Problems with GtkAda-2.4.0 on Windows 2000.

Problems with GtkAda-2.4.0 on Windows 2000.

[Marin David Condic]

I recently downloaded GtkAda for Windows and installed it and am having 
problems getting it to operate. I have used earlier versions of GtkAda 
and got them to work - if not perfectly, at least reasonably well. Can 
anyone help with these issues?

Trying to build a simple "Hello World" program with a text window and a 
"quit" button, I discover the following:

- Using the command line "gate" program to generate code, I notice that 
it does NOT create a "gate" directory as it says it will in the 
documentation and it used to do in earlier versions. Hence, it does not 
keep a backup copy of the code and any hand-modified code is lost in 
regenerating the project. The documentation says it won�t try to 
preserve modifications for Windows systems, but it used to at one time. 
Is there a way to get it to do this?

- Defining a source subdirectory and pixmap subdirectory in the project 
options window seems to have zero effect if a simple name is used like 
"src" and "pixmaps". Putting in a fully qualified directory name such as 
"c:\hello_world\src" makes it lock up hopelessly. I don't have an 
obvious clue as to what to expect these options to produce, but I'm 
guessing they ought to have something to do with generating code in the 
indicated subdirectory and looking for pixmaps in the indicated 
subdirectory. Neither seems to happen.

- Using the "build" menu option or button from Glade puts the code into 
c:\GtkAda-2.4.0\bin no matter what is in the project options for the 
project directory. This didn't work in earlier versions so I relied on 
gate. I saw no indication of this button building a "gate" directory to 
preserve hand modifications either.

- When I created a window with a name of "Hello_World" and added the 
"on_Hello_World_Delete_Event" signal, the code generation produced a 
procedure with the name: "on_Hello world_Delete_Event" (note the space 
in the middle of the identifier). Will gate/glade not handle a window 
name with an underscore in it?

- When compiling the completely unmodified code as generated for the 
simple app, I got the following output from gnatmake:

C:\Condic\ZZZ\Hello>gnatmake -Ic:\gtkada-2.4.0\include\gtkada hello_world
gcc -c -Ic:\gtkada-2.4.0\include\gtkada hello_world.adb
gcc -c -Ic:\gtkada-2.4.0\include\gtkada hello_world_pkg.adb
gcc -c -Ic:\gtkada-2.4.0\include\gtkada callbacks_hello_world.ads
gcc -c -Ic:\gtkada-2.4.0\include\gtkada hello_world_intl.adb
gcc -c -Ic:\gtkada-2.4.0\include\gtkada hello_world_pkg-callbacks.adb
gnatbind -aO./ -aOc:\gtkada-2.4.0\include\gtkada -I- -x hello_world.ali
gnatlink hello_world.ali
c:\gtkada-2.4.0\include\gtkada\\libgtkada.a(misc.o.b)(.text+0x327f): 
undefined r
eference to `SetCursorPos@8'
gnatlink: cannot call C:\GNAT\bin\gcc.exe
gnatmake: *** link failed.

Am I missing some compiler option or linker option necessary to get this 
to work?

It seems that earlier versions of GtkAda did not have these problems. Or 
they had a different set at least. I can't get very far with this as it 
stands and I'd like to be able to use the latest version here rather 
than revert to an earlier release. Can anybody provide any info? Thanks.

MDC

-- 
======================================================================
Marin David Condic
I work for: http://www.belcan.com/
My project is: http://www.jsf.mil/NSFrames.htm

Send Replies To: m   o   d   c @ a   m   o   g
                    c   n   i       c   .   r

     "'Shut up,' he explained."

         --  Ring Lardner
======================================================================

Re: Problems with GtkAda-2.4.0 on Windows 2000.

[Jeff C]

Marin David Condic wrote:
> I recently downloaded GtkAda for Windows and installed it and am having 
> problems getting it to operate. I have used earlier versions of GtkAda 
> and got them to work - if not perfectly, at least reasonably well. Can 
> anyone help with these issues?
> 
> Trying to build a simple "Hello World" program with a text window and a 
> "quit" button, I discover the following:
> 
> - Using the command line "gate" program to generate code, I notice that 
> it does NOT create a "gate" directory as it says it will in the 
> documentation and it used to do in earlier versions. Hence, it does not 
> keep a backup copy of the code and any hand-modified code is lost in 
> regenerating the project. The documentation says it won�t try to 
> preserve modifications for Windows systems, but it used to at one time. 
> Is there a way to get it to do this?

The problem is/was that there were issues with all of the various "sh" 
like interpreters around a while ago on some versions of windows such 
that various parameters were mangled. Also it increase the complexity of 
the distribution because then they were also distributing a shell 
interpreter.

I am sure you can get it all to work if you use msys and configure/build 
from a source distribution (pointing at one of the many existing binary 
Gtk+ installers) as long as you restrict yourself to "modern" windows 
like XP.



