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QNX Software Development Platform
QNX SDP is a cross-compiling and debugging environment, including an IDE and command-line tools, for building binary images and programs for target boards running the QNX OS 8.0.
Programming
Programmer's Guide
The QNX OS Programmer's Guide covers a variety of topics that might interest developers who are building applications that will run under the QNX OS.
Conventions for Recursive Makefiles and Directories
In this chapter, we'll look at the supplementary files used in the QNX OS development environment. Although we use the standard make command to create libraries and executables, we also use some of our own conventions in the Makefile syntax.
Using the standard macros and include files
The qconfig.mk include file
Since the common makefiles have a lot of defaults based on the names of various directories, you can simplify the common.mk include file if you choose your directory names to match what the common makefiles want.
qconfig.mk macros
Here we provide a summary of the macros available from qconfig.mk.

QNX Momentics IDE User's Guide
This User's Guide describes version 8.0 of the Integrated Development Environment (IDE) that's part of the QNX Tool Suite.
QNX Software Development Platform
QNX SDP is a cross-compiling and debugging environment, including an IDE and command-line tools, for building binary images and programs for target boards running the QNX OS 8.0.
- Quickstart Guide
- System Architecture
  The System Architecture guide accompanies the QNX OS and is intended for both application developers and end-users.
- OS Components & Operations
- Graphics
- Programming
  - Getting Started with the QNX OS
    Getting Started with the QNX OS: A Guide for Realtime Programmers is intended to introduce you to the QNX OS and help you develop applications and resource managers for it.
  - Programmer's Guide
    The QNX OS Programmer's Guide covers a variety of topics that might interest developers who are building applications that will run under the QNX OS.
    - Compiling and Debugging
      Let's start by looking at some things you should consider when you start to write a program for the QNX OS.
    - QNX OS Architecture and Concepts
      The QNX OS architecture consists of the microkernel and several cooperating processes. These processes communicate with each other via various forms of interprocess communication (IPC). Message passing is the primary form of IPC in QNX OS.
    - Processes
      Your applications should be written in a way that reflects the architecture of the QNX OS—as a set of cooperating processes. In this chapter, we see how to start processes (also known as creating processes) from code, how to terminate them, and how to detect their termination.
    - Multicore Processing
      Multiprocessing systems, whether discrete or multicore, can greatly improve your applications' performance.
    - Working with Access Control Lists (ACLs)
      Some filesystems, such as the Power-Safe (fs-qnx6.so) and QNX compressed filesystems, extend file permissions with Access Control Lists, which are based on the withdrawn IEEE POSIX 1003.1e and 1003.2c draft standards.
    - Understanding the Microkernel's Concept of Time
      Whether you're working with timers or simply getting the time of day, it's important that you understand how the OS works with time.
    - Handling Hardware Interrupts
      This chapter explains the QNX OS mechanisms for quickly reacting to hardware events.
    - Working with Memory
      (or The Persistence of Memory, with a nod to Salvador Dali) In the Process Manager chapter of the System Architecture guide, we looked at how the OS manages memory. This chapter describes how you can work with memory.
    - Freedom from Hardware and Platform Dependencies
      The QNX OS can run on many different hardware platforms. The way in which applications can access peripheral devices and how data is stored varies between platforms. This chapter explains our solutions for minimizing the impact of such platform dependencies.
    - Conventions for Recursive Makefiles and Directories
      In this chapter, we'll look at the supplementary files used in the QNX OS development environment. Although we use the standard make command to create libraries and executables, we also use some of our own conventions in the Makefile syntax.
      - Structure of a multiplatform source tree
      - Specifying options
      - Using the standard macros and include files
        The qconfig.mk include file
        Since the common makefiles have a lot of defaults based on the names of various directories, you can simplify the common.mk include file if you choose your directory names to match what the common makefiles want.
        Preset macros
        Before including qtargets.mk, you might need to set some macros to specify things like what additional libraries need to be searched in the link, the name of the image (if it doesn't match the project directory name), and so on. Do this in the area tagged as Preset make macros go here in the sample above.
        Postset macros
        Following the inclusion of qtargets.mk, you can override or (more likely) add to the macros set by qtargets.mk. Do this in the area tagged as Postset make macros go here in the sample above.
        qconfig.mk macros
        Here we provide a summary of the macros available from qconfig.mk.
        The qdepfile.mk include file
        The qdepfile.mk include file provides support for dependency list generation to the qcc compiler.
        The qrules.mk include file
        The qrules.mk include file defines the macros used for compiling.
        The qtargets.mk include file
        The qtargets.mk include file has the linking and installation rules.
      - Advanced topics
      - Examples of creating Makefiles
        If you use our directory structure, you should use the addvariant command to create it. This section gives some examples of creating Makefiles for a single application, as well as for a library and an application.
    - Glossary
  - Writing a Resource Manager
- System Security Guide
  The QNX System Security Guide is intended for both system integrators who are responsible for the security of a QNX OS system and developers who want to create a QNX OS resource manager free from vulnerabilities.
- Utilities & Libraries
- Migrating to QNX OS 8.0
QNX Software in the Cloud
QNX Software in the Cloud enables developers to use the QNX OS in the Amazon cloud environment.
QNX Toolkit for Visual Studio Code
This User's Guide describes the QNX^® Toolkit for Visual Studio Code. The guide introduces you to the QNX Toolkit by explaining the QNX development environment and how to build, run, and debug your QNX^® Operating System (OS) applications and systems.
QNX Hypervisor User's Guide
This User's Guide explains the QNX hypervisor architecture and provides instructions for installing and running a QNX Hypervisor system, changing system components and configuration, and using hypervisor features such as virtual devices (vdevs).
Typographical Conventions, Support, and Licensing
This section describes the typographical conventions used throughout the documentation, explains how to obtain technical support, and provides some information about licensing.

