Re: gEDA-user: strange build failure

[al davis <ad106@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Monday 04 December 2006 19:26, Adrian Nania wrote:
> It is possible for some good Samaritan to compile for windows
> and make available all the updated gEDA packages?

To answer this, you must understand how the binary packages are 
made, and who does them.

Speaking as the creator of gnucap, one of the tools ...   I 
develop on a system I like, which may or may not be the same as  
anyone else has.  We try to make the code as portable as 
possible, in hopes that it compiles anywhere but there are 
always surprises.  None of us have a collection of different 
systems, or the patience to use them all.

To do so, we do accept a certain set of tools as standard, which 
basically includes a shell, "make" and a set of compilers with 
a command line interface.  Those who like a graphic environment 
make one by wrapping the tools.  Some common ones include emacs 
and kdevelop.  But we don't require anyone else to have that.  
There is a "configure" script that sets up things like where 
the libraries go and some features that man be in or out 
depending on your environment.  We also use libraries that are 
easily available, such as gtk.

Most of us use all free systems, and we certainly dont require 
anything that isn't free.  We consider the free operating 
systems to be the highest priority, and the makers of the free 
operating systems consider free applications to be their 
highest priority.  By "free" here, I refer to the FSF 
definition, libre, freedom, etc.  not zero cost closed source.

We distribute as source in tarballs, without the libraries that 
you can get elsewhere.  If you have a minimal system, you must 
get the libraries yourself, from somewhere else.

Most users do not compile their own code, but rather rely on 
pre-compiled packages.    These packages are usually for a 
specific distribution, and they are maintained by someone else, 
not the same people who create the software.  These package 
maintainers pick up the tarball, compile it, customize it for a 
particular distribution, make sure it gets all the libraries, 
and package it so it is ready to use.  As you would expect, 
these are always a little behind the original source packages.  
I must emphasize again, that these packages are made by someone 
other than the the original creator of the package.  It is a 
serious ongoing committment.  These people are also the first 
contact for the binary package for that distribution.  They 
also provide valuable testing by building in many different 
environments, and feeding back the results.

For the Windows packages to be successful, it must be the same 
arragement.  It is more difficult because Microsoft seems to go 
out of its way to make this difficult.  The first step is to 
put the extra infrastructure in place.  Then you can do 
specific packages.  It isn't just a matter of making a package.     
Someone needs to make a commitment to keep track of the 
updates, and be an active member of our community.  That means 
to be available to answer the flood of questions that will 
certainly come.

For myself, I develop Gnucap, but I just use the Debian 
(unstable) packages for everything else.  I only install from 
source if I must, but I require that I have the option to do 
so.  One reason sometimes I must is to get a later version.  
The packages are based on official releases, not CVS checkouts 
or development snapshots.

Again, for a Windows port to be successful, it must work the 
same way.  Someone new must step up to the task.  The rest of 
us are all too busy with our piece.  If you are willing to take 
on the task, we will all help you do it, in the same way that 
we help those who do the packages for other systems.  We will 
expect the same feedback and cooperation from you, and a 
commitment from you to support your users.  It is a difficult 
task.


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