Re: [ZooLib-dev] Compiling under windows and more sample code/documentation

[Michael D. C. <cra...@go...>]

I'll make some Visual C++ 7 projects for the two demo programs and put them into 
CVS.  I'm not sure when I can do this but I'll try to do this withing the next week.

But if you can possibly get CodeWarrior, you should, it's a much more 
ISO-compliant C++ compiler, and has a much more pleasant UI in the IDE.

I think Andy or someone got ZooLib to work with Visual C++ 6 but I'm not sure we 
should really try to support it.  Visual C++ 6 has a lot of problems with 
standards compliance that encourages one to write broken code.  Visual C++ 7 is 
much better than 6 in that way.

I think I know now how to get ZooLib to work with Windows gcc, I just need to 
find the time to spend dealing with it.

Stricly speaking, it will be a MingW build, which compiles with gcc but uses the 
Microsoft libraries that come with Windows.  When you compile with the Cygwin 
DLL, you have to use a Unix API and then your app can't run as a Win32 
application (although you can run it on Windows using X11).

There is some arcane requirement about how the runtime libraries for g++ need to 
be built in order to allow one to compile an application that uses Windows COM. 
  COM is needed for the clipboard and drag 'n drop.

It's also fairly hardwired into the existing ZooLib Windows platform support - I 
experimented with removing the COM code just to see if I could make it work, but 
it was a terrible hatchet job, commenting off the base classes of a bunch of stuff.

I've been told that the version of gcc which is distributed at 
http://www.mingw.org/ has what I need to make COM work.  The gcc from 
http://www.cygwin.com/ includes MingW, but the runtime libraries aren't built 
the way I need them.  I tried to do a custom build once using Cygwin's GCC 
sources, but I couldn't figure out how to configure it in the build.

The thing COM needs is a certain API for C++ virtual function calls.  What 
happens if you don't do the right thing is that the first time you make a 
virtual call your code jumps to someplace entirely unexpected!

I should be able to make it work.  Using Cygwin, I've gotten ZooLib as far as 
displaying a window and drawing some stuff in it, but then it has this crash I 
could never figure out.  I should be able to get it eventually.

Best,

Mike
-- 
Michael D. Crawford
GoingWare Inc. - Expert Software Development and Consulting
http://www.goingware.com/
cra...@go...

      Tilting at Windmills for a Better Tomorrow.