From: Charles Sandmann Newsgroups: comp.os.msdos.djgpp Subject: Re: Cygwin, Mingw, DJGPP (something else ?) Date: Sat, 31 Aug 2002 13:51:18 CDT Organization: Rice University, Houston TX Lines: 25 Message-ID: <3d711026.sandmann@clio.rice.edu> References: NNTP-Posting-Host: clio.rice.edu X-Trace: joe.rice.edu 1030820726 17679 128.42.105.3 (31 Aug 2002 19:05:26 GMT) X-Complaints-To: abuse AT rice DOT edu NNTP-Posting-Date: 31 Aug 2002 19:05:26 GMT X-NewsEditor: ED-1.5.9 To: djgpp AT delorie DOT com DJ-Gateway: from newsgroup comp.os.msdos.djgpp Reply-To: djgpp AT delorie DOT com > Cygwin, Mingw, DJGPP (is there something else ?) are based on GNU project > (including gcc compiler). In brief (comparative table?) : what is the > essential difference between them? The primary difference is the target environment the executables will run in - and the behavior of the provided library. Runs_in_DOS Unix_Compatibility Win32_Features Image_Size DJGPP Yes High Low Medium MingW No Low High Small CygWin No High High Large DJGPP executables are based on the DPMI environment, so will run in DOS. MingW and CygWin images will not. DJGPP images have low access to Windows features; you need an add-on to create Win32 images. MingW uses (mostly) the native routines that ship with Windows (used by microsoft compilers) - so images are smaller - faster - but behave more like Windows and less like unix (harder porting). It's all personal preference and environment targets. DJGPP images are nice because they run either from a boot disk or from a command window. MingW images are nice since the are the smallest and fastest under Windows. CygWin is great if you are porting Unix program and want to make minimum changes - and don't mind bringing a large complex environment with the image to make porting easier.