[ace-users] Installing ACE on Windows

[Laura Autón García]

Hello all!

I am trying to port a project, that was developed for Linux, to Windows platform. This project makes use of ACE and pkg-config apart from other tools such us GTK+, Flex and Bison.

The issue that I am presenting here, has to do with ACE installation on Windows.

So far, I managed to install ACE using MinGW, but I have encountered a problem that I don't know how to solve considering I am pretty inexperienced using this framework: ACE installation would not create ACE.pc file on Windows.

I have taken a look to the GNUmakefile.ACE file in which it seems this file is set to be created with Perl usingace_install_pkgconfig.pl.

At first, I thought the problem was that I didn't have Perl installed when installing ACE, but I have figured out that having Perl installed or not, would not make ACE behave differently when running "make".

So the question is, Is there any way to indicate ACE to generate this file when being installed by MinGW?

Thank you in advance,

Laura.

[Douglas C. Schmidt]

Hi Laura,

To ensure that we have proper version/platform/compiler information,
please make sure you fill out the appropriate problem report form (PRF),
which is in

$ACE_ROOT/PROBLEM-REPORT-FORM
$TAO_ROOT/PROBLEM-REPORT-FORM

or in

$ACE_ROOT/BUG-REPORT-FORM
$TAO_ROOT/BUG-REPORT-FORM

in older versions of ACE, TAO, CIAO, and DAnCE. Make sure to include
this information when asking any questions since otherwise we have to
"guess" what version/platform/compiler/options you've using, which is
very error-prone and slows down our responsiveness. If you don't use
the PRF, therefore, it is less likely that someone from the core
developer team will be able to answer your question. Naturally, we
encourage and appreciate other members of the ACE, TAO, CIAO, and
DAnCE user community who can respond to questions that they have the
answers to.

Please note, moreover, that the DOC group at Vanderbilt University
only provides "best effort" support for non-sponsors who are using the
latest release, as described in

http://www.dre.vanderbilt.edu/~schmidt/DOC_ROOT/ACE/docs/ACE-bug-process.html

Therefore, please make sure you are using ACE+TAO+CIAO+DAnCE x.0.1
(i.e., ACE 6.0.1, TAO 2.0.1, CIAO 1.0.1, and DAnCE 1.0.1), which you
can download from

http://download.dre.vanderbilt.edu

If you need more "predictable" help or need help for earlier versions
of ACE+TAO+CIAO+DAnCE please see

http://www.dre.vanderbilt.edu/support.html

for a list of companies that will provide you with ACE+TAO+CIAO+DAnCE
commercial support.

Thanks,

Doug

> _______________________________________________
> ace-users mailing list
> ace-...@list.isis.vanderbilt.edu
> http://list.isis.vanderbilt.edu/mailman/listinfo/ace-users

[Laura Autón García]

ACE VERSION: 6.0.0

   HOST MACHINE and OPERATING SYSTEM:
       AMD Athlon 64 3200+
       Windows XP SP3. WinSock version 2.2

   COMPILER NAME AND VERSION (AND PATCHLEVEL):
      gcc (GCC) 4.5.2

   THE $ACE_ROOT/ace/config.h FILE
       #include "ace/config-win32.h"

   THE $ACE_ROOT/include/makeinclude/platform_macros.GNU FILE
       include $(ACE_ROOT)/include/makeinclude/platform_mingw32.GNU

   BUILD METHOD USED:
      In the MSYS shell:
        cd $ACE_ROOT/ace
        make

   CONTENTS OF $ACE_ROOT/bin/MakeProjectCreator/config/default.features
   (used by MPC when you generate your own makefiles):
       I do not generate my own makefiles.

  DOES THE PROBLEM AFFECT:
       COMPILATION? No.
       LINKING? No.
       EXECUTION? I haven't gone so far.
       OTHER (please specify)? It doesn't create ACE.pc file

   SYNOPSIS:
After running make in ACE_ROOT/ace directory, the file
ACE.pc is not created, and it's needed in order
to use it with pkg-config.

