Re: [Mingw-cross-env-list] What to do if I need shared libraries?

[Volker Grabsch]

M. Gerhardy <address@hidden> schrieb:
> On Mon, Oct 4, 2010 at 10:45 AM, DiAppoggio <address@hidden> wrote:
> > Actually i'm x-compiling some opensource games that need shared libraries
> > (static one aren't an option )

Why is that?

Actually, cross-compiling free software games was one of the first
applications of Mingw-cross-env. And the desire to be able to create
statically (and with UPX packed) stand-alone binaries came exactly
from those games. That is, having a single, small *.exe file leads
to a big "coolness" factor for games.

So I wonder which games you're trying to port and why statically
linking is no option.

> > and I've started to tweak some makefiles; of
> > course I can't simply "hg pull -u"  to get updates makefiles... is there an
> > easy solution?
> 
> It would be nice if one could switch between static and shared libs.
> 
> e.g. the user can add a config.mk (that is optional of course and a
> user can just override some vars in it) and define per target (default
> is static) (e.g. gtk_STATIC = no) whether it should get build static
> or not.
> 
> What do you think? Would that be worth the work?

What would be the absolute worst case for our project, because it
would result in a huge number of static/shared combinations and
configurations that would have to be checked.

However, there is another possibility: Providing a static-only
as well as a shared-only build. This would "only" duplicate our
testing effort, rather than squaring it.

An even more feasible alternative would be to switch completely
from static to shared libraries. For me, personally, that would be
perfectly okay. However, the last time this issue came around on
this list, most users prefered static libraries.

Also note that there is usually no need to create DLL files by
hand. I strongly recommend to use the official DLL files of the
various libraries, instead of building them on your own.

For more information on that topic, please have a look at:
http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/mingw-cross-env-list/2009-09/msg00025.html


Greets,
Volker

-- 
Volker Grabsch
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