clibgen.ge​nerateLibr​aryDefinit​ion error: the global scope has no "quick_exit" on Mac M2

The routine clibgen.generateLibraryDefiniton generates errors when trying to process one or more header files identified in the include path.

I’m running Matlab version R2023b, Prerelease Update 3 for ARM Macs. I’m using a MacBook Pro, with an Apple M2 Max running Ventura 13.4.1.

For each header file, the processor doesn’t like two lines in the file, “cstdlib”,” which on my machine is located at:

/Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer/Platforms/MacOSX.platform/Developer/SDKs/MacOSX.sdk/usr/include/c++/v1

The errors are:

Errors parsing interface generation files.

/Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer/Platforms/MacOSX.platform/Developer/SDKs/MacOSX.sdk/usr/include/c++/v1/cstdlib(135):

error: the global scope has no "at_quick_exit"

/Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer/Platforms/MacOSX.platform/Developer/SDKs/MacOSX.sdk/usr/include/c++/v1/cstdlib(136):

error: the global scope has no "quick_exit"

The lines of code in the cstdlib that seem to be causing the problem are:

#if !defined(_LIBCPP_CXX03_LANG)

using ::at_quick_exit _LIBCPP_USING_IF_EXISTS;

using ::quick_exit _LIBCPP_USING_IF_EXISTS;

#endif

In this case I was attempting to build an interface for libraw, version 0.21, which I have build and used on my system in C++ code and in Mex files using the new API. But the same problem occurs no matter what library I try to process.

Any suggestions on what to do would be greatly appreciated.

Answer 1

[Maneet Kaur Bagga]

Hi Darral Freund,

As per my understanding of the error message mentioned above:

using ::at_quick_exit _LIBCPP_USING_IF_EXISTS - This line introduces the at_quick_exit function from the global scope into the current namespace. The _LIBCPP_USING_IF_EXISTS macro is used to conditionally include this line only if the at_quick_exit function exists. Similarly it is implemented for the quick_exit function.

The error message suggests that the global scope does not have the functions at_quick_exit and quick_exit which is causing the parsing error.

Here are some of the troubleshooting steps you can follow to resolve the error:

• You can check and update the version of Xcode installed on your system.You may check if you have the necessary SDKs installed in Xcode. In this case, you need to have the MacOSX SDK installed. Open Xcode, go to Preferences, select the Locations tab, and ensure that the Command Line Tools and SDKs are properly set up.
• You can also check that the include path in the MATLAB environment is correctly configured to point to the cstdlib header file you mentioned: /Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer/Platforms/MacOSX.platform/Developer/SDKs/MacOSX.sdk/usr/include/c++/v1
• If the error still persists you may try to update or reinstall the C++ Standard Library for your Xcode installation. You can do this by using the Xcode package manager, such as Homebrew, to update the C++ Standard Library.

For more information refer to the following MATLAB Documentation.

Steps to Publish a MATLAB Interface to a C++ Library

https://www.mathworks.com/help/matlab/matlab_external/steps-to-publish-a-matlab-interface-to-a-c-library.html

Requirements for Building Interface to C++ Libraries

https://www.mathworks.com/help/matlab/matlab_external/system-requirements-for-matlab-cpp-library-interface.html

Example to create a MATLAB interface to a C++ library for macOS

https://www.mathworks.com/help/matlab/matlab_external/publish-interface-to-shared-c-library-on-macos.html

I hope this helps!

Thank You

Maneet Bagga

[Darral Freund]

Thanks for the help.

I ended up having to add the following include directories located in the matlab root directory:

/polyspace/verifier/cxx/include/include-libc

/polyspace/verifier/cxx/include/include-libcxx

Adding directories buried in the Xcode.app or /Library/Developer/CommandLineTools/usr/include/c++ or others didn't work.

[Adrian]

I don't think this should be an accepted answer - there's something weird going on.

I've been trying to build the C++ interface from the examples using MATLAB R2023a on Ventura and the exact same error appears. The only way to fix it was to install Xcode 14.2 (any newer version would cause this problem). Now that I'm on Sonoma with Xcode 15, the problem is still there and no way to go back.

[Darral Freund]

Hi,

Did you try to add the include directories I listed above? That's what made it work for me.

Answer 2

[J Pries]

This is a problem with XCode not providing implementaitons of std::quick_exit and std::at_quick_exit, and then Matlab attempting to parse those definitions. Searching around, you can find others having similar issues outside of Matlab. This was the most succicnt issue I could find that points to the issue being a change in the header file in XCode 14.3: https://youtrack.jetbrains.com/issue/KT-57848

That issue also suggestion a solution: Add the compiler flags -Dat_quick_exit=atexit and -Dquick_exit=exit. https://github.com/jetbrains/kotlin/commit/d50f585911dedec5723213da8835707ac95e1c01

Alternatively, you might have success providing dummy implementations just before including <cstdlib>.

#ifdef __APPLE__

int at_quick_exit(void (*func)()) noexcept { return 0; };

[[noreturn]] void quick_exit( int exit_code ) noexcept;

#endif

#include <cstdlib>

Both of these allowed me to successfully generate a library interface with clibgen.generateLibraryDefinition on a minimum working example. Your mileage may vary on more complex projects. The compiler flag option seems like the better solution.

Answer 3

[Adrian]

It looks like this bug was fixed in R2024a Update 5. I've tested on my code and there's no longer a need for hacking things 🎉

https://uk.mathworks.com/support/bugreports/details/3181030