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Compiling HDF5 Applications

Navigate back: Main / Getting Started with HDF5 / Learning the Basics

# Tools and Instructions on Compiling

Compiling applications to use the HDF5 Library can be as simple as executing:

h5cc -o myprog myprog.c

As an application's file base evolves, there are better solutions using CMake and CMakeLists.txt files. Many tutorials and references can be found with a simple search.

This tutorial section will discuss the use of compile scripts on Linux. See the Using Visual Studio section for compiling with Visual Studio.

# Compile Scripts

When the library is built, the following compile shell scripts are included:

- h5cc: pkg-config based compile shell script for HDF5 C programs
- h5fc: pkg-config based compile shell script for HDF5 F90 programs
- h5c++: pkg-config based compile shell script for HDF5 C++ programs

These scripts are easily used to compile single file applications, such as those included in the tutorial.

Warning | The h5cc/h5fc/h5c++ pkg-config compile scripts are included when building with configure. These versions rely on the pkg-config files in the lib/pkgconfig.

#### Examples of Using the Unix Compile Scripts:

Following are examples of compiling and running an application with the Unix compile scripts:

h5fc myprog.f90
./a.out
h5cc -o myprog myprog.c
./myprog

To see how the libraries linked in with a compile script were configured and built, use the -showconfig option. For example, if using h5cc type:

h5cc -showconfig

#### Detailed Description of Unix Compile Scripts:

The h5cc, h5c++, and h5fc pkg-config compile scripts come with the HDF5 binary distributions (include files, libraries, and utilities) for the platforms we support. The h5c++ and h5fc utilities are ONLY present if the library was built with C++ and Fortran.

#### USING_HDF5_CMake.md:

See USING_CMake_Examples.md.

# Using Visual Studio

1. If you are building on 64-bit Windows, find the "Platform" dropdown and select "x64". Also select the correct Configuration (Debug, Release, RelWithDebInfo, etc)

2. Set up path for external headers

   The HDF5 install path settings will need to be in the project property sheets per project. Go to "Project" and select "Properties", find "Configuration Properties", and then "C/C++".

   2.1 Add the header path to the "Additional Include Directories" setting. Under "C/C++" find "General" and select "Additional Include Directories". Select "Edit" from the dropdown and add the HDF5 install/include path to the list. (Ex: "C:\Program Files\HDF_Group\HDF5\1.10.9\include")

   2.2 Building applications with the dynamic/shared hdf5 libraries requires that the "H5_BUILT_AS_DYNAMIC_LIB" compile definition be used. Under "C/C++" find "Preprocessor" and select "Preprocessor Definitions". Select "Edit" from the dropdown and add "H5_BUILT_AS_DYNAMIC_LIB" to the list.

3. Set up path for external libraries

   The HDF5 install path/lib settings will need to be in the project property sheets per project. Go to "Project" and select "Properties", find "Configuration Properties", and then "Linker".

   3.1 Add the libraries to the "Additional Dependencies" setting. Under "Linker" find "Input" and select "Additional Dependencies". Select "Edit" from the dropdown and add the required HDF5 install/lib path to the list. (Ex: "C:\Program Files\HDF_Group\HDF5\1.10.9\lib\hdf5.lib")

   3.2 For static builds, the external libraries should be added. For example, to compile a C++ application, enter: libhdf5_cpp.lib libhdf5.lib libz.lib libszaec.lib libaec.lib

# HDF5 Libraries

Following are the libraries included with HDF5. Whether you are using the Unix compile scripts or Makefiles, or are compiling on Windows, these libraries are or may need to be specified. The order they are specified is important on Linux:

HDF5 Static Libraries
Library | Linux Name | Mac Name | Windows Name
--- | --- | --- | ---
HDF5 High Level C++ APIs HDF5 C++ Library HDF5 High Level Fortran APIs HDF5 Fortran Library HDF5 High Level C APIs HDF5 C Library | libhdf5_hl_cpp.a libhdf5_cpp.a libhdf5_hl_fortran.a libhdf5_fortran.a libhdf5_hl.a libhdf5.a | libhdf5_hl_cpp.a libhdf5_cpp.a libhdf5_hl_fortran.a libhdf5_fortran.a libhdf5_hl.a libhdf5.a | Windows libhdf5_hl_cpp.lib libhdf5_cpp.lib libhdf5_hl_fortran.lib libhdf5_fortran.lib libhdf5_hl.lib libhdf5.lib

