Revision Notes

Work Area Structure


  SDx (note 1)
  |
  +- bin (runtime files)
  |  |
  |  +- win32 (platform-specific runtime files)
  |  
  +- lib (link-time library binaries)
  |  |
  |  `- win32 (platform-specific library binaries)
  |
  +- libs (source trees for library projects, incl. third-party)
  |  |
  |  +- boost (Boost C++ utility libraries)
  |  |
  |  +- psim (physical simulator)
  |  |
  |  +- ublas (pre-release Boost library for vector and matrix math)
  |  |
  |  `- utils (general C++ programming utilities)
  |
  +- programs (source trees for programs)
  |  |
  |  `- ???
  |
  +- sdx (CVS test junk from John & Frank, I think)
  |
  `- tests (source trees for test programs)

Notes:

SDx is the default name of the root directory of the work area. All paths referred to internal to this tree should be relative, where possible. All the source code in this tree appears as module sdx in our CVS repository.

Setting up a Workstation

Setup instructions currently address only Windows systems, for builds using VC6.

Install Third-Party Tools

Obtain and install VC6. Test and make sure that it works. Also make sure that you can run command-line builds, because this must be working for the next step. (Hint: An install-time option will set up your environment variables for you, or you can run VCVARS32.BAT after installation in a command window.)

Note: STLport is not a requirement for any of the existing software at this time, so you can skip it if you're in a hurry.

Download the following packages to a temporary location:

[STLport]
(TBS) DirectX 8.1 SDK

Install the DirectX 8.1 SDK in its default location, C:\DXSDK.

Unpack STLport to a location of your own choosing. Follow the build and installation instructions. You shouldn't need any special configuration. Building the 'install' target should copy the libraries to your VC6 installation tree, and DLLS to your system directory. This will be most convenient.

In VC6, you need to do the following:

In Tools/Options/Directories, add the stlport include directory (<stlport-root>\stlport) to the beginning of your include path. It needs to be at the beginning so that STLport's headers override Microsoft's.
Configure the editor in VC6 to use spaces instead of tabs, and and indentation depth of 2.

Get SDx Sources

Check out the 'sdx' module from our CVS repository to a location of your choosing. This will be your work area. Details for connecting to the CVS repository are on Jdh-Sdx/Cvs. You should also have received an email with the repository password.

Open all.dsw in the root of your work area. Build it. Have fun.

Notes

At this time, we do not need to build the Boost libraries. Most of the Boost libraries consist only of header files, with a few exceptions. The exception that we're most likely to become interested in is the regular expression library.

Instead of requiring the intrusive addition of the STLport directory to the global VC6 search path, we could add it to each of our projects.

Batch Builds

At present, batch builds are ultra-simple. They'll get more complicated later, no doubt.

Make sure that your command-line environment is set up for the VC6 tools. Run MSDEV /MAKE "psimtest - Win32 Debug". (At this time, psimtest is the only top-level program in the workspace. You could also do a Release build if it amuses you.)