C++ Linker

Go Up to Project Options Dialog Box

Project > Options > C++ Linker

Use this dialog box to set C++ linker options.

Options	Description
Target, Apply, Save	See Target Options.
Common items	See Common Items on Project Options Pages.

Linking Options

Linking options	Description	Linker switches
		ilink32	ilink64	xlink	ld (iOS)	ld (Android)
Disable incremental link	Suppresses the generation of linker state files, disabling incremental linking. If you use the Disable incremental link option, subsequent links take just as long as the first one. Default = False	-Gn	-Gn	-Gn	Platform not supported	Platform not supported
Display time spent on link	Include in the linker output the amount of time required to complete the linking. Default = False	-t	-t	-t	Platform not supported	Platform not supported
Full debug information	Includes information in the output file needed to debug your application with the C++Builder integrated debugger: A TDS file for 32-bit Windows and OS X. A dSYM File for iOS Device. On the command line, this option causes the linker to include debugging information in the TDS file for all object modules that contain debugging information. You can use the -v+ and -v- options to selectively enable or disable debugging information on a module-by-module basis (but not on the same command line where you use -v). For example, the following command includes debugging information for modules mod2 and mod3, but not for mod1 and mod4: ILINK32 mod1 -v+ mod2 mod3 -v- mod4 Default = False	-v	-v	-v	-S	-S
Generate .drc file	ILINK32 generates Delphi-compatible .RC files (.drc files). The .drc file has the same name as the executable file and is emitted to the same directory as the executable file. Default = False	-GD	-GD	-GD	Platform not supported	Platform not supported
Generate .map symbols file	Generates a mapfile in .\OutputFolder\ProjectName.map. By default, the linker names the map file with the base name of the program and the extension .map Default = True For desktop platforms, you set the Map file options on the C++ Linker Output page.	N/A	N/A	N/A	-map (not enabled)	-Map (not enabled)
Generate import library	Generates an import library file, a small static library that describes the exports of either a package or a .dll so that an application can link against it. This file is used when linking dynamic libraries. Without an import library you cannot use the package in C++. The import library file extension is: .bpi for packages. See API (*.bpi). .lib for .dlls. Note: This option appears only for C++ Dynamic-link library projects. Enabled only for C++ packages. Default = True	-Gi	-Gi	-Gi	Platform not supported	Platform not supported
Generate static package library (.lib)	Generates a statically linkable package library. Building a C++ static package library (.lib) requires a set of .objs that are different from the .objs used to build the dynamic library (.bpl). When this option is enabled (the default setting), a build or make command produces two sets of .objs: The .objs for the dynamic library (.bpl) are built with: BCC32 -D_RTLDLL;USEPACKAGES or: DCC32 -JPHNE (Generate C++ .obj file, .hpp file, in namespace, export all) The .objs for the static library (.lib) are built with: BCC32 -U_RTLDLL;USEPACKAGES or: DCC32 -JPHN (Generate C++ .obj file, .hpp file, in namespace) For both types of library, the TLIB Library Manager creates the actual library, in the \bpilib directory. The .obj files for the static library (.lib) are output into a subdirectory created in your project directory, typically the \Debug\Win32\staticobjs directory. The .obj files for the dynamic library (.bpl) are output into your project directory. When this option is disabled, a build or make command produces only the dynamic library (.bpl). For more information, see Building Static Packages. Enabled only for C++ packages. Default = True	-Gl	-Gl	-Gl	Platform not supported	Platform not supported
Keep output files	Tells the linker to keep output files that would otherwise be deleted on errors. The linker has been changed to delete its output file (EXE/DLL) if there are errors in the link. The old behavior was to leave these files and not delete them. Default = False	-Gk	-Gk	-Gk	Platform not supported	Platform not supported
Link with Dynamic RTL	Controls whether the C RTL links dynamically (or statically) with run-time library (cc3290.dll). Default = True	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Link with the Delphi Runtime Library (rtl package and cp32mt.lib/cp32mti.lib)	Ensures that the application is linked with the following: The Delphi RTL package (rtl.lib or rtl.bpi) The memmgr.lib and sysinit.obj units The C++ RTL that is compatible with the Delphi RTL (that is, cp32*.lib). C++ links with the Delphi RTL if this option is enabled, or if the project has a framework affinity. For example, FMX Forms projects, by virtue of their framework affinity, link with the Delphi RTL. Use this option for any C++ application that has no framework affinity and that you want to use some Delphi types (such as UnicodeString, Variant, and so on) or access some functionality exposed by units in the Delphi RTL package (such as SysUtils, Classes, IOUtils, and so on). C++ console applications cannot handle Delphi exceptions unless you either enable this option or select a framework when you create the application using the New Console Application (C++) wizard. Default = False	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Remove the temporary .lnk linker file after linking	This option removes the temporary linker file in .\OutputFolder\ProjectName.lnk. Default = True	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Specify maximum number of errors	Sets the specified number of errors encountered (nn) before the link is aborted. Default = 0	-Enn	-Enn	-Enn	Platform not supported	Platform not supported

