How to fix collect2.exe error: ld returned 1 exit status in VSCODE , for C

Question

Error using VSCODE and MinGW and Coderunner extension on VSCODE

Getting error : collect2.exe: error: ld returned 1 exit status

The code is

#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <string.h>
#include <winsock2.h>
#include <time.h>
#include <winsock.h>

#pragma comment(lib, "ws2_32.lib")

int main() {
    WSADATA wsa;
    SOCKET sockfd;
    struct sockaddr_in server_addr, client_addr;
    int portno;
    int client_len = sizeof(client_addr); // Change socklen_t to int
    char buffer[1024];

    // Initialize Winsock
    if (WSAStartup(MAKEWORD(2, 2), &wsa) != 0) {
        printf("Failed to initialize Winsock\n");
        return 1;
    }

    // Server configuration
    portno = 12346;
    memset(&server_addr, 0, sizeof(server_addr));
    server_addr.sin_family = AF_INET;
    server_addr.sin_addr.s_addr = INADDR_ANY;
    server_addr.sin_port = htons(portno);

    // Create socket
    if ((sockfd = socket(AF_INET, SOCK_DGRAM, 0)) == INVALID_SOCKET) {
        printf("Error opening socket\n");
        return 1;
    }

    // Bind socket
    if (bind(sockfd, (struct sockaddr*)&server_addr, sizeof(server_addr)) == SOCKET_ERROR) {
        printf("Error binding socket\n");
        closesocket(sockfd);
        WSACleanup();
        return 1;
    }

    while (1) {
        ssize_t bytes_received = recvfrom(sockfd, buffer, sizeof(buffer), 0, (struct sockaddr*)&client_addr, &client_len);

        if (bytes_received < 0) {
            printf("Error receiving data\n");
            break;
        }

        // Display received data
        buffer[bytes_received] = '\0';  // Null-terminate the received data
        time_t current_time = time(NULL);
        printf("%ld %s %s\n", current_time, ctime(&current_time), buffer);
    }

    closesocket(sockfd);
    WSACleanup();

    return 0;
}

Its purpose :

Overall Functionality

This code creates a simple UDP server in C that listens for incoming messages on port 12346. When a message arrives, it timestamps the message and prints it to the console.

Header Files and Setup

#include <stdio.h> : Includes standard input/output functions like printf and scanf.
#include <stdlib.h> : Provides general utilities like memory allocation.
#include <string.h>: Includes string manipulation functions (e.g., memset).
#include <winsock2.h> and #include <winsock.h>: Brings in libraries for network programming on Windows.
#pragma comment(lib, "ws2_32.lib"): Instructs the linker to automatically link the Winsock library.
Main Function (main)

Winsock Initialization:

WSADATA wsa: A structure to hold Winsock initialization data. WSAStartup(): Initializes the Winsock library. Socket Creation:

SOCKET sockfd: A file descriptor representing the socket. socket(): Creates a UDP socket (SOCK_DGRAM) Server Address Setup:

struct sockaddr_in server_addr, client_addr: Structures for holding internet addresses. portno = 12346: The port number where the server will listen. memset(): Clears the memory of the server address structure. server_addr.sin_family = AF_INET: Specifies IPv4. server_addr.sin_addr.s_addr = INADDR_ANY: Listen on all available interfaces. server_addr.sin_port = htons(portno): Port number in network byte order. Binding the Socket:

bind(): Assigns the prepared address to the socket. Receiving Data Loop:

while (1): Runs indefinitely. recvfrom(): Receives a datagram (message) from the socket and stores sender address. buffer[bytes_received] = '\0': Ensures the received data is null-terminated for use as a string. time() and ctime(): Get the current time and format it. printf(): Prints the timestamp, formatted time, and received message. Cleanup:

closesocket(): Closes the socket. WSACleanup(): Releases Winsock resources.

[Running] cd "c:\Users\gseid\Documents\.vscode\" && gcc openbcisocket.c -o openbcisocket && "c:\Users\gseid\Documents\.vscode\"openbcisocket
C:\Users\gseid\AppData\Local\Temp\cc533lEm.o:openbcisocket.c:(.text+0x35): undefined reference to `WSAStartup@8'
C:\Users\gseid\AppData\Local\Temp\cc533lEm.o:openbcisocket.c:(.text+0x98): undefined reference to `htons@4'
C:\Users\gseid\AppData\Local\Temp\cc533lEm.o:openbcisocket.c:(.text+0xbe): undefined reference to `socket@12'
C:\Users\gseid\AppData\Local\Temp\cc533lEm.o:openbcisocket.c:(.text+0xfd): undefined reference to `bind@12'
C:\Users\gseid\AppData\Local\Temp\cc533lEm.o:openbcisocket.c:(.text+0x11c): undefined reference to `closesocket@4'
C:\Users\gseid\AppData\Local\Temp\cc533lEm.o:openbcisocket.c:(.text+0x124): undefined reference to `WSACleanup@0'
C:\Users\gseid\AppData\Local\Temp\cc533lEm.o:openbcisocket.c:(.text+0x167): undefined reference to `recvfrom@24'
C:\Users\gseid\AppData\Local\Temp\cc533lEm.o:openbcisocket.c:(.text+0x18a): undefined reference to `closesocket@4'
C:\Users\gseid\AppData\Local\Temp\cc533lEm.o:openbcisocket.c:(.text+0x192): undefined reference to `WSACleanup@0'
collect2.exe: error: ld returned 1 exit status