Ok so I've been doing research and can't seem to find the correct answer to my problem. I am a linux(Arch) user, and am trying to compile programs that run on Windows. I realize this is a lengthy discussion topic of its own. However I had a method that was working well for me using mingw.

compile line:

/usr/bin/i486-mingw32-g++ -static-libgcc -static-libstdc++ -L . test.cpp -o test.exe

Now my problem is I've just started learning to use SDL. I can link and compile it for linux just fine using:

g++ -Wall test.cpp -o test -lSDL

When I try to compile for windows I get a fatal error: SDL/SDL.h: no such file or directory. I know this is a linking problem, So I've tried:

/usr/bin/i486-mingw32-g++ -static-libgcc -static-libstdc++ -L . test.cpp -o test.exe -lSDL

and

/usr/bin/i486-mingw32-g++ -static -static-libgcc -static-libstdc++ -L . test.cpp -o test.exe

However neither work. I've not had much luck with search results and I've also heard if I compile it staticlly I may run into issues with LGPL. If anyone could shed some light on this problem I'd be greatly appreciative.

Ok so I have got it to compile with no errors using:

/usr/bin/i486-mingw32-g++ -static-libgcc -static-libstdc++ -L . test.cpp -o test.exe -lmingw32 -lSDLmain -lSDL -mwindows

It still wont run on Windows however I get a SDL.dll not found error. So I guess I just have to make it static now?

I have no problem with linux what so ever. You install SDL by unpacking the tarball and running make (depending on what your distro is). My linker issue that I was having was that it just wasn't looking in the right directory and I have that covered. I just need to figure out how to run the program on a windows computer that dosen't have SDL. That means I need to either include it with the file or make it statically linked.

Put the SDL.dll file in the same directory as the executable file. That's how I have seen most people doing.

This seems to be the best method. Thanks.