To compile applications using libtracker-sparql, you need to tell the compiler where to find the proper header files and libraries. This is done with the pkg-config utility.

The following interactive shell session demonstrates how pkg-config is used (the actual output on your system may be different):

$ pkg-config --cflags tracker-sparql-0.12
-pthread -I/usr/include/tracker-0.12 -I/usr/include/tracker-0.12/libtracker-sparql -I/usr/include/glib-2.0 -I/usr/lib/glib-2.0/include

$ pkg-config --libs tracker-sparql-0.12
-Wl,--export-dynamic -pthread -ltracker-sparql-0.12 -lgio-2.0 -lgobject-2.0 -lgmodule-2.0 -lgthread-2.0 -lrt -lglib-2.0

The simplest way to compile a program is to use the "backticks" feature of the shell. If you enclose a command in backticks (not single quotes), then its output will be substituted into the command line before execution:

 $ cc `pkg-config --cflags --libs tracker-sparql-0.12` hello.c -o hello