HDF5 Shared Libraries
Library | Linux Name | Mac Name | Windows Name
--- | --- | --- | ---
HDF5 High Level C++ APIs HDF5 C++ Library HDF5 High Level Fortran APIs HDF5 Fortran Library HDF5 High Level C APIs HDF5 C Library | libhdf5_hl_cpp.so libhdf5_cpp.so libhdf5_hl_fortran.so libhdf5_fortran.so libhdf5_hl.so libhdf5.so | libhdf5_hl_cpp.dylib libhdf5_cpp.dylib libhdf5_hl_fortran.dylib libhdf5_fortran.dylib libhdf5_hl.dylib libhdf5.dylib | hdf5_hl_cpp.lib hdf5_cpp.lib hdf5_hl_fortran.lib hdf5_fortran.lib hdf5_hl.lib hdf5.lib hdf5 Definition HDF5.F90:26

External Libraries
Library | Linux Name | Mac Name | Windows Name
--- | --- | --- | ---
SZIP Compression Library SZIP Compression Library ZLIB or DEFLATE Compression Library | libszaec.a libaec.a libz.a | libszaec.a libaec.a libz.a | libszaec.lib libaec.lib libz.lib

The pre-compiled binaries, in particular, are built (if at all possible) with these libraries as well as with SZIP and ZLIB. If using shared libraries you may need to add the path to the library to LD_LIBRARY_PATH on Linux or on WINDOWS you may need to add the path to the bin folder to PATH.

# Compiling an Application with CMake

## CMake Scripts for Building Applications

See Using CMake to Build Applications to build applications with different languages and options.

For a more complete script (and to help resolve issues) see the script provided with the HDF5 Examples project.

## HDF5 Examples

The installed HDF5 can be verified by compiling the HDF5 Examples project, included with the CMake built HDF5 binaries in the share folder or you can go to the HDF5 Examples in the HDF5 github repository.

Go into the share directory and follow the instructions in Using CMake to Build Examples to build the examples.

In general, users must first set the HDF5_ROOT environment variable to the installed location of the CMake configuration files for HDF5.

For example, on Windows the following path might be set:

HDF5_ROOT=C:/Program Files/HDF_Group/HDF5/z.y.x

For example, on Linux the following path might be set:

HDF5_ROOT=<install root folder>/HDF_Group/HDF5/z.y.x/

## Troubleshooting CMake

#### How do you use find_package with HDF5?

To use find_package you will first need to make sure that HDF5_ROOT is set correctly. For setting this environment variable see the Preconditions in the USING_HDF5_CMake.md file in the share directory.

See the CMakeLists.txt file provided with these examples for how to use find_package with HDF5.

Please note that the find_package invocation changed to require "shared" or "static":

FIND_PACKAGE(HDF5 COMPONENTS C HL NO_MODULE REQUIRED shared)
FIND_PACKAGE(HDF5 COMPONENTS C HL NO_MODULE REQUIRED static)

Previously, the find_package invocation was:

FIND_PACKAGE(HDF5 COMPONENTS C HL NO_MODULE REQUIRED)

#### My platform/compiler is not included. Can I still use the configuration files?

Yes, you can but you will have to edit the HDF5_Examples.cmake file and update the variable:

CTEST_CMAKE_GENERATOR

The generators for your platform can be seen by typing:

cmake --help
help
void help(char *)

#### What do I do if the build fails?

I received an error during the build and the application binary is not in the build directory as I expected. How do I determine what the problem is?

If the error is not clear, then the first thing you may want to do is replace the -V (Dash Uppercase Vee) option for ctest in the build script to -VV (Dash Uppercase Vee Uppercase Vee). Then remove the build directory and re-run the build script. The output should be more verbose.

If the error is still not clear, then check the log files. You will find those in the build directory. For example, on Unix the log files will be in:

build/Testing/Temporary/

There are log files for the configure, test, and build.

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