From: colin AT fu DOT is DOT saga-u DOT ac DOT jp (Colin Peters) Subject: Minimalist GNU-Win32 17 Oct 1996 05:35:19 -0700 Sender: daemon AT cygnus DOT com Approved: cygnus DOT gnu-win32 AT cygnus DOT com Distribution: cygnus Message-ID: <199610170938.SAA27561.cygnus.gnu-win32@bird.fu.is.saga-u.ac.jp> Original-To: noer AT cygnus DOT com Original-CC: gnu-win32 AT cygnus DOT com In-reply-to: Geoffrey Noer's message of Thu, 17 Oct 1996 01:05:40 -0700 (PDT) <199610170805.BAA08512@cirdan.cygnus.com> Original-Sender: owner-gnu-win32 AT cygnus DOT com > From: Geoffrey Noer > Date: Thu, 17 Oct 1996 01:05:40 -0700 (PDT) > > Colin Peters taps on the keyboard: > > Some time ago I mentioned that I was working on getting GCC as distributed > > by Cygnus decoupled from the cygwin.dll library so I could write new, > > non-UNIX-flavoured Win32 programs using GCC. > [...] > > It is a goal to be able to create Win32 programs using gcc that don't > require the cygwin.dll. I am in the midst of integrating Scott I'm glad to hear it. In fact, my package of files only serves to illustrate that it is already possible to do this (make 'pure' Win32 programs) using GNU-Win32 b16, possibly in conjunction with other free packages such as Scott's. Actually it was possible with b14 too. In fact it's not even that hard. The most trouble I had was writing the header files for CRTDLL.DLL, and even that was only a few weeks work (so far :) ). Let's just say that I'm posting this as a public service for those people who want to start working on such software now, or maybe who want to help out. Hopefully it will, at least, generate some interest in this slightly different goal. I'd like to point out that I think GNU-Win32 and Cygwin32 (or whatever it ends up being called) are quite possibly the greatest thing since sliced bread. I love that stuff, bugs and all! But, I'd also like to see the slightly different goal of a 'Win32-ish' free compiler realized. I really do think that, for now, Cygnus would be best off trying to perfect the GNU-Win32 project... making it possible to compile and use almost any GNU-ish UNIX program on Win32. Writing new Win32 programs from scratch is, with good reason, secondary to this goal. So, my stuff is a hack. But it's a hack that works (more or less). Maybe it will provide a starting point or at least a focus for efforts to take the work that Cygnus has done already and bring it over completely to Win32. Maybe it will start a whole new porting effort with a different goal. Maybe it will die a silent death :). Who knows? But, as the people at FSF themselves have said: "The more free software the better!" Maybe I should put it like this: the Minimalist GNU-Win32 homepage is sort of a big postcard saying "Hey, I'm interested in helping get some free software developed! This is the kind of approach I'm thinking about." Whew. Sorry, shouldn't go on like that (but if you went to my web pages you know I *do* go on, and on and on... :) ). Later eh? Colin. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Colin Peters ------------ Saga Univ. Dept. of Information Science, Saga, JAPAN http://www.fu.is.saga-u.ac.jp/~colin/home.html - colin AT bird DOT fu DOT is DOT saga-u DOT ac DOT jp $@%3%j%s(J $@%T!<%?!<%:(J - $@:42lBg3XM}9)3XIt>pJs2J3X2J>pJs4pAC3X9V:B(J - Current favorite kanji: $@@2$l(J $@