Having error when compiling, libcob.lib is not found

[enð]

Hello, sorry it's my first time creating topics in sourceforge, I recently installed GnuCOBOL through chocolatey (choco install gnucobol) and everything works, except the actual compiling of COBOL programs, I tried with a simple hello world I had laying around, and whenever I try to compile (cobc PGMTEST.cbl -o PGMTEST.exe or cobc -x PGMTEST.cbl) I get the error message:
gcc: error: /LIBPATH:C:\ProgramData\chocolatey\lib\gnucobol\tools\lib\libcob.lib: Invalid argument
Which going deeper (or checking the actual LIBPATH given), I found out there's no libcob.lib in that same folder, theres a libcob.a, a libcob.dll.a and a libcob.la, but no libcob.lib, so is there something wrong with the package I installed? Or did I configure the compiler wrongly?

Thanks in advance

[Simon Sobisch]

If you did not set anything and just use that package, then the package ah be broken. Your fix is to copy libcob.dll.a to libcob.lib.

mod edit to remove some reply-to

[enð]

Oh ok thanks! that seems like an easy solution heh thanks a bunch.

[enð]

Sorry to bother again, but it hasn't really fixed the thing, it's still throwing the same error, I'm attaching a screenshot of all: The test program, the lib folder and the command I use.

[Simon Sobisch]

add -v to cobc and post the output as text, should be fixable
Maybe also add the output of

cobc --info

[enð]

cobc -v
cobc (GnuCOBOL) 3.1.2.0
Built     Dec 26 2020 16:13:04  Packaged  Dec 23 2020 12:04:58 UTC
C version (MinGW) "6.3.0"
loading standard configuration file 'default.conf'
cobc: error: no input files

and:

cobc --info
cobc (GnuCOBOL) 3.1.2.0
Copyright (C) 2020 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
License GPLv3+: GNU GPL version 3 or later <https://gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html>
This is free software; see the source for copying conditions.  There is NO
warranty; not even for MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
Written by Keisuke Nishida, Roger While, Ron Norman, Simon Sobisch, Edward Hart
Built     Dec 26 2020 16:13:04
Packaged  Dec 23 2020 12:04:58 UTC
C version (MinGW) "6.3.0"

build information
build environment        : i686-pc-mingw32
CC                       : gcc
C version                : (MinGW) "6.3.0"
CPPFLAGS                 : -DCHTYPE_64 -DPDC_DLL_BUILD
                           -Dinitscr=initscr_x64 -I/mingw/include
CFLAGS                   : -O2 -pipe -finline-functions -fsigned-char
                           -Wall -Wwrite-strings -Wmissing-prototypes
                           -Wno-format-y2k
LD                       : c:/mingw/mingw32/bin/ld.exe
LDFLAGS                  :

GnuCOBOL information
COB_CC                   : gcc
COB_CFLAGS               : -pipe -DCHTYPE_64 -DPDC_DLL_BUILD
                           -Dinitscr=initscr_x64 -I/mingw/include
                           -I/mingw/include -Wno-unused -fsigned-char
                           -Wno-pointer-sign
  env: COB_CFLAGS        : -I"C:\ProgramData\chocolatey\lib\gnucobol\tools\include"
COB_DEBUG_FLAGS          : -ggdb3 -fasynchronous-unwind-tables
COB_LDFLAGS              :
COB_LIBS                 : -L/mingw/lib -lcob -lm
  env: COB_LIBS          : /LIBPATH:"C:\ProgramData\chocolatey\lib\gnucobol\tools\lib\libcob.lib"
COB_CONFIG_DIR           : /mingw/share/gnucobol/config
  env: COB_CONFIG_DIR    : C:\ProgramData\chocolatey\lib\gnucobol\tools\config
COB_COPY_DIR             : /mingw/share/gnucobol/copy
COB_MSG_FORMAT           : GCC
COB_OBJECT_EXT           : o
COB_MODULE_EXT           : dll
COB_EXE_EXT              : .exe
64bit-mode               : no
BINARY-C-LONG            : 4 bytes
endianness               : little-endian
native EBCDIC            : no
extended screen I/O      : pdcurses
variable file format     : 0
sequential file handler  : built-in
indexed file handler     : BDB
mathematical library     : GMP
XML library              : disabled
JSON library             : cjson

[Simon Sobisch]

Sorry for not being specific enough. We'd need the output of "cobc all your options -v".

But I've question already: where do all these environment variables come from, that are visible in "cobc --info"?

