Re: [Tcl-tdbc] 8.5.6 support (Patrick Dunnigan)

[Kevin K. <ke...@ac...>]

Twylite wrote:
> For VC 2005+ you need to deploy using Private Assemblies or 
> get the user to install the VC redistributable package.  
> In this case a better alternative may be to statically link to the 
> runtime libs -- this has an impact on startup time and memory 
> consumption, but gets around the problem of the target computer not 
> having the right libraries.

The static link also requires you to get your database vendor to
make static-link-compatible libraries. I don't know anyone who's
successfully build the MySQL libs that way. I usually address the
problem by making the user go get the VC Redistributables. It's
awkward. (WinSxS got rid of the "DLL Hell" deployment problem and
introduced worse ones.) I also include the manifest-bundling step
in the build.

> Do anyone actually use code signing?!

Not me!

> Yes, supporting the VS compiles is horribly painful.  With Tcl.  I say 
> "with Tcl" because my company works extensively with C/C++ sources that 
> cross-compile on multiple platforms (Win32, Linux, Solaris, and three 
> embedded platforms), and the Windows builds are amongst the easiest.  
> Tcl's makefiles by comparison are an exercise in complexity, and have 
> the side-effect of marginalizing Windows developers (you can't exploit 
> the MSVC tools when you're working with a makefile rather than a 
> dsp/vcproj).

And you can't use a .dsp/vcproj anywhere but Visual Studio. Who's 
marginalizing whom?

> Anyway, just putting that out there, it seemed relevant to this 
> discussion.  If you're interesting in trying CMake for Tcl extensions 
> and TDBC drivers let me know and I can give you a hand getting something 
> working.

CMake is useful, but also involves getting downstream distributors
tooled up for it. (ActiveState at the very least!) I'd switch in
a heartbeat if I didn't want so much to stay compatible with the
way that Andreas does things. (I don't lobby very hard for CMake
because of a perceived conflict of interest. I work at GE Research,
where CMake was invented.)

-- 
73 de ke9tv/2, Kevin