***BOGO*** Re: [Mingw-users] ALSA / libasound

[Keith Marshall <keithmarshall@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Monday 06 October 2008 05:41:40 John Emmas wrote:
> > MSYS' only purpose is to port developer tools like perl, bash,
> > autoconf, etc.  Those tools in turn are used in conjunction with
> > the MinGW toolchain to produce native Windows binaries.  MSYS is
> > not meant to be used to port abitrary user code that requires
> > POSIX compatibility.  If you want that, you should be using
> > Cygwin.  MSYS is only about providing a build environment for
> > MinGW apps.
>
> Brian - that's a very clear distinction which I found hugely
> helpful.

Even though it's a load of old codswallop?

I do wish that people would desist from dissemination of this type of 
misinformation about MSYS.  I rarely need to take Brian Dessent to 
task, for his advice normally is authoritative and accurate, but on 
this occasion, it is more reminiscent of the sort of FUD we expect 
from a Microsoft gnome.

| MSYS' only purpose is to port developer tools like perl, bash,
| autoconf, etc.
| ...
| MSYS is only about providing a build environment for MinGW apps.

This is nonsense!  It is true that the primary motivating force behind 
the development of MSYS was to provide a friendly environment for 
building of MinGW apps, (and in particular, apps built from source 
code originating in the more Open Source friendly UNIX environment).
However, what MSYS is actually about is providing a Bourne Shell 
command line interpreter for MS-Windows -- little more[1] and no 
less.  To make this CLI more useful, it is accompanied by a minimal 
set of GNU tools, carefully selected to facilitate building of Open 
Source applications, but to suggest that it is only useful for this 
purpose is patently ridiculous.

| MSYS is not meant to be used to port abitrary user code that
| requires POSIX compatibility.

This much is true, to some degree.  It is certainly possible to port 
POSIX code to MS-Windows, using MinGW and MSYS, but where that code 
relies on POSIX APIs which are not natively supported, (i.e. with 
compatible entry points in the native MS-Windows APIs), neither MinGW 
nor MSYS will absolve you of a need to rewrite the code, to exploit a 
native MS-Windows API, in place of the unsupported POSIX API.

| If you want [something which does] that, you [could use] Cygwin.

Cygwin provides an API library, comprehensively emulating much of 
POSIX on MS-Windows.  MSYS uses a subset of an early version of this 
Cygwin API library, internally.  However, unlike Cygwin, in which 
user applications are expected to link with this POSIX emulation 
library, MSYS does not expose this API for user applications.  Thus, 
if you don't want to rewrite the POSIX dependent portions of an 
application which you are porting, Cygwin will certainly be more 
useful to you than MinGW+MSYS, but at a price: your application will 
become Cygwin dependent, and your distribution rights will be 
governed by the Cygwin licence.  If you want true native MS-Windows 
compatibility, without the restricted distribution rights, and you 
are prepared to expend the additional effort to substitute MS-Windows  
for POSIX APIs, then MinGW+MSYS would be more suited to your needs.

> You should think about updating the Wikipedia article 
> because your description would significantly clarify what's already
> written there.

That certainly isn't at all authoritative, and is even inaccurate in 
places.  Our own web site is a much more reliable source of accurate 
information; (see: http://mingw.org).

Regards,
Keith.

[1] The `little more', here, refers to the built in mapping of the 
disjointed MS-Windows file system to the more homogeneous POSIX style 
representation, which is understood by the MSYS shell, and by those 
applications which are distributed as MSYS components.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
This SF.Net email is sponsored by the Moblin Your Move Developer's challenge
Build the coolest Linux based applications with Moblin SDK & win great prizes
Grand prize is a trip for two to an Open Source event anywhere in the world
http://moblin-contest.org/redirect.php?banner_id=100&url=/
_______________________________________________
MinGW-users mailing list
MinGW-users@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

You may change your MinGW Account Options or unsubscribe at:
https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/mingw-users