Hi to all PortableApps.com stuff,
and all the user that read this!
I Have a suggestion that maybe you like!
For me, what i am about to suggest is very important and make better
the open source. I could not doing this by my self,
so I am presenting the idea here. maybe you like this and you want to
join my idea!
So I am going to present the problem and then my solution.
The world of open source is cool, and it bring new stuff to the program
and the internet! but, if you want to begin and want to help develop
any project of open source, even the small one it very hard to begin!
you need to read many README file, many INSTALL file, search solution to the problems had occur. and try to compile. many time the project it depend on many other open source projects! most of the time you don't have the power or the will, or the time, or the knowledge to compile all Dependencies! so many time you look at the internet for the binaries / dlls / lib and include file that other compile for you.
most of the time the binaries that you found on the internet it compiled with older Dependencies from the current release.
so why it can be that you push only one button and it compile immediately without all the preparation!! that it will be easy and more accessible
to programmer beginner and people that want to look and just taste the
open source world. and attract more people to compile and help to develop
the open source project that they like! if it be easy enough, more people will join.
so! I have an idea.
and because I am using windows, and because most of the user using windows, and PortableApps support a windows app (I know there is idea to make portable for Linux but it not available yet)
So I choose the environment to be windows! and mingw and Eclipse IDE.
So the idea is to make an eclipse project that will only import to eclipse and all the file: source, depend environment variable and other configuration will load whit them!
So the only step that the people will need is to choose compile and it work like a magic!! (compile it with all latest Dependencies available at the moment)
I know it very hard work, and I start with the small projects and I hope it will be more popular and more people and projects will join. The small one and more complexes one!
So for this compiling you need the environment to develop!!
Of course all of her it Portable!!! (yea..)
So if you want to try this download the PortableApps:
Eclipse Portable C++
Found here
(Optional)
7-Zip Portable
Found here
(For nasm project)
Perl Portable
Found here
Install them in the same directory of Eclipse Portable. MSYS Portable need to be at CommonFilles Folder.
or just install them with the Platform:
PortableApps.com Platform
Found here
Than you need to download the projects itself!
zlib project
Home Page
Latest sourec code
SDL project
Home Page
Latest sourec code
putty project
Home Page
Latest sourec code
Perl Portable require for compile this project
nasm project
Home Page
Latest sourec code
libpng project
Home Page
Latest sourec code
libmikmod project
Home Page
Latest sourec code
basically you need just download the project itself.
I just publish the home page and source code for convenient.
So now you have the environment and one of the project.
you ask yourself what we do now??
So from here it very easy!!!
* unzip the 7z project file and it extract to new folder
* open your eclipse portable
* push file-> import...
* at the next dialog you choose: Existing Projects into Workspace->next
* at the next dialog you choose Browse then pick the Project folder You
extract. eclipse will recognize as a project.
* check copy projects into workspace
* then Finish!!!!
now for compile:
project->build project
for clean:
project->clean...
for other option:
alt+F9
I publish here the project that I create! tell me what you think! 
The first goal is made one available open source project
that all his dependence compile at the latest open source code!
I know Portable Apps is not working about compilation, only making
existing windows program to be a portable.
but they also asking help in building some project, for instance a AtomicTanks. The latest version is available only at source code and they
don't publish a windows build.
So I am thinking why not make a section in forums of portableApps
that will handle this project and create environment to people to want
to talk about compiling thing at windows.
I am asking From John T. Haller if you could give me a section
in this forum that i can publish this projects and other projects people will made for easier compiling. It will help for portableApps also if people will create a build for program that didn't available for windows,
only at source code.
Tell me what you think about my idea. I think it cool and it push the world of open source if it will be a standard.
Sorry for my English. English it not my native language
so be gentle about that!!
Tal.
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Are you saying you started a project that will let you compile complicated apps like atomic tanks easily?
I just start from small one, because it hard work.
but even the small game as Atomic Tanks
has many Dependence, and it Dependence has many Dependence as well..
and If you want to compile all just from the source code it very hard.
