Re: No console output: gcj Windows cross-compiler

[Andrew Haley <aph at redhat dot com>]

Ranjit Mathew writes:
 > On 4/5/06, Mohan Embar <gnustuff@thisiscool.com> wrote:
 > > >Sorry to disappoint you, but I didn't wake up this morning
 > > >filled with love for Windows.
 > >
 > > >I continue to love Linux and try to do anything I can to
 > > >make it an even better platform.
 > >
 > > One way of doing that is by whetting Windows developers' appetites
 > > with MinGW gcj, thereby turning them on to free software, Open
 > > Source, free OSes, etc. From my personal experience, many of those
 > > interested in MinGW gcj are also interested in producing Linux x86
 > > executables too, which in turns forces their exposure to Linux.
 > > People wanting to build MinGW gcj also have to be exposed to Linux
 > > for an optimal build experience. It's all part of the Master Plan.
 > 
 > Let me clarify: whatever little work I have done on GCJ is not
 > because I have a nefarious plan to force every Windows user
 > to "convert" to Linux.
 > 
 > I personally find Linux to be a far saner and faster development
 > environment. I also value the fact that I can actually see the
 > source code for every component in the system and rebuild
 > the whole thing myself. This is therefore a platform that I care
 > for (among the few platforms that I have been exposed to).
 > 
 > On a project like GCJ/GCC that is largely driven by volunteer
 > effort, the "best" support will always be for the platforms that
 > people care for and are willing to put in the hacking effort for.
 > Of course, people can be paid moolah and made to hack for
 > other platforms.
 > 
 > I still did some stuff for Windows more out of technical
 > curiosity than out of any love for the platform (or when it was
 > not very difficult to do it). I find the design of Windows to
 > be very ugly and some of their decisions leave me with a "What
 > were they smoking?!" feeling. (Though the blogs of Raymond
 > Chen have shed light on some of the decisions and many
 > others can be traced to a desire to be compatible with OSs
 > all the way back to DOS.)
 > 
 > However, Windows isn't something that I actually want to
 > hack for, that too in my (badly-managed) free time.

We've seen a change over the past few years.

A while ago, many free software developers had to use proprietary
operating systems to get their work done.  So, it was quite essential
for them that GNU tools ran on proprietary operating systems.  As a
result of that, there was good support for free software running on
these OSes.

Nowadays, it isn't necessary to use proprietary operating systems:
many free software hackers use GNU/Linux or somesuch.  Many of them
also use GNU/Linux in their day jobs.  So, there is much less of a
push to develop free software for these OSes, and it's hard to get
people to work on, say, gcj for Windows.

Where people really want free software to work on proprietary systems,
we should give them all the help they need.  But the fact that it's no
longer necessary to depend on proprietary systems is a cause for some
celebration.

Andrew.