Re: [Bug-wget] Thoughts on Windows support

[Micah Cowan]

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Random Coder wrote:
> On Thu, Sep 10, 2009 at 9:08 AM, Micah Cowan <address@hidden
> <mailto:address@hidden>> wrote:
> 
>     Update: I have now achieved builds this way, after a minimal amount of
>     adjustment to the sources (which I have not yet pushed to the public
>     repository). I'm now investigating with Wget builds that are linked to
>     openssl (for https), and libidn and libiconv (for IDN/IRI support).
> 
> Where does this stand?  I can't get 1.12 to build on msvc.  Beyond
> running configure.bat and nmake, are there steps I'm missing?

Note the windows/README file:


*** NOTE: as of version 1.12, the building of Wget on Windows using
*** these supplied Makefiles, is severely broken. HOWEVER, it is
*** currently possible to build Wget on Windows using the standard
    Unix-y "./configure && make", under MinGW + MSYS, though there are
    some rough edges when you go beyond the basic build.

    We expect to support this method for building Wget more fully in
    future releases; the degree to which other Windows build methods
    will be supported is not currently clear, as the cost of their
    maintenance has grown significantly.

However, even this message is untrue, as I apparently neglected to merge
in some important changes before the Wget 1.12, not realizing this until
after the release. I've uploaded an adjusted version to
http://addictivecode.org/wget/wget-1.12.1-devel.zip. It's not guaranteed
to work (I hadn't tested the most recent changes), but it should only
need a minor adjustment, if anything.

So, it is not possible to use the current supplied Makefiles under the
windows/ directory. Using the modified version whose link I mentioned
above, it _is_ possible to build Wget using the Unixy "./configure &&
make" method, provided you first install MinGW and MSYS (and set your
PATH environment appropriately).

However, I have not yet managed to get a build that has all the snazzy,
optional features like HTTPS or IRI support. This is because the version
of openssl I installed for MSYS doesn't include a function we rely on
for Wget on Windows; and I couldn't get a successful build of libidn.

In an future 1.12.x release (most likely 1.12.1, unless there are
crucial bugfixes that need to be addressed before then), I expect the
MinGW + MSYS "./configure && make" method to become the officially
supported method for building Wget on Windows (though MSVS builds may be
unofficially supported as well: there have been a couple potential
volunteers for maintaining that).

- --
Micah J. Cowan
Programmer, musician, typesetting enthusiast, gamer.
Maintainer of GNU Wget and GNU Teseq
http://micah.cowan.name/
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