Re: [Dev-C++] What have I done this time? A wxDevC++ adventure.

[Alfred P. R. <al...@ya...>]

Hi Roger,
 
I've had similar experiences with FLTK (Fast Light Tool Kit) until I got the hang of it.  For one, don't reboot.  I'm assuming Win XP Pro, but instead get the Task Manager Processes tab up and shut down the devcpp process itself.  It's written cleanly enough that it responds to the kill signal.
 
With FLTK, I originally had significant problems finding library files that I could see installed in the folder lib in the Dev-Cpp folders.  My solution is to manually enter the missing file name into the Project Options -> Parameters -> Linker window.  When I get a linker error saying devcpp can't find a library file or function I use a combination of Unix find and grep to locate the offending file/function.
 
When I install devcpp, I install it with the code cache turned off, then turn it on via the Tools -> Editor Options -> Class browsing window.  Check all boxes on that window.  Code completion is very helpful, but can be a pain in the butt.
 
The parsing line is devcpp filling the code cache with the information from all files referenced by your program, and is normal.  Depending on what header files you are using, it can take an appreciable amount of time, also dependent on other applications consuming system resources.  For File Cleaner, it's normally about 23-29 seconds the first pass through.  If devcpp crashes or I need to shut it down, that time drops to 2-5 seconds the next time I load my project.  That's because of the static code cache, described next.
 
It didn't ask you the second time to precompile headers because it found the code cache, cache.ccc, in it's default area.  You can start from scratch without having to re-install devcpp by deleting the files:
cache.ccc
defaultcode.cfg
devcpp.cfg
devcpp.ini
I mostly work on public computers at a local university, and on these machines they reside at USER/"Local Settings/Application Data", with USER probably being c:/documents and settings/... on your machine.  
 
If you haven't installed Msys and MinGW yet, I highly recommend you do so.  Unix is the language for software development, and both of those installs give you Unix capability on Win OS.  Install MinGW first, then Msys, though.   Lots of useful command line utilities, with an rvxt window and a command capability that makes DOS look ridiculous.  An example from a piece of software I am currently working on that generates test files is: "find . -name xxx -exec cp {} /d/yyy/ /;"  Lets see DOS do that!  That last character is actually a backslash but html won't allow it as it escapes the next character.  A very important caveat here is that in that rvxt window, you are no longer under the control of Microsoft and commands like rm -r * will destroy your system if operated on from the wrong folder.  Be warned in advance, as Unix doesn't F... around.
 
If you installed wxWidgets from the devcpp packages, then it should work correctly as advertised.  If you installed and compiled it from the download, then you may have to move things around to where devcpp likes them.
 
Another recommendation is to uninstall packages that are not pertinent to the application you are working on.  This speeds up the code cache quite a bit.  I learned that the hard way with ShapeFS, an application of mine that does shape from shading as a Gimp plug-in.
 
If you download the zips for either File Cleaner or ShapeFS, there's an example .dev file in each that will show you what you have to do with lost libraries.  These two applications where developed with Dev-Cpp and I can vouch for it's efficacy.  However it does have some bugs.  An interesting one is that the class browser may be confused by "/"" (backslash) if you stick that anywhere except a header file.  Another is not finding obviously existing library files.  Others are ...
 
Finally, in this ramble, I'm not addressing the source files because I'm pretty sure that your problem is implementation dependent and not caused by the wxWidgets source.  Hopefully this covers all of your description, as I made the mistake of getting it in non-html digest form.
 
Thanks for your time, and have a great weekend, Roger!  Partake of some of that Kona if you start getting stressed out!  Writing code is supposed to be fun, not stressful!
 
Sincerely,













Alfred P. Reaud