Hi all, I'm a Windows .NET developer trying to create code that can be compiled with Mono under Linux. I have started using Gtk# for my GUI, something that has cost me many many hours.
I'm having problems with users who seem to either have other versions of Gtk# or Gtk+ installed (under Windows), or for whom the installer from Novell is malfunctioning. As a result my app can't find its dependencies and won't run. This is generating one or two bug reports a week - about 10 times the usual traffic. :-) I'm relatively new to open source development. I've always worked in environments where you buy the things you need and do whatever you like with them within the confines of the office. Hence, I see several options for Gtk# integration but I can't seem to find a solid statement about what is allowed and what is not. After looking at the Mono website, I'm not even exactly sure what licence Gtk# has been released under. If anyone could add options or information to the list below or point me towards a readable source of info on this, I'd be very grateful. My options seem to be (in order of best integration): 1 - Somehow add all of Gtk# and Gtk+ to my own project, compile them directly into it and put up with maintaining it (ie downloading and remodifying new versions as they are released by you guys). This would probably involve me having to get Gtk+ to compile as well (C? Argh!), so I won't be doing this unless it turns out to be much easier than it sounds. On the bright side, it should be OK provided I ship all that source in my code releases. 2 - Rip all necessary DLLs from the Gtk# installer (that would include Gtk+ DLLs) from Novell and put them in my bin directory upon installation. This is the most attractive option, and should be the most reliable option. This would be a pretty flagrant violation of copyright (or something) though, wouldn't it? 3 - Compile my own DLLs using the Gtk# source code and put them in the installer. My understanding is that this would be allowed, provided the source for 'my' Gtk# DLLs was available with the rest of the code. For the same reasons as #1, this is not an attractive option. I could possibly rely on a Gtk+ installer but I think that's been part of the problem too, or at the very least has the potential to land me in exactly the same situation again later. 4 - Keep using Novell's installer, but integrated into mine. This has been giving me headaches but only with a few users. I just hate the fact that my software may be directly incompatible with other software (like Pidgin) because I'm using Gtk#. Installer integration would ensure that only users with broken installs had problems, but could actually break other people's software! As you can see, I seem to be stuck between options that involve me appropriating and working with all of Gtk#'s source code, doing things I'm not sure are legal (let alone moral), or creating an installer that breaks other software. :-( I apologise if everyone is reading this and thinking "well, duh", but as I said I'm new to this and try as I might I can't seem to find a clear statement about each of these alternatives or what the hell to do about it all, especially as a chump end user of Gtk# on Windows who can't compile it for himself. :-) Thanks in advance for any help you guys can give me, Aaron. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Aaron Oxford - aaron+hardwarehookups .com .au Director, Innovative Computer Solutions (Aust) Pty. Ltd. 49 Maitland Rd, Mayfield, NSW 2304 Australia http://www.ic-solutions.com.au Developer, SourceForge project VioLet Composer http://sourceforge.net/projects/buzz-like _______________________________________________ Mono-list maillist - [email protected] http://lists.ximian.com/mailman/listinfo/mono-list
