[osgeo4w-dev] Support for the WIN64 binaries

[Frank Warmerdam]

Tamas Szekeres wrote:
> Frank,
> 
> I'd add my support to a package based (cygwin style) approach we've
> been talking about in the IRC. I'll surely contribute to support some
> Win64 packages into the repository.
> Someone should probably create a Wiki how the dependencies are
> definied for these packages.

Tamas,

You can add details on dependencies when you add the packages in:

   http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/OSGeo4W_Packages

Note, you will need distinct Win64 packages which I would suggest
naming like "gdal-win64", "proj-win64" so the full package name might
be "proj-win64-4.6.0-1".

> I would also support to distribute the 'bleeding edge' using this
> framework. I hope this approach provides to have multiple versions to
> exist side by side. That would probably help to keep the osgeo
> binaries in a common repository instead of having the user to pick up
> the files from various sources.

I believe there are problems with having more than one non-ABI
compatible version of a package in OSGeo4W.  For instance, normally all
DLLs go in C:\OSGeo4W\bin.  If PROJ 4.5.0 and 4.6.0 were not ABI compatible
then there would be no easy way to have them co-exist - in fact, generally
two versions of a package can't coexist in OSGeo4W.

For Win64 I propose we work around this by essentially having a full
subtree in C:\OSGeo4W\win64 but this is really a whole distinct environment.
We aren't really sharing anything with the rest of the OSGeo4W environment
except for the installer.

But, for instance, there is no easy way to make GDAL 1.5 and GDAL 1.6(trunk)
coexist in OSGeo4W.  While we can have distinct names for the main DLLs
(GDAL15.DLL and GDAL16.DLL), the plugins are not distinguished in this
way.  Neither are the include files, stub library or share/gdal data files.

I think that trying to host binary incompatible versions of libraries in
OSGeo4W would be a mistake at this point ... over complicating things before
we even get going.

My vision of OSGeo4W is that it is stable and ready for use by end users.
I would prefer to see latest-and-greatest builds offered to users a
different way.  Possible project produced separate installers that might still
use parts of osgeo4w for base packages.

Best regards,
-- 
---------------------------------------+--------------------------------------
I set the clouds in motion - turn up   | Frank Warmerdam, warmerdam at pobox.com
light and sound - activate the windows | http://pobox.com/~warmerdam
and watch the world go round - Rush    | President OSGeo, http://osgeo.org