I've made it work before but I remember it also being nightmarish for me last time. And I'm sure I'm doing the same as I did before and I can't make it work.

So, on Windows 10 x64, I installed CodeBlocks. The version on this page that comes with the MinGW compiler.

Then I download the binaries for Allegro 5 from here. I choose the one for the latest version of MinGW on the page that is 4.7. Although I think the CodeBlocks version they provide comes with MinGW 8.1. But the type of error I receive seems more like I just linked it really badly instead of a compatibility error.

What I do is, on CodeBlocks, I go to the project build options:

• there on the main project tab I go the "Search Directories" tab, and on the "Compiler" sub-tab, I link the entire "include" folder of the Allegro folder. I have also tried linking the "lib" folder on the "Linker" sub-tab there.

  
  

• then I go to the debug and release tab, and on each one of them I go to the "Linker Settings" tab, and link the monolith files there. liballegro-5.0.10-monolith-mt.a for the Release one, and liballegro-5.0.10-monolith-mt-debug.a for the Debug one.

Yet, when I try to compile an allegro project, I get the:

undefined reference to `al_install_system'

undefined reference to `al_destroy_timer'

Etcetera, basically, undefined reference to every single allegro function I use.

Those error messages seem to imply a linking problem, not a compatibility problem between the compiler and the Allegro binaries I downloaded. But I don't know.

Mmm unfortunately I start getting these errors when I do it like that:

cannot find -lallegro_monolith-debug-static
cannot find -ljpeg
cannot find -ldumb
cannot find -lFLAC
cannot find -lfreetype
cannot find -lvorbisfile
cannot find -lvorbis
cannot find -logg
cannot find -lphysfs
cannot find -lpng16

I noticed you didn't add anything in the link libraries section, I've tried both leaving it empty as yours, and adding the monololith library there as I previously had, and at the same time having the same text you have in "other linker options", but I get the same results every time.

Yeah, I have the same, it's the lib folder loaded there. Maybe it's a compatibility issue then, but I don't know, the type of errors I receive sound like I'm linking it wrong. But everything seems to be in its place, so I don't know what I could be doing wrong.

I tried both, relative and absolute path, and then other linker options (the -l ones), I copied them exactly as you have them.

I was using the 64 bit version, I just tried installing the 32 bit version (also the ones that comes with the MinGW) and it's the same. Maybe I should install the compiler separated, I'll try that.

EDIT:

Ok, I made it work. Turns out it was indeed a compatibility issue. I left the same version of Codeblocks I had with the MinGW that came with it. What I changed was the Allegro binaries I used. Instead of using the ones I linked in my first comment, I downloaded the ones from github, this one: allegro-x86_64-w64-mingw32-gcc-10.2.0-posix-seh-dynamic-5.2.7.0.zip

And that combination worked somehow.

I would recommend that you don't use the MinGW bundled with CodeBlocks.

Your compiler version and the version of the compiler used to build allegro need to match exactly or you will have problems.

You can get MinGW-W64 from installing it inside MSYS2 using it's pac-man package installer.

That's how SiegeLord makes them.

You can also get MinGW-W64 builds from https://winlibs.com/ and then build Allegro and the dependencies yourself if you want a different compiler.

http://members.allegro.cc/EdgarReynaldo/BuildA5.html

You're welcome to use my unofficial binaries.

You can find them here :

https://github.com/EdgarReynaldo/EagleGUI/releases/tag/0pt8pt2alpha

The compiler from winlibs is linked, and there are binaries for Eagle 0.8.2 and Allegro 5.2.7.1