jquepi / build-protobuf

Google Protobuf - Mac OS X and iOS Support

The script in this gist will help you buid the Google Protobuf library for use with Mac OS X and iOS. Other methods (such as homebrew or direct compilation) have issues that prevent their use. The libraries built by this script are universal and support all iOS device architectures including the simluator.

Get the Script

The easiest way to use this script is to simply clone the gist onto your machine using the following command:

$ git clone https://gist.github.com/9487468ae3375d0db0cc.git build-protobuf

Performing the Build

The script will automatically download the tarball from Google Code, so all you need to do is run the script. This will build the 2.6.1 version of Protobuf. The script understands a few command-line options too.

$ cd build-protobuf
$ ./build-protobuf.sh

Add --interactive to the above script if you would like the script to stop after each major operation. This makes it easier to inspect the output from the various steps for potential errors.

Add --master if you would prefer to build from the master branch in the Google Protobuf git repo.

Results

Build results are found in a folder called protobuf-{version}, where {version} will be either 2.6.1 or master. This folder contains bin, include and lib folders.

Integration with Xcode

Create a build rule in your Xcode project with the following settings.

Process *Source files with names matching:* `*.proto`
Using *Custom script:*

cd ${INPUT_FILE_DIR}
${SRCROOT}/Google/protobuf/bin/protoc --proto_path=${INPUT_FILE_DIR} ${INPUT_FILE_PATH} --cpp_out=${DERIVED_FILE_DIR}

Output Files
$(DERIVED_FILE_DIR)/$(INPUT_FILE_BASE).pb.cc
$(DERIVED_FILE_DIR)/$(INPUT_FILE_BASE).pb.h

Depending on where you choose to install the protobuf build, you will need to adjust the path to protoc.

FAQ

Can Protobuf be built using libstdc++?

Unfortunately, the protobuf C++ code is not compatible with libstdc++ at the moment. You must use libc++ instead.

Can you provide a similar script for Android?

No

Why am I gettings all the implicit conversion looses integer precision warnings?

Unfortunately, the code generated by protoc is not 64-bit clean. In practice I have not experienced any issues as a result of this. It would be better if the generated code was reworked for better 64-bit support. This may come with the 3.0 version they are working on now.