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Re: New xlauncher (was: Re: Success with Java prog in XFree)


On Sun, Jul 07, 2002 at 11:56:44AM -0400, Harold Hunt wrote:

> I haven't had any comments on this program yet because, while it is a neat
> exercise and will be useful for other work, it will not be distributed with
> Cygwin/XFree86 until it is written in a language that can be compiled with a
> free software compiler, preferrably gcc or g++.

I agree. The reason xlauncher is delphi at the moment is that the person who
wrote the beginnings of it used delphi, and I have no experience with windows
toolkits in other languages. I was hoping (in a way, a rewrite will be a bit 
of work :( ), that someone would point this out. What window toolkits are good,
for what languages? I can code well in C, Java, and Pascal, and could probably
pick up C++ OK :)

I am still unsure of the implications of using a non-free compiler, and
distributing it as GPL. I use debian, and would love to have xlauncher a DFSG
free program.
I would prefer that xlauncher, or a variant be installable via setup.exe, so
it can be used by anyone. If it means porting/rewriting, I'll give it a shot :)
(There isn't all that much code there, most is just writing to registry, and 
reading it back. Which is another thing, would it be better to use a config
file rather than registry? Currently, I'm writing to HKEY Local Machine, but
should be writing to current user, so that people with few rights on an NT
style box can use it. If I were to use a config file, where to put it?)

> Eventually I see that either XWin.exe itself will have the functionality of
> your xlauncher, or we will have a stand-alone c or c++ program that provides
> the same functionality.  Everyone here would greatly appreciate it if you
> would start working on a c or c++ xlauncher.

I'll try, but I've never written a gui app in C or C++, any pointers to 
something nice for C?

I don't know if putting this sort of thing into XWin.exe itself would be all 
that good, as many people wouldn't need that sort of functionality, and it may
bulk out the executable.

Cheers for you comments,

Tim.

-- 
Tim Thomson          tim@tui.dhs.org          ICQ: 18073712
Our society won't be truly free until 
"None of the Above" is always an option.
-- Eric S. Raymond.


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