Symbol Dependency Skill

Fixes linker errors where symbols cannot be resolved.

Detection Patterns

• •undefined reference to 'X'
• •unresolved external symbol X (MSVC)
• •ld.lld: error: undefined symbol: X

Strategy

1. •Extract Symbol: Parse the mangled or demangled symbol name.
2. •Find Library: Search for which library defines the symbol.
3. •Add Dependency: Update build file to link against the library.

Instructions

Step 1: Extract Symbol Name

From: undefined reference to '_ZN5MyApp10initializeEv' Demangle: MyApp::initialize()

Step 2: Find the Defining Library

Search for the symbol definition:

# Find source files containing the function
grep -r "void MyApp::initialize" --include="*.cpp"
# Or search for class definition
grep -r "class MyApp" --include="*.h"

Then find which build target compiles that source file.

Step 3: Add Dependency

GN (BUILD.gn):

deps = [
  "//path/to:my_library",
]

Soong (Android.bp):

shared_libs: ["libmyapp"],
// or
static_libs: ["libmyapp"],

CMake:

target_link_libraries(my_target PRIVATE my_library)

Step 4: Verify

Re-run the linker or full build to confirm resolution.

Common Android Libraries