Windows-Packaging

[Bernhard Reiter]

On Freitag, 16. Januar 2009, Patrick Spendrin wrote:
> > And of course we need to control the tool chain, e.g. for security
> > reasons.
>
> Sorry, I can't resist with this one:

You are welcome.

> Independent of the compiler's redistribution/source code,
> How is it easier to install a complete cross compile stack (given that
> you even want to provide one!) than to rebuild on windows?

Download virtual-box and build-image if you do not have Debian.
aptitude install XYZ-kdeonwindows-build-system

> "however you call it, we are lacking enough information for some point.
> Some things we could only know after trying as there are no experiences
> with this yet."
>
> I have heard this sentence more than half a year ago @Linux-Tag in
> Berlin from you - and no result yet. 

There have been results since then.
We've tried packaging with WiX in the meantime, asked for .msi pros and cons.
Settled on doing two large installers for Kontact on Windows and Gpg4win
for two of our projects.
Determined to try cross-compilation (kdepim already build for us once, is the 
current state. Found out that dbus on windows is heavly broken... 
Investigated MingW issues.)

> Why not write down a list what you 
> want to know? It should be definitely possible to write down what you
> want to compare and what you want to know at all.

I am trying to do so each time. Some email discussions since then contain lots 
of points. One of the questions are the capabilities of the .msi system.
Could we write software that will automatically build an application like
Kontact and at the end there is a reliable .msi installer with Free Software?

I guess if people are interested having another meeting is fine. 
Also starting a wiki page would be cool. I got the feeling while talking to 
many others (like you on GNU/Linuxtag) that we do not have good answers to 
the whole question of how Free Software and KDE should deploy on Windows
for the mid-term. Pointers wanted.

> "Currently emerge does not fetch nor secure the source for all of the
> binaries used for a regular build. Of course you could enhance it to do
> so, but this would be a major effort."
>
> I just looked at the kolab "Debug" package yesterday and you even ship
> the complete emerge directory with it (besides some other obvious
> strange things). 

We did not have enough time to make it small, 
instead we made it work a bit better.

> You are not forced to use such insecure technology. 
> Just to remind you, it should be easy to build kdepimlibs and kdepim
> without emerge using the standard way.

This sounds like you've missunderstood my email as being negativ about emerge.
I am not. Having emerge is nice. And because we are using it, we have also 
learned about its limitations. As I am grateful for emerge to exist, still
it does not solve some problems yet.

> The discussions about kontact/kdepim annoy me a bit.
> There is not to much sense if we can't find any compromise. Dropping all
> our efforts and fixing the way you want it to be (namely trying to fix
> cross compiling) is not an option. As I am one of the packagers I can
> say that I will not compile kdepim as long as we haven't found a
> solution for it.

What annoys you about the discussion in particular? 
That we do work to fix KDE and Kontact on windows?
That users and developers I speak to 
have problems with development and deployment?

Without us doing .nsis installers and the .msi installer once,
we could not have done the KDE and Kontact improvements we did 
- nor could we continue doing them. It is not my choice.

You can put kontact completely within the current kdeinstaller structure 
if you like. We'll even help you to fix Kontact issues if they come up.
That is your choice and mine.

If we will score a long standing success with KDE application on windows,
assuming this is our common interest, will depend on the users and developers
we need to convince. And their problems we can try to discuss and solve.

Best,
Bernhard


-- 
Managing Director - Owner: www.intevation.net      (Free Software Company)
Germany Coordinator: fsfeurope.org. Coordinator: www.Kolab-Konsortium.com.
Intevation GmbH, Osnabrück, DE; Amtsgericht Osnabrück, HRB 18998
Geschäftsführer Frank Koormann, Bernhard Reiter, Dr. Jan-Oliver Wagner
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