Building (or trying to) GnuCash on Windows

Brian Davis bitminer at gmail.com
Thu Nov 30 18:56:32 EST 2017


>
> > Why not use CMake to do all the heavy lifting?
>
> Probably because the CMake files are also used for Linux and MacOSX builds.
> There is no need to install msys under Linux or MacOSX since both Linux and
> MacOSX are Posix/UNIX build environments already and don't need a "fake"
> Posix/UNIX build environment, which is what msys effectively is.
>
>
Your right there is no reason to install MSys on Linux or MacOSX.

if( WIN32 )
# do Msys goop
endif()


> >
> > Scripts also install git... I have git... I also have CMake.... CMake can
> > use git command line tools... Why do I need git again?  CMake using
> > ExternalProject_Add can add gnucash.git, gnucash-on-windows.git.  Maybe
> it
> > could be changed from download-world-begin-build to
> > download-Texas-begin-build?
>
> git is often part of a base Posix/UNIX build environment, but is also
> never a
> part of a typical MS-Windows environment.  And git is often in the Linux
> distros repository -- installing git on a Linux is just one of two lines:
> "apt-get install git" or "yum install git" (MacOSX is much the same once
> you
> install XCode and friends).
>
>
I can and do as a developer install Git, SVN (Tortosie with CMD line
tools), and Mercurial also CMake.  So the are there waiting to be used.
Why not auto install XCode for the Mac users on MacOSx as they might not
have it installed ;-)?


> >
> > What are deps on need for MSys/Mingw and could CMake take this over to
> > allow VS/MSbuild tools option?  Are there deps such as glib/GTK and other
> > dep friends where msbuild tools are not an option?
>
> Oh, yes, probably all over the place.
>
>
Yes... sigh... this has been my experience.


> As others have said: GnuCash is a *UNIX* application that has been
> "ported" to
> MS-Windows.  Porting a *UNIX* application to MS-Windows can be weird and
> strange and is never for the faint hearted.  In some cases it is only
> really
> sane to *cross build* a UNIX application for MS-Windows, since building on
> a
> "native" MS-Windows is pretty much impossible.  Even cross-building can be
> difficult.
>
>
It seems to me realy cross dev is really the only real option requiring
VBox and full Linux configured VM.  Is this recommended way to go?


>
> > There have been concerns regarding the MS runtime/mingw
> > (excetions/crashes/interop problems) and speaks to the very real problem
> > that even if you can get it to build it may not be stable (yes one could
> > argue the alternative stability of MS run-time in general).
>
> Maybe the solution here is to get VirtualBox (free) and install some
> flavor of
> Linux (pick one, they are all *free*) and run GnuCash there.  This will
> save
> you a ton a grief.  And why are you not just using the gnucash.exe that is
> available for download from gnucash.org?
>
>
Yes less grief sounds good so VM then?  What flavor of VM is best? Debian,
Unbutu, Gentoo, openSUSE?  I typically favor Debian would that work?

Still does not get to the ultimate problem of the run-time interface cross
dev and/or MSys platform build seems to have hicups with.


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