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Date: Mon, 25 Mar 1996 16:09:21
From: Jethro DOT Wright AT mail-e2b-service DOT gnn DOT com, III <Jetman AT gnn DOT com>
To: djgpp AT delorie DOT com
Subject: Re: Using DJGPP to compile windows programs


>Date:	Mon, 25 Mar 1996 13:40:26 +0800 (GMT+0800)
>From:	"Orlando A. Andico" <orly AT psylocke DOT eee DOT upd DOT edu DOT ph>
>To:	Benjamin <smokeserpent AT valleynet DOT com>
>cc:	djgpp AT delorie DOT com
>Subject:	Re: Using DJGPP to compile windows programs
>
>On 23 Mar 1996, Benjamin wrote:
>
>> You can get a windows.h file from the WINE distribution at:
>>       ftp.cdrom.com/pub/FreeBSD/distfiles/ 
>> Of course, I have yet to try using this particular windows.h file,
>>but it is pointed to by the FAQ
>
>Do *not* use that windows.h file!!! (at least, not the one which comes 
>with the latest 96xxx version of WINE). I got that from sunsite
>because I wanted to build RSXWDK for v2 (the libs are for v1) but it's
>a *total rewrite* of windows.h by some people, probably to avoid legal
>trouble. Needless to say, it doesn't work (tons of error messages).
>Perhaps the older versions of WINE have the appropriate windows.h files.
>I would suggest however "borrowing" the windows.h from a DOS compiler
>(if you have one) such as Turbo C++/Windows.
>
>Cheers,
>
>
>Orlando Andico
>oandico AT balrog DOT eee DOT upd DOT edu DOT ph

	Guys:  RSXWDK2 is really not for you.  I am a Windows developer
and I already have two complete Windows/DOS dev envs (MS C & BC ++),
but the first thing I thought of after I encountered the pkg on
Infomagic was the status of app debugging.  In fact, I immed sent Rainer
(RSX's author) an e-mail msg about this.  Essentially, his pos is
that this pkg is for those who already have debugged Winapps, who're
simply looking to port those apps to 32-bittedness, bec there are
no plans for a port of GDB or anything like it.

	Truthfully, Windows app development is much more involved than
regular DOS app development (even after you factor in the prot mode iss
imposed by GO32 or CWDPMI.)  To get *started*, you need, at the very least,
a complete development system *specifically* targeted twds doing Winapp
work.  That's *not* DJGPP.  Among the ancillary things one needs are:

	-  a source level debugger, that understands the quirky nature
	of Windows cooperative, multi-tasking model (definitely,
	a non-trivial component),

	-  a resource compiler (to create and bind menus, dialog boxes,
	etc, to an .EXE),

	-  on-line API docs (altho the hard-core hacks *could* get by
	w/ only the paper docs from a bookstore, however a complete set
	of SDK docs is about four to six volumes),

	-  a WinHelp compiler (after all, you *do* plan on giving your
	users on-line docs for your masterpieces, even if you don't need
	such fluff yourself),

	-  sample Winapps, that will illustrate many of the facets of
	how one manipulates the Windows environment, since it's radically
	different from the DOS programming model.

	A DOS app (regardless of the compiler) normally follows a kind of
single-threaded process model.  That is, the UI is totally synchronous
relative to the app's back-end processing.  A Winapp (regardless of
whether it's runs under Win16 or Win32) is generally multi-threaded
(in the *broadest* sense), in that UI operations/events *can* happen
independent of the app's other processing chores.  The Win32 environment
(besides the fact that it directly supports the 32-bit flat memory
model) makes things a little easier, bec it's pre-emptive.  The Win16
world is not, so that one's app must cooperate w/ other apps in the
system for the machine to remain responsive to the user.  This isn't
anywhere as complicated as brain surgery, but you don't need to be
hassling w/ a new programming paradigm, in addition to making your
compiler and tools do things they weren't intended to do.

	If you want to make a smaller step into the Windows world, one
that might be a little more compatible w/ what you're already doing
in the DOS world, take a look at RSXWDK3.  RSXWDK3 does essentially
the same thing as RSXWDK2, except that one doesn't have to learn
Windows programming model, in order to use it.  The RSXWDK3 extender
makes DJGPP apps run in their own Window (*not* a DOS box), but w/o
the normal Windows UI components.

	Alternately, one can check out the Cygnus GPP Win32 effort at
ftp.cygnus.com/pub/sac.  They will have *some* of the ancillaries
like a resource compiler and some sort of Win32 port of GDB.
Sight unseen, I doubt that it will completely obviate the need for
having at least one of the commercial C++ compilers on hand, for
a complete suite of Windows development tools and resources.

	Anyway, that's my take on it.  Good luck....    Jet


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