Re: [Oopic-compiler-devel] Summary

[D. D. M. <dd...@mc...>]

Neil,

> One question that arises from this - are we intending to allow out
compiler
> to work as a drop-in replacement for the existing compiler, ie so that it
> works from the existing IDE.  If so, then the installer will have to
locate
> the currently-installed compiler, rename it, and replace it with the new
> one.

Perhaps, since the IDE is open, we could patch the IDE to allow compiler
selection.  No need really to lock the user into our preferred product.
<smile>

Best Regards,
Daniel



----- Original Message -----
From: "Neil Durant" <nd...@us...>
To: "OOPic Compiler List" <oop...@li...>
Sent: Wednesday, 05 May 2004 19:46
Subject: Re: [Oopic-compiler-devel] Summary


> Good questions!
>
> D. Daniel McGlothin wrote:
> > A new category:
> > Is the tool to support all firmware revisions of the OOpic?
>
> I say definitely - aim for the most recent firmware revision, and then we
> just disable features that aren't present in lower OOPic versions.  Unless
> the compiler has bizarre workarounds for quirks in each OOPic version?
>
> > A new category:
> > Testing is going to be done how?  What is the testing methodology, etc?
Do
> > any of us have a suit of OOpic in the tools supported firmware
revisions?
> > If not, are we going to ask Scott Savage for a few freebies?
>
> We can probably test the bulk of our work by simply comparing the
generated
> op-codes with those from Scott's compiler, using 'equivalent' code.  This
> will be especially useful for testing object support, which I guess won't
> be changing much from the existing compiler, beyond maybe giving errors
> when someone tries to access vapourware.  Plus, I don't think testing
> against actual sonars, motors, compasses etc is going to be practical!
>
> However I guess that'll only work so far, and we'll need to do testing
> against real hardware for some stuff.  I have an OOPic II+ (b.2.2+) and an
> OOPic II (b.1.0).
>
> Perhaps for the various bits of hardware we don't have, we could recruit
> a couple of beta testers from the OOPic forum who have the required
> itarget hardware.
>
> Same applies for different development systems - for example for the
> Windows compiler we're going to have to test on Win95/98/ME/NT/2000/XP.
>
> Of course, as it's open source, I guess it's reasonable to release it
> having tested it on the hardware we have, and list the hardware it's been
> seen to work on.  Then people can test it on their own hardware and report
> back, in the true spirit of open source knowledge sharing!
>
> I think we'll be lucky if Scott gives us some freebies!
>
> > A new category:
> > Installer issues have been recently discussed on the OOpic list.  What
> > 'installer' issues will this project need to address?
>
> Well, I think the installer issue has come up because of the IDE's
> dependency on VB runtime files, which may/may not be present on a given
> system, and may not be the correct version.
>
> I'm hoping that our compiler will be pretty self-sufficient, not relying
on
> installed DLLs or libraries, and so it should be a simple operation of
> putting the compiler exe somewhere on the path.  If the compiler depends
on
> Windows DLLs etc, then we will have lost cross-platform compatibility as
> there are no equivalents to the various Windows DLLs on DOS, Linux and
> MacOS.  I think considering the target audience, it would be acceptable to
> make a static build with any libraries compiled in.
>
> I should be able to "find" a copy of InstallShield for creating a proper
> installer for Window.  For DOS, I guess we can get away with a batch file
> or similar.  And for Linux I think it would be acceptable to ship it as a
> source code .tar.gz file with compilation instructions (this is widely
> regarded as reasonable on Linux).  Alternatively it wouldn't be hard to
> create ready-compiled RPM or DEB files for Linux.
>
> One question that arises from this - are we intending to allow out
compiler
> to work as a drop-in replacement for the existing compiler, ie so that it
> works from the existing IDE.  If so, then the installer will have to
locate
> the currently-installed compiler, rename it, and replace it with the new
> one.
>
> Neil
> --
> Neil Durant
> <nd...@us...>