Re: open watcom compiling gcc on win32

["Marcel Cox" <cimetmc at myrealbox dot com>]

Edward S. Peschko wrote:

> I need a compiler that can link with VC++ dlls and compile the gnu
> toolchain.  Right now, both python and perl are split into two
> 'personalities' : you can either compile modules for win32 or modules
> for unix, but you can't do both and hope to have them play well
> together.
> 
> Plus, certain third-party APIs don't work well with mingw - well,
> pretty much all third-party APIs don't work well because they are all
> compiled for Borland or VC++. And COM just plain sucks - most tool
> people assume that you have VC++ or Borland.
> 
> So, as far as I see it, watcom is the only viable choice for what I
> want to do.  And if I could compile gcc with watcom, I could pretty
> much compile anything gnu-like.

Actually, your problem is not so much the compiler itself as the make
machinery and the APIs available.
In fact, most of the gnu-like programs do not rely on any special GCC
features or extensions. However most of them are based on
automake/autoconf style configuration scripts that presuppose a Unix
like environment to run, and many of the applications are written close
to Posix APIs and often call functions that are not natively available
on Windows.

To solve the first problem, there are 2 kind of approaches:
- either you create a Unix like shell environment with the associated
tools under Windows. This has both been done in the Cygwin and the
Mingw project
- the other solution is to create new make or project files specific
for the development environment you have. An example of this can for
example be seen in the Ethereal project where there are automatic
configuration scripts for Unix like environments and a finished make
for for use with MSVC++

The second problem (Posix compatibility) is generall more tough to
solve. You either have to develop to a Posix emulation library (like
Cygwin) or you have to do a major rewrite of the projects by replcing
Posix style constructs with their more or less equivalent Windows
functionality.


-- 
Marcel Cox (using XanaNews 1.16.1.3)