protocolbuffers/protobuf

BUG: pkg-config metadata is incorrect on windows

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#20,515 opened on Feb 28, 2025

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 (3 comments) (0 reactions) (1 assignee)C++ (16,128 forks)batch import
cmakehelp wantedwindows

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Description

What version of protobuf and what language are you using? Version: v29.1 (but problem remains on main) Language: C++

What operating system (Linux, Windows, ...) and version?

windows

What runtime / compiler are you using (e.g., python version or gcc version)

VS2019

What did you do?

Build protobuf, try to use pkg-config metadata in dependent project

What did you expect to see

Build succeeds

What did you see instead?

LINK : fatal error LNK1181: cannot open input file 'upb.lib'

This is because the windows builds here have a non-default prefix (e.g. libprotobuf.lib instead of protobuf.lib), and so the linker invocation here

https://github.com/protocolbuffers/protobuf/blob/796e49f6ca82f763d1087d2ff7355d2f0d7b71b1/cmake/upb.pc.cmake#L9

is actually looking for the wrong library (upb.lib instead of the libupb.lib that gets installed). Since %INSTALL_PREFIX%\lib\pkgconfig\upb.pc gets installed by default, it should be correct.

Anything else we should know about your project / environment

The error does not appear with CMake, but there's several more pkg-config files that have the same problem AFAICT.

Contributor guide

Research direction
Update the upb.pc.cmake file to use the correct library name with the 'lib' prefix on Windows. The issue is that the pkg config file references 'upb.lib' instead of 'libupb.lib' on Windows. You can derive the correct library name from the CMake target or use a platform conditional variable.
Tech stack
cpp
Domain
build system
Issue type
Bug
DifficultyEstimated implementation difficulty for a new contributor, from 1 for very small changes to 5 for expert-level work.
2
Estimated timeA rough time range for an experienced contributor to investigate, implement, test, and prepare a pull request.
1-3 hours
Activity statusHow available the issue appears right now: fresh, active, stale, blocked, or waiting on maintainer input.
Active
ClarityHow clearly the issue explains the expected change, acceptance criteria, and next step.
Clear
Prerequisites
GitCMakeC++
Newbie friendlinessA 1-100 score estimating how approachable this issue is for first-time contributors.
60