[enð]

oh so you mean something like cobc ./PGMTEST.cbl -xv? Sorry I didn't know, I'm really new to posting errors and stuff hahahah, the other environment variables SHOULD come from the choco installation, as I've tried installing the MSYS2 version (mingw-x64-x86_64-gnucobol) but that gave me some configuration errors so I opted to go with chocolatey, but I should have erased all of the files from the MSYS2 version.

For the command you ask it sends me this:

cobc .\PGMTEST.cbl -xv
cobc (GnuCOBOL) 3.1.2.0
Built     Dec 26 2020 16:13:04  Packaged  Dec 23 2020 12:04:58 UTC
C version (MinGW) "6.3.0"
loading standard configuration file 'default.conf'
command line:   C:\ProgramData\chocolatey\lib\gnucobol\tools\bin\cobc.exe -xv .\PGMTEST.cbl
preprocessing:  .\PGMTEST.cbl -> C:\Users\f1eren\AppData\Local\Temp\cob10192_0.cob
return status:  0
parsing:        C:\Users\f1eren\AppData\Local\Temp\cob10192_0.cob (.\PGMTEST.cbl)
return status:  0
translating:    C:\Users\f1eren\AppData\Local\Temp\cob10192_0.cob -> C:\Users\f1eren\AppData\Local\Temp\cob10192_0.c (.\PGMTEST.cbl)
executing:      gcc -c
                -I"C:\ProgramData\chocolatey\lib\gnucobol\tools\include" -o
                "C:\Users\f1eren\AppData\Local\Temp\cob10192_0.o"
                "C:\Users\f1eren\AppData\Local\Temp\cob10192_0.c"
return status:  0
executing:      gcc -Wl,--export-all-symbols -Wl,--enable-auto-import
                -Wl,--enable-auto-image-base -o "PGMTEST.exe"
                "C:\Users\f1eren\AppData\Local\Temp\cob10192_0.o"
                /LIBPATH:"C:\ProgramData\chocolatey\lib\gnucobol\tools\lib\libcob.lib"
gcc: error: /LIBPATH:C:\ProgramData\chocolatey\lib\gnucobol\tools\lib\libcob.lib: Invalid argument
return status:  1

[Simon Sobisch]

I suggest to report to the choco repo that this package is broken.
Then find out where the environment variables are set and adjust similar to the following

-set "COB_LIBS=/LIBPATH:"C:\ProgramData\chocolatey\lib\gnucobol\tools\lib\libcob.lib""
+set "COB_LIBS=/L"C:\ProgramData\chocolatey\lib\gnucobol\tools\lib""

[enð]

Sorry to bother again, will do the report, but it still quite doesn't work, I've tried changing the variable a lil more trying with:
- /L"C:\ProgramData\chocolatey\lib\gnucobol\tools\lib"
- /L"C:\ProgramData\chocolatey\lib\gnucobol\tools\lib\libcob.lib"
- "C:\ProgramData\chocolatey\lib\gnucobol\tools\lib\libcob.lib"
- /LIBPATH"C:\ProgramData\chocolatey\lib\gnucobol\tools\lib"

and only the third option let me compile (although no program I compiled with that showed any message (the hello world wouldn't show up)), so I'm still at a loss as to what to do...

[Ralph Linkletter]

What runtime owns the .EXE ?
If it is not the GnuCOBOL RTS the displays in a GnuCOBOL program are never to be seen - the STDIN, STDOUT handles are owned by the controlling .EXE (I think)
Here is a wee bit of a test to ascertain whether the above is the case.
Replace the "Hello World" with a call to ZMSGBOX2
ZMSGBOX2 uses WinApi MessageBoxA iinstead of console services.
See syntax and code below:

[Simon Sobisch]

Rechecked: you want /L"C:\ProgramData\chocolatey\lib\gnucobol\tools\lib" -lcob.

[Anonymous]

Hi guys, i'm having this exact same issue. Just installed GnuCobol with Chocolatey and it fails. I have set COB_LIBS=C:\ProgramData\chocolatey\lib\gnucobol\tools\lib but now ld.exe complains with:

cobc -x testfunc.cob
C:\ProgramData\chocolatey\lib\gnucobol\tools\bin/ld.exe: cannot find C:\ProgramData\chocolatey\lib\gnucobol\tools\lib: Permission denied
collect2.exe: error: ld returned 1 exit status

[Simon Sobisch]

as noted directly above:

You want set "COB_LIBS=/L"C:\ProgramData\chocolatey\lib\gnucobol\tools\lib" -lcob".

And once this is solved, I suggest to bring this to the attention of the maintainer of the choco package you use.