Info", which lists (a) the .h file the function is declared in and (b) the .lib (or .a in the case of gcc) file that contains the actual code required to use the dll files. I've found them to be invaluable. If you can't find anything online, for offline help, drop me an email and I'll forward one to you. Email's on my profile page. – Diagram

When the problem has been solved, please do not add "Solved" or similar to the title. Just post an answer and mark it as accepted. (Or get @Diagram to post the answer). That is much more helpful to others who might read this and be interested in the solution. – Epochal

My mistake, I've gone ahead and posted the solution that worked for me as an answer. – Phenomenalism

Answer 1

The solution as posted by enhzflep was to include to gdi32 library when compiling, making all the necessary linkers -lglfw3 -lgdi32 -lopengl32, as the missing methods, CreateDCW, GetDeviceCaps and DeleteDC are all inside of libgdi32.a in the MinGW lib folder C:\MinGW\lib\libgdi32.a in this case.

Phenomenalism

Had to add these -lglfw3 -lgdi32 to the end of my build command, after the -o and main.cpp file as links must be at the end with mingw – Cipolin