[Qgis-user] Plugin Troubles. Getting Started (SIP, PYQT, PYRCC confusions)

[Sampson, David]

Hey folks, I want to create plugins for Q GIS and I am completely lost.

I am running python 25 on a windows box.
I have cygwin mingw components installed under cygwin.
Distutils pointing cygwin/mingw for compiling python extensions
(http://boodebr.org/main/python/build-windows-extensions#CFG_DISTUTILS)

I have been going between a bunch of sites to try and figure out how to
get started.


The python stuff is no problem. I want to get the plugin into Qgis.

My understanding is that I need to comppile some resources  against
pyrcc (http://wiki.qgis.org/qgiswiki/DevelopingPluginsWithPython)

So I try finding it in the qgis install and it is not there.

Next I learn that pyrcc is part of the QT stack. So I go to learn how to
install pyQT stuff (http://wiki.python.org/moin/PyQt)

I go to Pyqt4 site and get the packages. I can't find binaries so I try
to build form source.

 Of course this leads me to SIP extensions, again that I need to build
from source cause I can not find windows binaries.

Am I going in the right direction or have I missed the simple approach?
I like simple.

So now I am in cygwin trying to do

Python Configure.py -p cygwin-g++; make; make install

For the SIP package. The build fails of course... I then try PyQt, which
fails cause it is missing SIP dependencies. So do I need to start with
the SIP mailing list, then the Pyqt mailing list and then finaly try a
small "hello world" plugin. IMHO if this is what I need to do, this is a
big barrier to potential plugin developers. With applications like
OpenEV I need only create a python script and run it to make a GIS
plugin.

I have not tried this on my linux box as it is proving to polute my
winbox system. I like a lean linux box without all this overhead and
compiling of binaries that will get hidden.


WINDOWS BINARIES WOULD BE GREAT TO HAVE. Or maybe we just need less
windows boxes...

In fact a QGIS plugin kit that gives you EVERYTHING would be ideal.

Cheers


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