I apology for not having used this form before. I didn't even think
about this as a problem. In fact I thought it was just a result of my lack of
experience.

Laura.

On 22 February 2011 16:11, Douglas C. Schmidt

[Adam Mitz]

> ACE VERSION: 6.0.0
>    HOST MACHINE and OPERATING SYSTEM:

>        Windows XP SP3. WinSock version 2.2
>    COMPILER NAME AND VERSION (AND PATCHLEVEL):
>       gcc (GCC) 4.5.2
>    THE $ACE_ROOT/ace/config.h FILE
>        #include "ace/config-win32.h"
>    THE $ACE_ROOT/include/makeinclude/platform_macros.GNU FILE
>        include $(ACE_ROOT)/include/makeinclude/platform_mingw32.GNU
>    BUILD METHOD USED:
>       In the MSYS shell:
>         cd $ACE_ROOT/ace
>         make
>    CONTENTS OF $ACE_ROOT/bin/MakeProjectCreator/config/default.features

>        I do not generate my own makefiles.
>   DOES THE PROBLEM AFFECT:

>        OTHER (please specify)? It doesn't create ACE.pc file
>    SYNOPSIS:
> After running make in ACE_ROOT/ace directory, the file
> ACE.pc is not created, and it's needed in order
> to use it with pkg-config.
>
> I apology for not having used this form before. I didn't even think
> about this as a problem. In fact I thought it was just a result of my
> lack of
> experience.

Running "make" alone would not be enough to create an ACE.pc file, instead
it should be created as part of the "make install" step. Please see the
ACE-INSTALL.html file in your ACE source distribution (ACE_ROOT) for
documentation.

Thanks,
Adam Mitz
Senior Software Engineer
Object Computing, Inc.

[Laura Autón García]

Thank you very much for your answer. At last I managed to generate 

all the files safely. 

However, I would like to add that before asking this mailing list, 

I already had read and followed all the 8 steps described in the

MinGW section. The 7th step just tells us to run 'make' after

switching to the ACE_ROOT/ace directory. It doesn't say anything

about "make install" afterwards. 

Later on, after reading your answer, I discovered that I should 

have read the "Using the Traditional ACE/GNU Configuration"  

section, in which we are told about the procedure to run make install. 

In fact, MinGW section invites me to do so at the beginning. 

Yet, I couldn't have imagined it was going to be such an essential step.

It may be a good idea to consider improving that MinGW section 

with another step (of course I don't mean to be disrespectful at all, 

it's just a thought).

Thank you very much again.

Laura.

2011/2/23 Adam Mitz <mi...@ociweb.com>

[Douglas C. Schmidt]

Hi Laura,

> Thank you very much for your answer. At last I managed to generate 
> all the files safely. 
> However, I would like to add that before asking this mailing list, 
> I already had read and followed all the 8 steps described in the
> MinGW section. The 7th step just tells us to run 'make' after
> switching to the ACE_ROOT/ace directory. It doesn't say anything
> about "make install" afterwards. 
> Later on, after reading your answer, I discovered that I should 
> have read the "Using the Traditional ACE/GNU Configuration"  
> section, in which we are told about the procedure to run make install. 
> In fact, MinGW section invites me to do so at the beginning. 
> Yet, I couldn't have imagined it was going to be such an essential step.
>
> It may be a good idea to consider improving that MinGW section 
> with another step (of course I don't mean to be disrespectful at all, 
> it's just a thought).

That's a great thought! There aren't many/any other users of ACE on
MinGW. Since you just finished getting things to work, it would be
super if you could spend a few moments to update the MinGW section to
clarify the process.

Thanks very much,

Doug

[Laura Autón García]

Of course! It would be a pleasure :)

However, I guess I first have to discover where to send the update. 

