xcodexcodebuildbuild-dependencies

How do I reference a dependent project built with a different configuration in Xcode?

I have two Xcode projects: Super and Sub. Super has a custom configuration: Enterprise. Sub only has the default configurations: Debug and Release. Super has a target dependency on Sub. When I build Super with the Enterprise configuration, Sub builds with its default configuration: Release. This yields the following hierarchy:

Build
|-Products
  |-Enterprise-iphoneos
    |-Super.app
  |-Release-iphoneos
    |-libSub.a
    |-Sub
      |-Sub.h

Clang fails to build because libSub.a and Sub/Sub.h is normally in the same directory as Super.app, but instead is in a different directory because Sub built with the Release configuration instead of Enterprise. I control both projects, so I could easily add an Enterprise configuration to Sub, but I feel like there must be a magical incantation of Xcode Build Settings to make this work.

Solution

  • I have solved exactly the same problem by using Xcode Configuration Files in my parent project - typically your application.

    These are the steps I took:

    1. Create a Base Configuration file in Xcode via New > Other > Configuration File.

    2. Write your base xcconfig file, mine looks a bit like this:

      /// Configure Search Paths
HEADER_SEARCH_PATHS = "$(BUILT_PRODUCTS_DIR)/include" "$(BUILT_PRODUCTS_DIR)/usr/local/include"
LIBRARY_SEARCH_PATHS = "$(SRCROOT)/../Externals/Libraries/GoogleAnalytics"

/// Linker flags
OTHER_LDFLAGS=-ObjC -all_load

    3. The thing to note here, is that $(BUILT_PRODUCTS_DIR) is the concatenation of:

      $(BUILD_DIR)/$(CONFIGURATION)-$(PLATFORM_NAME)

    4. Write a specialised configuration for a custom configuration. I created an Ad Hoc configuration which duplicated Release, therefore my search paths now look like this:

      #include "BaseConfig.xcconfig"

/// Ad Hoc search paths
HEADER_SEARCH_PATHS = "$(BUILD_DIR)/Release-$(PLATFORM_NAME)/include" "$(BUILD_DIR)/Release-$(PLATFORM_NAME)/usr/local/include"
LIBRARY_SEARCH_PATHS = "$(BUILD_DIR)/Release-$(PLATFORM_NAME)" "$(SRCROOT)/../Externals/Sources/GoogleAnalytics"

    Then in your application's project's Info tab select your configurations, to use the Base Configuration for Debug and Release, and then the special one for your custom configuration.