People have tried this sort of thing a number of times. It's never worked well, nor can it.
There are some comparatively simple, comparatively consistent environments, such as Microsoft's Visual Studio, with its compiler, IDE and all, but that's only a small part of the ecosystem. Sheer diversity—incompatible diversity—prevents this sort of thing from working at a greater scale.
Would you not say that .NET was an attempt to achieve this very goal? Has it, with Microsoft's own backing, succeeded?
Consider the diversity at the language level: .NET 1.1, .NET 2, .NET 4; Microsoft Visual C C, GCC C; dittos for C++; Pascal, Delphi; Oracle Java, OpenJDK Java; JRuby, Rubinius; CPython, Jython, PyPy. Even apart from the vast multitude of languages, there may be several not-quite compatible or even flatly incompatible implementations. Getting a C program typically built with GCC to compile under Microsoft's or Intel's compiler is normally very difficult and takes a great deal of time. And the bug reports will still be coming in three years later.
Then consider the diversity at the GUI level: WinForms, MFC, WCF; Qt; wxWidgets; GTK, GTKMM, GTK+.
Build tools: BSD Make, GNU Make, automake, CMake, Rake, Bake, Cake, Ant. (Most of which were designed to solve this problem of dependencies and difficulty of compilation. Most of which are not widely used.)
And that's only the start. There are many more factors still.
Do you see what I mean? Projects like this are
a massive undertaking which will take a team of dedicated and skilled people years to achieve, and (b) people typically won't like it, anyway. "What we've got works, why should we go to all the effort of migrating to your new platform?" That's part of why .NET is merely yet another player in the field rather than the way things are done.
Yes, it's a good idea. But it won't work. It's not practicable.
I am a Christian and a developer and moderator here.
“A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” – Proverbs 15:1
I know it vary hard work, and it massive.
but the point is the open source project itself will support
on it. every project to his own.
I don't think it like .Net because I don't change the code.
It still develop for many platform as it.
it just bring a new platform to compile it at windows.
the code itself will be the same.
The next level it to build project like maven.
when it take the latest decadence from the server. (everything is automatic).
I say the vision is to be able to compile with single click a complex program like a OpenOffice, but maybe if i don't success on that
i think for small project it can be done. even it very small.
so if it will be common at small project, it will catch up.
I don't think it will be immediately it will take time.
but you need to start from something.
even if it never catch the big project, it nice to have the small one.
maybe people will not like this because it make easy on one platform and not another, but I think if it will success more platform will be join.
I just am asking for a nice forum that will attract people to my vision.
more project i will convert to eclipse environment it bring closer to the goal of the vision
Thanks for reading my idea and bring an honest respond.
Tal.
As Chris mentioned, many folks have tried this before and it is a bit next to impossible to do, not to mention getting publishers on board. Also, as PortableApps.com does not compile most of the apps we repackage (with a few exceptions for portability patches), such an endeavor would not really be directly related to what we do here. So, organizing it via this site would be a bit of a distraction from our primary purposes.
That said, we would be able to assist in some ways. We can help get portable packages of all the necessary compilers that can legally be done put together. And maybe put together stubs linking in the local installs of compilers that can't be redistributed freely (Visual C/C++, Delphi, etc). We can also provide a single click download to install all of these tools as a 'suite'. What we couldn't do is all the organization of the different app's sources, make files, configuration, write the tools to accomplish this, etc.
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!
"it is a bit next to impossible to do"
Really!!
"Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!"
John T. Haller
Maybe tal is awesome.
(Couldn't resist.)
Ed
I like that :cool:
maybe i will build my own forum about that subject,
and if you can publish a link to it, it will be nice!!
all the portable apps - compiler and environment that need for the project for this moment it publish above.
and if some of them will be official.
it will be nice if all apps above will be a 'suite' and can be download as a single click
if i need anything i will publish here an request.
thanks for really consider my idea.
any help will be o.k.
Tal.