I only know about this ACE mailing list, so I guess I will update it through 

this thread. If this is not the procedure (well, we already know that I didn't 

use the PRF in the first place :() just let me know! 

I'll write it as soon as possible.

Thank you,

Laura.

[Douglas C. Schmidt]

Hi Laura,

> Of course! It would be a pleasure :)

Great, thanks!

> However, I guess I first have to discover where to send the update. 
> I only know about this ACE mailing list, so I guess I will update it through 
> this thread. If this is not the procedure (well, we already know that I didn't 
> use the PRF in the first place :() just let me know! 

Please feel free to send it to me and I'll make sure it gets added to
the ACE-INSTALL.html document.

> I'll write it as soon as possible.

Super - please make sure you use the latest/greatest version of the
ACE-INSTALL.html document, which is available from

http://www.dre.vanderbilt.edu/~schmidt/DOC_ROOT/ACE/ACE-INSTALL.html

Thanks,

Doug

[Phil Mesnier]

Laura Autón García wrote:
> Of course! It would be a pleasure :)

> However, I guess I first have to discover where to send the update.
> I only know about this ACE mailing list, so I guess I will update it
> through
> this thread. If this is not the procedure (well, we already know that I
> didn't
> use the PRF in the first place :() just let me know!

> I'll write it as soon as possible.
>

Hi Laura,

You can post it to this thread in this case. Best to make a diff against
the existing text and send that. In the future, you can also submit bugs
to bugzilla, http://bugzilla.dre.vanderbilt.edu/

If you encounter a problem that you want more timely, commercial support
for, visit http://www.cs.wustl.edu/~schmidt/commercial-support.html to
get a list of organizations providing commercial support for ACE.

Best regards,
Phil

--
Phil Mesnier
Principal Software Engineer and Partner, http://www.ociweb.com
Object Computing, Inc. +01.314.579.0066 x225

[Douglas C. Schmidt]

Hi Laura,

Laura Autón García <darklu...@gmail.com> wrote:

> Dear Mr Schmidt,
> Apologies for my late reply. My studies insist on keeping me extremely busy.
> The ACE-INSTALL.html document can be found enclosed. 
> The MinGW/MSYS section has been modified in order to add the "make install"
> step. Use it at your own convenience.

Super, thanks very much! Please see

http://www.dre.vanderbilt.edu/~schmidt/DOC_ROOT/ACE/ACE-INSTALL.html

and let me know if I updated this document properly with your changes (I
made some minor copy editing).

Thanks,

Doug

> Laura Autón.
>
> 2011/2/25 Phil Mesnier <mesn...@ociweb.com>

[Laura Autón García]

Hi Doug,

Everything seems correct :)

I also added a small comment when asking the user to install MinGW, which

was to install the entire MinGW package.

The entire package includes MinGW development toolkit.

I got several errors before being able to run "make install" successfully, and I

eventually discovered that installing the entire package prevented you from

solving them.

For advanced users, that comment may be pointless though.

The comment is still in the document I enclosed yesterday for you to

use it, so if you want to add it, go ahead :)

Thank you very much for your time.

Laura Autón.

[Douglas C. Schmidt]

Hi Laura,

> Everything seems correct :)
> I also added a small comment when asking the user to install MinGW, which
> was to install the entire MinGW package.
> The entire package includes MinGW development toolkit.
> I got several errors before being able to run "make install" successfully, and
> I
> eventually discovered that installing the entire package prevented you from
> solving them.
> For advanced users, that comment may be pointless though.
> The comment is still in the document I enclosed yesterday for you to
> use it, so if you want to add it, go ahead :)

Could you please send me a "diff" from the version of the
ACE-INSTALL.html file at

http://www.dre.vanderbilt.edu/~schmidt/DOC_ROOT/ACE-INSTALL.html

that shows were the omitted comment goes and I'll add it?

Thanks!

Doug