I’ve just downloaded ldc and I can successfully generate either an object file or asm output file from a single .d source. I’ve no idea where to find a suitable linker ( or make ) with which I can either link in object files from d- and non-d language sources or even just generate an  exe from a single hello world .d -> .exe first.

1. I got an error message below.
2. I’ve run ldc on linux before, but osx is new to me. Where do I find a suitable linker and what is it called ?

I’m running on osx ventura Aarch64 targeting self, not cross-compiling.

Here’s what happened

cecil@Mac-mini ~ %  ./ldc mac_hex_5.d --link-internally
lld: error: must specify -arch
Error: linking with LLD failed
The file "./ldc" is just a tiny one-line bash script that adds flags "-O3 -release -mcpu=native" and provides the path to the compiler.

On Saturday, 10 June 2023 at 03:49:22 UTC, ryuukk_ wrote:
> Are you using ARM mac or Intel?
>
> If ARM try to add this: ``-arch arm64``
>
> If Intel try to add this: ``-arch x86_64``
>
> It shouldn't be needed tho, if you are using ARM mac, make sure you downloaded the ARM version, and not the Intel one, otherwise it'll run with Rosetta, wich i suspect is what the issue is

I’m an ARM Mac. I tried your suggestion, different error:

cecil@Mac-mini ~ % ./ldc mac_5.d --link-internally -arch arm64ldc2: Unknown command line argument '-arch'.  Try: '/Users/cecil/ldc2-1.32.2-osx-arm64/bin/ldc2 --help'
ldc2: Did you mean '--march'?
cecil@Mac-mini ~ %

On Saturday, 10 June 2023 at 03:24:51 UTC, Cecil Ward wrote:
> I’ve just downloaded ldc and I can successfully generate either an object file or asm output file from a single .d source. I’ve no idea where to find a suitable linker ( or make ) with which I can either link in object files from d- and non-d language sources or even just generate an  exe from a single hello world .d -> .exe first.
>
> 1. I got an error message below.
> 2. I’ve run ldc on linux before, but osx is new to me. Where do I find a suitable linker and what is it called ?
>
> I’m running on osx ventura Aarch64 targeting self, not cross-compiling.
>
> Here’s what happened
>
> cecil@Mac-mini ~ %  ./ldc mac_hex_5.d --link-internally
> lld: error: must specify -arch
> Error: linking with LLD failed
> The file "./ldc" is just a tiny one-line bash script that adds flags "-O3 -release -mcpu=native" and provides the path to the compiler.

I’ve since fixed one of the problems, that of being able to compile a single .d file to an exe. That now works because I did a new download of ldc from a different source, and the new package is perhaps more complete. Before I downloaded the compiler from the LDC website in a .tar.xz file (or similar) and then just untar-ed them into a subdirectory below my home directory. After that I had the error message and didn’t know how to make a .exe from a single .d.

Now I did a "brew install ldc2" (or similar) using the homebrew package manager for osx. I now get an exe (which has bugs in it, but that’s probably my fault, it used to work though.)

I am still at a loss as to where to find a linker. What am I supposed to be looking for and do I have to download the llvm c compiler to get a linker included in that package?

On Saturday, 10 June 2023 at 12:55:10 UTC, Cecil Ward wrote:
> I am still at a loss as to where to find a linker. What am I supposed to be looking for and do I have to download the llvm c compiler to get a linker included in that package?

Don't use `-link-internally` for non-Windows targets unless you know exactly what you are doing. See https://github.com/ldc-developers/ldc/issues/2717 and https://github.com/ldc-developers/ldc/pull/2203#issuecomment-339167131 for reasons, further links and cmdline examples. E.g., the `-arch` for the internal linker (an ld64-compatible LLD) would need to be specified as `-L-arch -Larm64` in the LDC cmdline.

Linking for Posix targets is normally done through the C compiler (`cc`), which adds lots of cmdline options for the underlying linker (Apple: `ld64`), so that it finds the required C libs etc. I don't use Apple, but I guess an Xcode installation is required to have a C compiler (Apple clang) and Apple's ld64 linker.

Use `-v` in the LDC cmdline to print the 'linker' command executed by LDC. Additionally use `-Xcc=-v` (without `-link-internally`) to make the C compiler print the actual linker cmdline (which would approximately be the one you'd need when linking with `-link-internally`).

On Saturday, 10 June 2023 at 14:06:46 UTC, kinke wrote:
> On Saturday, 10 June 2023 at 12:55:10 UTC, Cecil Ward wrote:
>> [...]
>
> Use `-v` in the LDC cmdline to print the 'linker' command executed by LDC. Additionally use `-Xcc=-v` (without `-link-internally`) to make the C compiler print the actual linker cmdline (which would approximately be the one you'd need when linking with `-link-internally`).

Fantastic, thank you for your help, you’ve given me some things to research. The download package said something about fetching ‘Xcode’ or components from it. I found that the tools that I will need are already there. ld clang, everything.