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AbiWord MSVC++ build
Quite often enthousiastic Win32 developers enter #abiword asking us how to develop AbiWord for Windows. When we tell them we use a MingGW/MSYS environment together with an AutoConf/AutoMake based build system, almost all of them respond with: "Eh?! No MSVC project files?", and leave.
This instant loss of potential developers finally annoyed me enough to install a Windows virtual machine in KVM, install MSVC++ Express and start working on a solution for the past couple of days. Fortunately a whole bunch of dependencies are provided pre-compiled on the GTK+ site these days, which work fine with together with the MSVC compiler and linker. This in contrast with the precompiled libgsf binaries on ftp.gnome.org, which make your program die even before it reaches the WinMain()/main() entrypoint. So take it from me and do NOT try to use them in MSVC: it cost me days to figure this out! Since I didn't know the MS toolchain at all, I poked Foddex constantly on IRC, who happily(?) provided a lot help. The result of all the hard work is shown in the requisite screenshot below:
AbiWord compiled by MSVC++ Express
I still need to add all the plugins to the new project file and fix some obvious bugs like the missing toolbar icons. In the process of making the compiler eat all the code, I had to add small hacks all over the place in AbiWord and its dependencies. Nothing that can't be fixed properly though, and I hope to spend the coming days cleaning it all up and submitting patches upstream.
On a totally unrelated note: uber-AbiWord hacker Martin Sevior just turned 50! Congrats dude, and keep on rocking!