New compiler: Lazarus

[Weather Display]

Hi
just to keep you up to date:
I have installed the latest Madrake (now Mandriva) Linux Distro on a new HD on my linux PC (originaly I installed PClinux OS (too lean and simple, no good)
Kylix will not load (too old, and not supported anymore)
so I have downloaded and have got working lazarus (free pascal) compiler (no easy feat)
(not yet compiling a program, error about lpthread (dependency hell)
(ok, found the dependency to install (thank goodness for Google!)
(now another dependency needed, x11, downloading and installing that)
the good things:
its a cross platform compiler, so it will mean i can install and use it on a Mac as well
its compatible with my WD pascal source code (and even some components hopefully (that I have the source code for and that dont use windows api)
Lazarus also has built in MYSQL support too

[Yves]

Have you ever tried lazarus on windoze?
Doing the download rigth now, keep you posted.

Are you all set forn MAndriva? will you keep it?
I am downloading the src for kernEl 2.6.17.13 now So I can test the usb stuff.

[Weather Display]

good news!
i have  test program compiled with Lazarus with the libcom.so file and it works!
(in getting data from my Davis WMII), using code from Kylix
so, in theory, it should work on the MAC too?

re windows:
not yet: in theory I should be able to compile the program in windows and then cross link it to work under Linux (by setting widgets to use) (but no windows api can be used)?
(if you can get that to work, let me know how!)

[Yves]

Lazarus is installed on windows XP,
just have to reboot. and then give the path forr fpc src folder.

[Weather Display]

Ok, I have the windows version installed and have compiled and run a simple "hello world" program
this is good stuff
i can do the work on my windows laptop then copy the files to the linux pc and compile the program there and the same thing on my soon to be MAC as well!

[Yves]

Do not tell me Lazarus is already better than Kylix

[Weather Display]

just looking at all the documents on porting code etc

there is a fair bit of code that will not work the same (but alot that will too)

i think I will need to build a new project from the ground up
I will be able to use some of my existing code OK (e.g dealing with the actual data from the weather station)
here is my chance though to write the program differently too (from what I have learned over the years!)

[Yves]

The good thing is that now you are not anymore handcuffed with a proprietary software. I do not really know why Borland gave up with the version of Delphi for linux.

Actually you also have a version of Lazarus that runs on MAC old fashion I guess.

Good luck developping the missing stuff.

[Weather Display]

oh, I found its very easy to grab a image of the window screen form in Lazarus,using
var
SnapShotBitmap: TBitmap;
begin
SnapShotBitmap:=TBitmap.Create;
SnapShotBitmap.LoadFromDevice(Canvas.Handle);
SnapShotBitmap.SaveToFile('c:\snapshot.bmp');
SnapShotBitmap.Free;
                           
but, same problem as with Kylix , if another window is over the top, that is captures as well

[Weather Display]

i managed to get imported the instrument component package I use in the windows version
(I had to purchase the source code, 30 euro)
the graphing part of the component has ported well
but some of the instruments dont look good
thats because the components used alot of windows specific drawing routines, and I had to make work arounds or bracket out that code (took me hours to do all that)

i will try and find some work arounds!

[Weather Display]

i managed to get this package installed into the linux lazarus compiler too...but with some hiccups...namely reference to the registry..which caused an access violation when the compiler started....took me a while to undo things!

[Yves]

How is it going with Lazarus? Any good stuff other than the Mac Intel test prog?

[Weather Display]

unfortunately have had a few issues to deal with on the windows version and a run of people to help there too
I have been looking at converting more components...

i am hoping to dedicating as much as possible of this coming week to the project

[Weather Display]

I have the LCD numbers component converted and installed in Lazarus (needed some changes in the code)
so thats another component converted
still more to go
these things all take time!

[Yves]

maybe I can help, you just have to give a piece of source and the component and I can try to convert it into lazarus?