Advanced Options

Advanced options	Description	Linker switches
		ilink32	ilink64	xlink	ld (iOS)	ld (Android)
Additional options	Enter any additional linker options you want. For options, see ILINK32, the 32-bit Incremental Linker.	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Case sensitive linking	The linker differentiates between upper and lowercase characters in public and external symbols. Normally, this option should be set, since C and C++ are both case-sensitive languages. Default = True	-c	-c	-c	Platform not supported	Platform not supported
Clear state before linking	Deletes the existing incremental linker state files and then recreates these files and continues with the link. This option allows you to refresh the state files. Default = False	-C	-C	-C	Platform not supported	Platform not supported
Delay load .DLLs	Specifies DLLs that are to be delay loaded. Delayed loading of DLLs is useful for DLLs that are used very infrequently by an application, but might have high startup costs. DLLs that have been delay loaded are not loaded and initialized until an entry point in the DLL is actually called. There is accompanying RTL support for delayed load DLLs that the user can hook into to handle errors on loading and to supplant the delayed load system, if so desired. See the description of the pop-up button in Common Items on Project Options Pages.	-d	-d	-d	Platform not supported	Platform not supported
Do image checksum	Calculates the checksum of the target and places the result in the target PE header. This is used for NT Kernel mode drivers and system DLLs. Default = False	-Gz	-Gz	-Gz	Platform not supported	Platform not supported
Fast TLS	Allocate TLS (thread-local storage) from Windows instead of using the mechanism to share TLS. Default = False	-Gt	-Gt	-Gt	Platform not supported	Platform not supported
File alignment	Specifies page alignment for code and data within the executable file. The linker uses the file alignment value when it writes the various objects and sections (such as code and data) to the file. For example, if you use the default value of 0x200, the linker stores the section of the image on 512-byte boundaries within the executable file. When using this option, you must specify a file alignment value that is a power of 2, with the smallest value being 16. The old style of this option (/A:dd) is still supported for backward compatibility. With this option, the decimal number dd is multiplied by the power of 2 to calculate the file alignment value. The command-line version of this option (/Afxxxx) accepts either decimal or hexadecimal numbers as the file alignment value. Default = 0x200	-Af	-Af	-Af	Platform not supported	Platform not supported
Object alignment	The linker uses the object alignment value to determine the virtual addresses of the various objects and sections (such as code and data) in your application. For example, if you specify an object alignment value of 8192, the linker aligns the virtual addresses of the sections in the image on 8192-byte (0x2000) boundaries. When using this option, you must specify an object alignment value that is a power of 2, with the smallest value being 4096 (0x1000), the default. The command-line version of this option (/Ao) accepts either decimal or hexadecimal numbers as the object alignment value. Default = 0x1000	-Ao	-Ao	-Ao	Platform not supported	Platform not supported
Replace resources	Add and/or replace resources without stripping away the existing resources. Default = False	-Rr	-Rr	-Rr	Platform not supported	Platform not supported
Verbose linking	Sets the verbose option for RLINK32, and detailed information is emitted during the resource link. Default = False	-r	-r	-r	Platform not supported	Platform not supported
Additionally linked libraries	Links your application against the specified list of libraries. Specify libraries by codename. For example, to link with MIDAS, add "midas" to the list. Note: Other advanced options let you link to popular libraries such as Interbase. Use those other options instead of Additionally linked libraries when possible.	Platform not supported	Platform not supported	Platform not supported	-l	-l
Link with DBX InterBase	Links with the dbExpress InterBase client library. Default = True	Platform not supported	Platform not supported	Platform not supported	-lsqlib	-lsqlib
Link with Indy	Links with the Indy libraries. Default = True	Platform not supported	Platform not supported	Platform not supported	-lIndyCore -lIndyProtocols -lIndySystem	-lIndyCore -lIndyProtocols -lIndySystem
Link with Interbase ToGo	Links with the dbExpress InterBase ToGo client library. Default = True	Platform not supported	Platform not supported	Platform not supported	-libtogo	-libtogo
Link with Midas	Links with MIDAS, the DataSnap library. Default = True	Platform not supported	Platform not supported	Platform not supported	-lmidas	-lmidas
Link with Regular Expressions. Default = True	Links with the regular expressions library, the PCRE (Perl-compatible regular expressions) library adapted to C++. See more information at http://www.pcre.org. Default = True	Platform not supported	Platform not supported	Platform not supported	-lpcre	Platform not supported
Link with SQLite	Links with the dbExpress SQLite client library. Default = True	Platform not supported	Platform not supported	Platform not supported	-lsqlite3	-lsqlite
Link with SSL and Crypto	Links with the OpenSSL libraries. See for example Creating an iOS App, OpenSSL Support. Default = False	Platform not supported	Platform not supported	Platform not supported	-lssl -lcrypto	Platform not supported
Link with ZLib	Links with the ZLib compression library. See more information at http://www.zlib.net. Default = True	Platform not supported	Platform not supported	Platform not supported	-lz	-lz
Minimum iOS version supported	Defines the minimum iOS version that your application supports. See FireMonkey Platform Prerequisites, iOS Requirements. Default = 5.1.0	Platform not supported	Platform not supported	Platform not supported	-iphoneos_version_min	N/A
Symbols that our runtime expects to be exported	List of symbols that must be exported because they are required at run time.	Platform not supported	Platform not supported	Platform not supported	-exported_symbol	Platform not supported

Child Pages

• Output
• Warnings

See Also

• ILINK32, the 32-bit Incremental Linker
• ILINK64, the 64-bit Incremental Linker
• XLINK, the OS X Linker