qconfig.mk macros

QNX SDP8.0Programmer's GuideDeveloper

Here we provide a summary of the macros available from qconfig.mk.

CP_HOST: Copy files from one spot to another.
LN_HOST: Create a symbolic link from one file to another.
RM_HOST: Remove files from the filesystem.
TOUCH_HOST: Update a file's access and modification times.
PWD_HOST: Print the full path of the current working directory.
CL_which: Compile and link.
CC_which: Compile C/C++ source to an object file.
AS_which: Assemble something to an object file.
AR_which: Generate an object file library (archive).
LR_which: Link a list of objects/libraries to a relocatable object file.
LD_which: Link a list of objects/libraries to a executable/shared object.
UM_which: Add a usage message to an executable.

The which parameter can be either the string HOST for compiling something for the host system or a triplet of the form os_cpu_compiler to specify a combination of target OS and CPU, as well as the compiler to be used.

The os is usually the string nto to indicate Neutrino (i.e., the QNX OS). The cpu is one of x86_64 or aarch64. Finally, the compiler is usually gcc.

For example, you could use the macro CC_nto_x86_64_gcc to specify:

the compilation tool
a QNX OS target system
an x86_64 platform
the GNU GCC compiler

The following macro contains the command-line sequence required to invoke the GCC compiler:

CC_nto_x86_64_gcc = qcc -Vgcc_ntox86_64 -c

The various makefiles use the CP_HOST, LN_HOST, RM_HOST, TOUCH_HOST, and PWD_HOST macros to decouple the OS commands from the commands used to perform the given actions. For example, under most POSIX systems, the CP_HOST macro expands to the cp utility. Under other operating systems, it may expand to something else (e.g., copy).

In addition to the macros mentioned above, you can use the following macros to specify options to be placed at the end of the corresponding command lines:

CLPOST_which
CCPOST_which
ASPOST_which
ARPOST_which
LRPOST_which
LDPOST_which
UMPOST_which

The parameter which is the same as defined above: either the string HOST or the ordered triplet defining the OS, CPU, and compiler.

Page updated: March 05, 2025