# TI CGT: How to stop cmake converting libc.a to c?
**URL:** https://discourse.cmake.org/t/ti-cgt-how-to-stop-cmake-converting-libc-a-to-c/8121
**Category:** Usage
**Tags:** comp:ti
**Created:** [May 13, 2023, 4:16pm UTC](https://discourse.cmake.org/t/ti-cgt-how-to-stop-cmake-converting-libc-a-to-c/8121 "2023-05-13T16:16:56Z")
**Posts on this page:** 6
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Freed-Wu](https://discourse.cmake.org/u/Freed-Wu)
#### Post date: [May 13, 2023, 4:16pm UTC](https://discourse.cmake.org/t/ti-cgt-how-to-stop-cmake-converting-libc-a-to-c/8121/1 "2023-05-13T16:16:56Z")
When I
```cmake
link_libraries(libc.a)
```
`cmake --build build` will run
```auto
/opt/ccstudio/ccs/tools/compiler/c6000_7.4.24/bin/cl6x --run_linker --output_file=x264 --map_file=x264.map -heap=0x1000000 -stack=0x1000000 CMakeFiles/XXX/X.c.obj ... -library=c
```
It will fail due to `error: cannot find file "c"`
the correct syntax is
```auto
/opt/ccstudio/ccs/tools/compiler/c6000_7.4.24/bin/cl6x --run_linker --output_file=x264 --map_file=x264.map -heap=0x1000000 -stack=0x1000000 CMakeFiles/XXX/X.c.obj ... -library=libc.a
```
Currently, I have to
```cmake
link_libraries(.../lib/libc.a)
```
to avoid cmake convert `libc.a` to `c`.
How to stop cmake converting?
---
### Author:  [@ben.boeckel](https://discourse.cmake.org/u/ben.boeckel)
#### Post date: [May 14, 2023, 12:26pm UTC](https://discourse.cmake.org/t/ti-cgt-how-to-stop-cmake-converting-libc-a-to-c/8121/2 "2023-05-14T12:26:04Z")
This seems like a behavior change? I don’t know how well-tested the TI compilers are, but maybe this is a hole that hadn’t been tested before?
@brad.king
---
### Author:  [@Freed-Wu](https://discourse.cmake.org/u/Freed-Wu)
#### Post date: [May 15, 2023, 6:21am UTC](https://discourse.cmake.org/t/ti-cgt-how-to-stop-cmake-converting-libc-a-to-c/8121/3 "2023-05-15T06:21:47Z")
So how can we stop cmake convert `libc.a` to `c`? And why cmake do this convert?
---
### Author:  [@ben.boeckel](https://discourse.cmake.org/u/ben.boeckel)
#### Post date: [May 15, 2023, 10:11am UTC](https://discourse.cmake.org/t/ti-cgt-how-to-stop-cmake-converting-libc-a-to-c/8121/4 "2023-05-15T10:11:52Z")
I’m not familiar enough with TI support to know; generally CMake prefers absolute paths for libraries already. I’m unsure if this logic lives in the CMake code or C++, but it feels like a C++ thing to me.
I suspect, based on your other questions, that newer TI compilers need some additional work to be supported in CMake.
---
### Author:  [@Freed-Wu](https://discourse.cmake.org/u/Freed-Wu)
#### Post date: [May 15, 2023, 10:20am UTC](https://discourse.cmake.org/t/ti-cgt-how-to-stop-cmake-converting-libc-a-to-c/8121/5 "2023-05-15T10:20:25Z")
The latest document of TI-CGT is [https://www.ti.com/lit/ug/sprui04e/sprui04e.pdf](https://www.ti.com/lit/ug/sprui04e/sprui04e.pdf). And usually it is installed as `/opt/ccstudio/ccs/tools/compiler/c6000_7.4.24` or `/opt/ccstudio/ccs/tools/compiler/ti-cgt-c6000_8.3.12`. Why not provide `CMAKE_TI_CGT` like `CMAKE_ANDROID_NDK`? And How about [https://cmake.org/cmake/help/latest/manual/cmake-toolchains.7.html](https://cmake.org/cmake/help/latest/manual/cmake-toolchains.7.html) add some document about how to use TI-CGT?
---
### Author:  [@brad.king](https://discourse.cmake.org/u/brad.king)
#### Post date: [May 15, 2023, 3:13pm UTC](https://discourse.cmake.org/t/ti-cgt-how-to-stop-cmake-converting-libc-a-to-c/8121/6 "2023-05-15T15:13:13Z")
> how can we stop cmake convert `libc.a` to `c`? And why cmake do this convert?
`[target_]link_libraries(libc.a)`, without an absolute path, is treated as a cross-platform abstraction for “tell the linker to search for this library”. It is converted to just the library name, `c`, and then later converted to whatever the current linker expects for searching for a library by name. The default is `-lc` if CMake doesn’t know anything more about the current toolchain’s linker.
CMake’s knowledge of TI toolchains is maintained only by external contributors, and I do not know what level of maturity it has. There are [some issues](https://gitlab.kitware.com/cmake/cmake/-/issues/?state=opened&label_name%5B%5D=comp%3Ati) for it.