[sylpheed:35775] Re: Sylpheed

[cgw993 at aol.com]

> > Thanks for letting me know.  I will surf around the subdirectories and
> > see what I can fine out.   Well done Hiroyuki Yamamoto and colleagues
> > btw.
> > 
> > These are just some of the questions I I guess ask myself as I think
> > about what the process could be..
> > 
> > 1. What program do you use to open the source code to view it? Say it is
> > program "x"
> 
> I am using Linux. I use the editor vi.

That is what vi and Emacs are for, now it is starting to make a little more sense.  Any reason why you prefer vi over Emacs?




> 
> 
> > 2. Do you also use program "x" to make changes to the source code?
> 
> Yes, vi is a full-fledged editor. The source code files are just text
> files. If you use Windows, you could open and edit them with Microsoft
> word, or even Notepad. Just make sure you leave them text files.

What does a program like vi do that is special if the code can be edited with Notepad? 


> 
> 
> > 3. Once you make changes to the source code, do you use program "x" to
> > do something like  "save as ==> compiled version", which I guess would
> > be an .exe file in Windows?
> 
> No. The README I mentioned earlier says the installation instructions are
> in the file INSTALL.

One thing that I did not realize was the fact that one need to uninstall the program, then edit the code, then reinstall.





> 
> 
> The appropriate sections of that file say,
> 
>      This program requires GTK+ 2.4.0 or later to be compiled (GTK+ 2.6.0
>      or later is recommended).
> 
>      This program is developed on Ubuntu 8.04 LTS / 10.04 LTS / Windows
>      XP. It is possible that it dosen't work correctly on other
>      environments.
> 
>      Curretnly [sic] it is confirmed to work on the following environments
>      (Note: they might not work with the latest version):
> 
>      [many lines deleted]
> 
>      Windows
> 
>      o Windows 2000 / XP / Vista / 7 (MinGW - 32bit)
> 
> 
>      Build it
>      ========
> 
>      Please make sure that gtk-devel and glib-devel (or similar) packages
>      are installed before the compilation (you may also require flex (lex)
>      and bison (yacc)).
> 
>      To compile and install, just type:
> 
>      % ./configure
>      % make
>      % su
>      Password: [Enter password]
>      # make install
> 
> 
> 
> If you use Windows, it looks like you would have to get MinGW.

Ok..getting a little overwhelmed here lol

> 
> 
> > 4. Debugging to me would mean, make a change, save, run Sylpheed, see if
> > everything works, see what changed.  If it doesn't work, undo change
> > and try something else and repeat.
> 
> That is what you would have to do, unless you could figure out beforehand
> what your changes should do (by learning C and reading the source code).
> The pattern would be
> 
> 	- make a change
>         - save
>         - re-compile Sylpheed
>         - re-install Sylpheed
>         - run Sylpheed

Understanding the order you stated above helps a ton.   I thought maybe I could change some code while leaving the program as it was and then to try out out, run it (double click the icon). The only programming I do is on VBA in Excel and in that case that would be a run time compiler, that makes more sense to me now.    I do more clearly see what compiling actually is and why the program would need to be reinstalled in the case of C programs.   In order to even write a single line in C, which I have not done nor do I know the language, I have to figure out what is the overall structure of what is needed to even begin.  A general purpose map or diagram indicating how these programs fit together and why is something I am looking for on youtube, google images etc.

Thank you very much for the information

> 
> 
> Craig