[GNC-dev] Building on Windows

Tue Aug 27 12:13:07 EDT 2019

My understanding, and the link you posted does nothing to gainsay it, is that VSCode is an editor like emacs. You need other tools to do the building, packaging, and debugging. Like emacs, those tools can be integrated with the editor via tasks (link in previous email).

What's your full setup for development using VSCode? How much effort is needed to duplicate it?

Regards,
John Ralls

> On Aug 27, 2019, at 5:37 AM, Dale Phurrough via gnucash-devel <gnucash-devel at gnucash.org> wrote:
> 
> I noticed earlier the use of "VS" and was watching it for context. Now I
> see more clearly what was intended.
> You want to actually use the Visual Studio UI and the Visual Studio
> compiler. And consider VS Code a lesser option "at a stretch".
> 
> I've tons of experience with Visual Studio. It is good for legacy Visual
> Studio projects, large in-house teams, and rigid development cycles. None
> of those three align well with GnuCash.
> Contrast that to VS Code. Personally, I use it for everything now. And I
> use it across platforms, across projects, and always with open-source
> projects.
> 
> This "windows developer" that you are seeking...are you sure they want
> Visual Studio? Or is VS Code a better fit? I ask because the approach one
> takes will be different between the two; and likely not worth the effort to
> support both.
> Each of the two will have their own possibilities of: editor, packager, and
> compiler/linker. Luckily, there is some overlap.
> Here is recently statistics and reports on dev tool use VS Code and Visual
> Studio. VS Code is ahead and the younger devs (via hires) prefer it.
> https://visualstudiomagazine.com/blogs/data-driver/2018/12/2018-vs-code.aspx
> 
> 
> 
> On Tue, Aug 27, 2019 at 1:52 PM Geert Janssens <geert.gnucash at kobaltwit.be>
> wrote:
> 
>> Thanks for the suggestion. However the goal is not only to get a linux
>> GnuCash
>> running on Windows. We already do better than that so it would be a step
>> back
>> to what we do now.
>> The goal is to make it easy to develop GnuCash *natively* on Windows ("as
>> easy
>> as on linux") to make it more attractive for native Windows developers to
>> join
>> the effort. Having a native Windows developer go through the hoops of
>> MingW/
>> MSYS or even docker with linux is to high a barrier. Those are not the
>> tools
>> of choice for a Windows developer. Visual Studio is the environment of
>> choice,
>> or the lighter VS Code at a stretch. Want Windows developers to be
>> interested
>> ? Make sure they can continue to use their tools.
>> 
>> Regards,
>> 
>> Geert
>> 
>> Op dinsdag 27 augustus 2019 12:58:47 CEST schreef Dale Phurrough via
>> gnucash-
>> devel:
>>> If your goal is to use a Windows computer to run and/or develop GnuCash,
>>> then an option is to...
>>> Execute GnuCash in Linux
>>> Display GnuCash in Windows
>>> 
>>> I do not recommend deep investment into the current WSL. The drastically
>>> different WSL2 is already in preview and will be available within ~6-9
>>> months. At that point, there will be a full Linux kernel available. If it
>>> works in WSL1, it will probably work in WSL2...but you will likely have
>>> many workarounds/hacks that will be obsolete.
>>> Do Linux work in a Docker container. Host that container either on
>> Windows
>>> or on any Linux machine you have that can run Docker.
>>> Use X Windows to remote the GnuCash display from the Docker container to
>>> your Windows machine. This is standard XWindows remoting.
>>> Now you have GnuCash GUI being displayed on a Windows machine, GnuCash
>>> executable running in the Docker container wherever it is, and the X
>>> Windows protocol connecting the two together.
>>> I do this often, across many Linux OS, all remoted to my same Windows 10
>>> computer.
>>> And yes, you can run the Docker container on same same Windows computer
>>> showing the GUI.
>>> 
>>> 1. Get a working Docker install. This is easy. Available for Windows and
>>> every Linux distribution https://docs.docker.com/install/
>>> 2. Get a working XWindows install for Windows. I use cygwin's XWin
>> because
>>> setup was easy and it is free. https://x.cygwin.com/
>>> 3. Get a working GnuCash Docker container. This is easy
>>> https://github.com/diablodale/gnucash-dev-docker
>>> 
>>> --Dale
>>> 
>>> On Tue, Aug 27, 2019 at 7:15 AM Adrien Monteleone <
>>> 
>>> adrien.monteleone at lusfiber.net> wrote:
>>>>> On Aug 26, 2019 w35d238, at 11:28 PM, Sumit Bhardwaj <
>>>> 
>>>> bhardwajs at outlook.com> wrote:
>>>>> WSL would provide a Linux binary, not a Windows binary. Is that what
>> you
>>>> 
>>>> are thinking of building? I am also not sure how to get GUI running for
>>>> WSL. (WSL is really good tool.)
>>>> 
>>>> That’s what I was thinking too, but maybe John knows something we
>> don’t.
>>>> If the goal of being able to build via VSCode is reached, then you can
>> use
>>>> one machine and do both builds, one for Linux, the other for Windows.
>> I’ve
>>>> not heard that the Linux version of VSCode can build a Windows binary.
>>>> (would be great if it could)
>>>> 
>>>> As for the GUI, some people have done it, though MS doesn’t support it.
>>>> (even running GnuCash!) But I haven’t tried it myself. I’m just getting
>>>> ready to play with Win10 for a client (I don’t use Win systems
>> regularly
>>>> anymore) so I might give it a go in a month or so.
>>>> 
>>>> Regards,
>>>> Adrien
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> gnucash-devel mailing list
>>>> gnucash-devel at gnucash.org
>>>> https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-devel
>>> 
>>> _______________________________________________
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>>> gnucash-devel at gnucash.org
>>> https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-devel
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
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