[PR #50] [MERGED] Add ability to build pod as a framework #409

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opened 2026-05-05 12:15:06 -06:00 by gitea-mirror · 0 comments

gitea-mirror commented

2026-05-05 12:15:06 -06:00

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📋 Pull Request Information

Original PR: https://github.com/jmcnamara/libxlsxwriter/pull/50
Author: @lrossi
Created: 6/2/2016
Status: ✅ Merged
Merged: 6/2/2016
Merged by: @jmcnamara

Base: master ← Head: update-cocoapods

📝 Commits (1)

d4a7444 Add ability to build pod as a framework

📊 Changes

3 files changed (+40 additions, -0 deletions)

View changed files

➕ cocoapods/libxlsxwriter-umbrella.h (+28 -0)
➕ cocoapods/libxlsxwriter.modulemap (+7 -0)
📝 libxlsxwriter.podspec (+5 -0)

📄 Description

TL;DR

With the final version of CocoaPods 1.0.0 out, I made another attempt and was able to add support for use_frameworks! without the need for introducing an additional subspec. I now recommend merging this PR over my previous one. However, I’m leaving the old PR open as well until the whole discussion on this topic is closed.

The nitty-gritty

I started out as in the previous PR (#44), thus since a straight build of the current pod with use_frameworks! leads to:

I added

s.pod_target_xcconfig   = { 'USER_HEADER_SEARCH_PATHS' => '${PODS_ROOT}/libxlsxwriter/include’ }

in the podspec.

Then a new problem arose:

In my previous PR, I solved this error by moving the xlsxwriter.h header inside of the xlsxwriter directory. However, what I had missed out is that it is possible to specify a custom module map file in the podspec. According to the Clang documentation, a module map

describes how a collection of existing headers maps on to the (logical) structure of a module.

Taking inspiration from the module map file that is usually generated by CocoaPods, I wrote a (slightly) custom one as follows:

framework module xlsxwriter {
  umbrella header "libxlsxwriter-umbrella.h"
  header "../xlsxwriter.h"

  export *
  module * { export * }
}

The second line inside the block fixes the compilation error. Hooray!

Oh wait, we’re not done yet

A new compilation error arose since the xlsxwriter framework is now missing the umbrella header, because CocoaPods doesn’t automacally generate it when specifying a custom module map file. Actually, this is not a bug but a feature. I then took the umbrella header previously generated by CocoaPods and manually added it to the repo. Since I didn’t want to pollute the include directory that is shared with other platforms, I created a new cocoapods directory with the module map and umbrella header files inside and added these lines to the podspec:

  s.prepare_command       = <<-CMD
                            cp cocoapods/libxlsxwriter-umbrella.h include/xlsxwriter/libxlsxwriter-umbrella.h
                          CMD

The bottom line

The obvious disadvantage of this solution is that whenever a new header file is added to the project, we need to remember to manually include it in the umbrella header. However, I still tend to favor this solution over my previous one since (1) it seems cleaner and (2) the pod can now be added to a project with a simple

pod 'libxlsxwriter'

in the Podfile, regardless of whether the use_frameworks! directive is specified or not.

What do you think?

P.S. If you want to quickly try it out, I made another branch in my example repo that uses this PR to import the pod.

_{🔄 This issue represents a GitHub Pull Request. It cannot be merged through Gitea due to API limitations.}

## 📋 Pull Request Information **Original PR:** https://github.com/jmcnamara/libxlsxwriter/pull/50 **Author:** [@lrossi](https://github.com/lrossi) **Created:** 6/2/2016 **Status:** ✅ Merged **Merged:** 6/2/2016 **Merged by:** [@jmcnamara](https://github.com/jmcnamara) **Base:** `master` ← **Head:** `update-cocoapods` --- ### 📝 Commits (1) - [`d4a7444`](https://github.com/jmcnamara/libxlsxwriter/commit/d4a7444e37f4f876384cf04ed26c5171705183d5) Add ability to build pod as a framework ### 📊 Changes **3 files changed** (+40 additions, -0 deletions) <details> <summary>View changed files</summary> ➕ `cocoapods/libxlsxwriter-umbrella.h` (+28 -0) ➕ `cocoapods/libxlsxwriter.modulemap` (+7 -0) 📝 `libxlsxwriter.podspec` (+5 -0) </details> ### 📄 Description ## TL;DR With the final version of CocoaPods 1.0.0 out, I made another attempt and was able to add support for `use_frameworks!` without the need for introducing an additional subspec. I now recommend merging this PR over my previous one. However, I’m leaving the old PR open as well until the whole discussion on this topic is closed. ## The nitty-gritty I started out as in the previous PR (#44), thus since a straight build of the current pod with `use_frameworks!` leads to: ![01](https://cloud.githubusercontent.com/assets/2843411/15742909/05c029ac-28c2-11e6-8718-4f681160b37e.png) I added ``` ruby s.pod_target_xcconfig = { 'USER_HEADER_SEARCH_PATHS' => '${PODS_ROOT}/libxlsxwriter/include’ } ``` in the podspec. Then a new problem arose: ![02](https://cloud.githubusercontent.com/assets/2843411/15742913/0b6b28ac-28c2-11e6-826f-5496ce801c67.png) In my previous PR, I solved this error by moving the `xlsxwriter.h` header inside of the `xlsxwriter` directory. However, what **I had missed out** is that it is possible to [specify a custom module map file](https://guides.cocoapods.org/syntax/podspec.html#module_map) in the podspec. According to the [Clang documentation](http://clang.llvm.org/docs/Modules.html#module-maps), a module map > describes how a collection of existing headers maps on to the (logical) structure of a module. Taking inspiration from the module map file that is usually generated by CocoaPods, I wrote a (slightly) custom one as follows: ``` framework module xlsxwriter { umbrella header "libxlsxwriter-umbrella.h" header "../xlsxwriter.h" export * module * { export * } } ``` The second line inside the block fixes the compilation error. Hooray! ## Oh wait, we’re not done yet A new compilation error arose since the `xlsxwriter` framework is now missing the umbrella header, because CocoaPods doesn’t automacally generate it when specifying a custom module map file. Actually, this is not a bug but a [feature](https://github.com/CocoaPods/CocoaPods/issues/4094#issuecomment-135643151). I then took the umbrella header previously generated by CocoaPods and manually added it to the repo. Since I didn’t want to pollute the `include` directory that is shared with other platforms, I created a new `cocoapods` directory with the module map and umbrella header files inside and added these lines to the podspec: ``` ruby s.prepare_command = <<-CMD cp cocoapods/libxlsxwriter-umbrella.h include/xlsxwriter/libxlsxwriter-umbrella.h CMD ``` ## The bottom line The obvious disadvantage of this solution is that whenever a new header file is added to the project, we need to remember to manually include it in the umbrella header. However, I still tend to favor this solution over my previous one since (1) it seems cleaner and (2) the pod can now be added to a project with a simple ``` ruby pod 'libxlsxwriter' ``` in the Podfile, regardless of whether the `use_frameworks!` directive is specified or not. **What do you think?** _P.S. If you want to quickly try it out, I made another [branch](https://github.com/lrossi/libxlsxwriterCocoaExamples/tree/update-cocoapods) in my example repo that uses this PR to import the pod._ --- <sub>🔄 This issue represents a GitHub Pull Request. It cannot be merged through Gitea due to API limitations.</sub>