> 
> - Defining a source subdirectory and pixmap subdirectory in the project 
> options window seems to have zero effect if a simple name is used like 
> "src" and "pixmaps". Putting in a fully qualified directory name such as 
> "c:\hello_world\src" makes it lock up hopelessly. I don't have an 
> obvious clue as to what to expect these options to produce, but I'm 
> guessing they ought to have something to do with generating code in the 
> indicated subdirectory and looking for pixmaps in the indicated 
> subdirectory. Neither seems to happen.

No help on that one..sorry.




> 
> - When I created a window with a name of "Hello_World" and added the 
> "on_Hello_World_Delete_Event" signal, the code generation produced a 
> procedure with the name: "on_Hello world_Delete_Event" (note the space 
> in the middle of the identifier). Will gate/glade not handle a window 
> name with an underscore in it?
> 
> - When compiling the completely unmodified code as generated for the 
> simple app, I got the following output from gnatmake:
> 
> C:\Condic\ZZZ\Hello>gnatmake -Ic:\gtkada-2.4.0\include\gtkada hello_world
> gcc -c -Ic:\gtkada-2.4.0\include\gtkada hello_world.adb
> gcc -c -Ic:\gtkada-2.4.0\include\gtkada hello_world_pkg.adb
> gcc -c -Ic:\gtkada-2.4.0\include\gtkada callbacks_hello_world.ads
> gcc -c -Ic:\gtkada-2.4.0\include\gtkada hello_world_intl.adb
> gcc -c -Ic:\gtkada-2.4.0\include\gtkada hello_world_pkg-callbacks.adb
> gnatbind -aO./ -aOc:\gtkada-2.4.0\include\gtkada -I- -x hello_world.ali
> gnatlink hello_world.ali
> c:\gtkada-2.4.0\include\gtkada\\libgtkada.a(misc.o.b)(.text+0x327f): 
> undefined r
> eference to `SetCursorPos@8'
> gnatlink: cannot call C:\GNAT\bin\gcc.exe
> gnatmake: *** link failed.
> 
> Am I missing some compiler option or linker option necessary to get this 
> to work?


This is a packaging problem with the last public GtkAda release. It is 
unfortuntate because it really make GtkAda Windows support look even 
worse than it really is.

Take a look at
http://lists.adacore.com/pipermail/gtkada/2005-January/003203.html or 
more specifically the thread that starts with

http://lists.adacore.com/pipermail/gtkada/2005-March/003268.html




> 
> It seems that earlier versions of GtkAda did not have these problems. Or 
> they had a different set at least. I can't get very far with this as it 
> stands and I'd like to be able to use the latest version here rather 
> than revert to an earlier release. Can anybody provide any info? Thanks.
> 
> MDC
> 

Re: Problems with GtkAda-2.4.0 on Windows 2000.

[Marin David Condic]

Jeff C wrote:
> 
> 
> The problem is/was that there were issues with all of the various "sh" 
> like interpreters around a while ago on some versions of windows such 
> that various parameters were mangled. Also it increase the complexity of 
> the distribution because then they were also distributing a shell 
> interpreter.
> 
> I am sure you can get it all to work if you use msys and configure/build 
> from a source distribution (pointing at one of the many existing binary 
> Gtk+ installers) as long as you restrict yourself to "modern" windows 
> like XP.
> 
> 
Its too bad. I'm assuming the developers have more of an interest in 
Linux platforms than they do windows - but the advantage to GtkAda is 
the portability between the two. Once a tool starts depending on 
questionable OS-supplied tools, portability goes out the window. From an 
end-user's perspective it would be better for them to say "I have my own 
diff/merge tool, thank you very much!" - but of course that means the 
developer has to do more work. The disappointing thing is that it used 
to work and now GtkAda for Windows takes a big step backward.

Given the limitation is at least known, I can keep from shooting myself 
in the foot and at least manage it independent of the tool. But that's a 
big pain in the posterior.

> 
> 
> This is a packaging problem with the last public GtkAda release. It is 
> unfortuntate because it really make GtkAda Windows support look even 
> worse than it really is.
> 
> Take a look at
> http://lists.adacore.com/pipermail/gtkada/2005-January/003203.html or 
> more specifically the thread that starts with
> 
> http://lists.adacore.com/pipermail/gtkada/2005-March/003268.html
> 
> 
I didn't see that -largs -mwindows switch in the documentation, but it 
looks familiar. (I have not fooled with GtkAda in quite some time since 
my job has taken me elsewhere) I'll give it a shot. Thanks.

MDC

-- 
======================================================================
Marin David Condic
I work for: http://www.belcan.com/
My project is: http://www.jsf.mil/NSFrames.htm

Send Replies To: m   o   d   c @ a   m   o   g
                    c   n   i       c   .   r

     "'Shut up,' he explained."

         --  Ring Lardner
======================================================================