MinGW Toolchain

[Chris Johns]

Ray wrote:
> To install tool-chain in windows,  the install guide in rtems wiki,  although a little old, is all you needed to install then.

Which part of the Wiki are you referring to ?

> You should install MinGW, MSYS,MSYSDTK.  It must be admitted that it is pain to run cygwin/MGW in windows.

We support and promote Linux as the best development platform. We provide 
Windows support because we recognize there are users who need this host 
platform supported. We would love to support MacOS with released binaries but 
we have not been given the chance to do this work.

>  Because when you compile sth like gcc, it will take you hours, and MinGW is a bit faster though.

I build the MinGW tools on Linux. How this is done is documented in the Wiki. 
Best of luck to anyone using Windows to perform a tools build.

> Just to be care:  
> 1) Some version of cygwin/MinGW have memory leak problems in windows.  

Please do not confuse MinGW and MSYS. They are not the same thing. MinGW uses 
the native Windows API. If a leak exists in a MinGW program then is it a bug 
in Windows or the application which in this case is gcc.

> 2) MinGW do not recognize the path we used in linux. So the image compiled in linux, can not debug with gdb run in MinGW  

Do you mean MinGW or MSYS ?

The paths built into executables will always depend on the set up local to 
you. With a little work I think this could be made to work. You would need to 
handle things in a specific manner, maybe use absolute verses relative paths 
to configure etc.

> 3) Some version of gcc/gdb can not compiled in MinGW, it is better to download gcc/gdb with MinGW patch from MinGW official site. 

We provide a gdb in the MinGW installers that is built from the FSF sources. 
The only parts of gdb that we do not build is the simulators due to broken 
Makefiles in that part of gdb for a Canadian cross-compile. A Windows build of 
a RTEMS gdb could build the simulators.

If you take a look on the MinGW website you will see I have provided the MinGW 
GDB executables. The GDB for MinGW to debug native gcc Windows applications is 
not the RTEMS cross-debuggers we provide and the patch you refer to for a 
native gdb is not related to the RTEMS gdb we provide. We do not need or 
depend on that patch.

> I guess that if the install shield provided in rtems-ftp also includes the MGW toolsets in it. It will be much better.

I had wondered about this but I decided I did not want to do this. We would 
also need to provide all the GPL code used in the MinGW/MSYS installers on the 
RTEMS website.

If the procedure to set up a Windows box can be made simpler please update the 
Wiki or let the MinGW project know how you think their installer can be improved.

Regards
Chris