21.4. Checking for the Availability of a Library
Prev | Chapter 21. Multi-Platform Configuration (Autoconf Functionality) | Next

## 21.4. Checking for the Availability of a Library

Check for the availability of a library using the `CheckLib` method. You only specify the base part of the library name, you don't need to add a `lib` prefix or a `.a` or `.lib` suffix:

    env = Environment()
    conf = Configure(env)
    if not conf.CheckLib('m'):
        print('Did not find libm.a or m.lib, exiting!')
        Exit(1)
    env = conf.Finish()

Because the ability to use a library successfully often depends on having access to a header file that describes the library's interface, you can check for a library and a header file at the same time by using the `CheckLibWithHeader` method:

    env = Environment()
    conf = Configure(env)
    if not conf.CheckLibWithHeader('m', 'math.h', language='c'):
        print('Did not find libm.a or m.lib, exiting!')
        Exit(1)
    env = conf.Finish()

This is essentially shorthand for separate calls to the `CheckHeader` and `CheckLib` functions.

Prev | Up | Next
21.3. Checking for the Availability of a Function | Home | 21.5. Checking for the Availability of a `typedef`