Windows?? *GASP!*
Sometimes you just have to compile Windows programs from the comfort of your Linux install. This is a relatively simple process that basically requires you to only install the following (Ubuntu) packages:
To compile 32-bit programs
mingw32 (swap out for gcc-mingw32 if you need 64-bit support) mingw32-binutils mingw32-runtime Additionally for 64-bit programs (*PLEASE SEE NOTE)
mingw-w64 gcc-mingw32 Once you have those packages you just need to swap out “gcc” in your normal compile commands with either “i586-mingw32msvc-gcc” (for 32-bit) or “amd64-mingw32msvc-gcc” (for 64-bit).
Some of you may remember an old Windows program of mine called Hash Verifier. It was a graphical utility that allowed people to generate hashes of their files, and then compare those to known hashes, ensuring that their files had not been corrupted. Well in recent months my foray into the world of Linux has finally taken me into the realm of programming on that platform. Being primarily a .NET developer on Windows I have found the Mono project on Linux to be an absolute breath of fresh air.
As a long time Windows user I have had my fair share of dull, gray toolbars, buttons and controls. Prior to Windows Vista, Microsoft’s first real attempt to pretty up the system – sorry XP, making the taskbar blue just doesn’t cut it – I even looked to Mac OSX with some jealousy.
Flash forward to The Linux Experiment and I have been introduced to a whole new set of environment graphics.