Re: Call for 7.5 feature completion - Mailing list pgsql-hackers

> > I think the most popular method to build a project on Win32
> is using
> > MSVC or Intel C. Intel C can be integrated with MSVC's IDE to help
> > developers increase their productivity. Actually I have
> tried to make
> > the backend of pgsql-8.0.3 build with MSVC 6.0, and it works well.
> > Should I polish it and send it as a patch?
> >
> > Having been a Win32 developer for several years, I think it is more
> > convenient to use MSVC's IDE than CL.exe with NMAKE.exe.
> > Although I do not like Microsoft very much, and like to use
> MinGW or
> > Cygwin to do some small tests, MSVC is more suitable for
> native Win32
> > development. If pgsql want to be the first class citizen on
> Windows,
> > and want to compete with MySQL, I think supporting MSVC is
> important.
> > I beleive there will be many contributions from the Win32 world.
>
> I think supporting MSVC is important, certainly (though I
> think that supporting the Intel compiler is even better, as
> the only compelling reason, IMO, to switch for the server end
> is generated code quality). But that's very different from
> supporting visual studio.
>
> I've been doing cross-platform development on a big codebase
> for years, and the idea of trying to use the proprietary
> build environments on each platform, and expecting to keep
> them sufficiently in-sync that the end result is actually
> comparable on each platform is laughable. And that's on a
> much smaller, simpler codebase than PG with a much smaller,
> more integrated development team.
>
> I use gmake or cons everywhere. On Windows I run them under
> cygwin and have them call the MSVC commandline compiler. It
> all works fine. And it doesn't stop me from using Visual
> Studio to edit the code, run the debugger or anything like
> that. On OS X I can use XCode. On Solaris I use the Forte
> environment. On Linux I use emacs and gcc. And that's all on
> the same codebase with the same makefile checked out from the
> same CVS repository.

I think the main problem with switching to visual studio project files
is maintainabilty. (It's not easy to get all the custom actions used to
build some parts running in VS, but i'm su8re you can do it). The core
development is done on Unix, and if you can't use the same Makefiles
it's only a matter of time (and I bet very short time) before the VS
files would be broken compared to the "main ones" etc. Win32 is a much
more "first class citizen" now that it builds with gmake than it would
be then.

Building with the VC compiler using GNU makefiles is a whole different
story - if that can be made to work reasonably easily it would be a
worthwhile goal (in my experience, for example, the VSEE compiler
optimises things a whole lot better than gcc on win32). I just don't see
the payoff in getting rid of make.


//Magnus