[mapguide-internals] Future VS compiler

[Walt Welton-Lair]

Option 3 - we support both VS10 / VS11?

MapGuide currently has solution / project files for both VS9 and VS10.  I don't see why we can't continue that with VS11.

I agree it's a bit of a pain to maintain multiple sets of project files, but it might be the best option.

Walt

________________________________________
From: mapguide-internals-bounces at lists.osgeo.org [mapguide-internals-bounces at lists.osgeo.org] on behalf of Jackie Ng [jumpinjackie at gmail.com]
Sent: Tuesday, May 22, 2012 11:57 PM
To: mapguide-internals at lists.osgeo.org
Subject: [mapguide-internals] Future VS compiler

Hi All,

For those who don't know, the next version of Visual Studio will no longer
offer an express SKU for desktop application development in C#, VB.net and
C++. The only express SKU available will be to only develop their
apple-bastardised Metro apps.

http://www.winsupersite.com/blog/supersite-blog-39/developer/microsoft-details-visual-studio-11-product-lineup-143139

Also the Windows SDK for the next version of Windows will no longer include
the VC compiler toolchain and runtime libraries

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/hardware/hh852363.aspx

Anyone who has worked with Autodesk technologies knows that nearly
everything revolves around AutoCAD/DWG and its vertical products and that
AutoCAD breaks binary compatibility every 3 releases due to moving to the
next MSVC compiler. I assume previous MapGuide RFCs from Autodesk to upgrade
VS were driven by the need to have integration/compatibility with the latest
version of AutoCAD Map.

This has ramifications for MapGuide and FDO as open source projects given
that MSVC is the "official" compiler used for windows builds. I can just see
that there will be a future RFC from Autodesk to move to VS11 and that's
going to leave us (the OS community) in a bind. Unless we're going to
metro-ize MapGuide/FDO (yeah right!) there will be no free future MSVC
compiler to compile MapGuide/FDO on windows (let's not even talk
development/debugging, just compiling/linking).

Moving to VS11 will raise the entry barrier for contributing to this project
to the tune of whatever price MS will be charging for the VS11 professional
SKU, and I am concerned and disturbed that an open source project like
MapGuide/FDO will soon require non-free tools to contribute/develop in the
future if the past is any indication.

So what options do we have? I see 2 options:

 1. Move towards an alternate compiler toolchain for Windows. First thought
was MinGW, but my knowledge of the capabilities and reliability of MinGW and
other alternatives on Windows is very limited. This would be the
ideologically correct choice. Free software should not require non-free
tools to build it. Also we may indirectly improve the Linux build quality by
adopting MinGW seeing as it is basically the windows version of GCC. We
already include full sources of all required thirdparty libraries anyway, so
no external incompatibilities there as we can patch internal thirdparty
sources if required.

 2. We stay on VS2010 as the official windows compiler indefinitely for the
rest of the foreseeable future.

Also this is more a question directed at the non-Autodesk developers/users.
Autodesk can use whatever compiler they want for the commerical versions of
MapGuide/FDO as far as I'm concerned. The question for us is should we have
to follow them in lock-step for the Open Source releases?

Thoughts? It's not an immediate problem now, but will be in probably 2 years
time.

Consider this email a pre-emptive -1 from me on any future RFC motion to
upgrade VS from 2010.

- Jackie

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