Chapter 3
Cygwin—A Linux-Like Environment for Windows
Cygwin is a tool that runs under Windows that is similar to a Linux shell where
you can use most of the UNIX commands. It allows the programmer to test,
debug, compile and run C/C++ programs much like doing so in UNIX.
3.1 What is Cygwin?
Taken from http://www.cygiwn.com: “The Cygwin tools are ports of the popular
GNU development tools for Microsoft Windows. They run thanks to the Cygwin
library which provides the UNIX system calls and environment these programs
expect.
With these tools installed, it is possible to write Win32 console or GUI
applications that make use of the standard Microsoft Win32 API and/or the
Cygwin API. As a result, it is possible to easily port many significant UNIX
programs without the need for extensive changes to the source code. This
includes configuring and building most of the available GNU software
(including the packages included with the Cygwin development tools
themselves). Even if the development tools are of little to no use to you, you
may have interest in the many standard UNIX utilities provided with the
package. They can be used either from the bash shell (provided) or from the
standard Windows command shell.
3.2 What versions of Windows are supported?
Cygwin can be expected to run on all modern 32 bit versions of Windows,
except Windows CE. This includes Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000/XP/2003 and
the WOW64 32 bit environment on released 64 bit versions of Windows. As far
as we know no one is working on a native 64 bit version of Cygwin. Since
Cygwin is a community-supported free software project, patches to provide
support for other versions would be thoughtfully considered. Paid support
contracts or enhancements are available through Red Hat. For information about
getting a Red Hat support contract, see http://cygwin.com/license.html.
Keep in mind that Cygwin can only do as much as the underlying OS supports.
Because of this, Cygwin will behave differently, and exhibit different
limitations, on the various versions of Windows.
3.3 Where can I get a copy of Cygwin?
Besides the accompanied CD with this manual, Cygwin is freeware and can be
downloaded from http://cygwin.com/. There you should find everything you
need for Cygwin, including links for download and setup, a current list of mirror
sites, a User's Guide, an API Reference, mailing lists and archives, and
additional ported software. You can also find documentation for the individual
GNU tools at http://www.gnu.org/manual/. (You should read GNU manuals
from a local mirror. Check http://www.gnu.org/server/list-mirrors.html for a list
of them.)”
3.4 Cygwin Tools
Cygwin includes a collection of tools, which provide Linux look and feel.
These tools are stored inside the bin/ sub-folder inside the Cygwin main folder
installation drive. Some of these tools are (make, ls, cd, pwd, gcc, pilrc, mkdir,
and many other commands) which are listed in Figure 1 below. The Cygwin
shell looks like the following:
Figure 1: Contents of bin/ subfolder under Cygwin installation folder
As shown in Figure 1 a number of tools are listed and may be used as needed.
The main tools inside this directory are the PRC-tools needed to compile and
generate a Palm OS application executable (the .prc file).
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3.5 Cygwin Shell
The cygwin icon look like this:
.
Double-click on the cygwin icon to start its shell, which looks like the one
shown in the figure below. As illustrated, various cygwin/UNIX commands can
be used, some of which are specifically known to generate a Palm executable,
and others for file management and so on.
Figure 2: Cygwin Shell
The main characteristic of the Cygwin shell is that it does not offer an IDE
capability. It is fully command-line driven. The programmer has to type in the
commands at the prompt in order to compile, post process, and post link the
entire Palm application to generate the executable.
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As described in section 1.5 of chapter 1, the tools needed to generate the Palm
executable were:
a) PRC-tools:
m68k-palmos-gcc (C Compiler)
m68k-palmos-obj-res (Post-Processor)
PilRC (UI Resource Compiler)
Build-PRC(PalmOS Post-Linker)
b) Command-line debugger
c)
Test and run the executable may be done using one of the
following platforms (Figure 3):
a) Simulator
b) Emulator
c) PDA (HotSync)
Figure 3: Palm OS Test Tools (Cygwin Shell, Simulator, Emulator, & HotSync)
3.6 Compiling a Palm OS Application using the Cygwin Shell
1.
2.
Make sure Pilrc is installed with your Cygwin program.
If the compiler gives you an error indicating Pilrc is missing then you know
it is not included in your Cygwin program.
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3.
Install Pilrc from this site http://pilrc.sourceforge.net/ or from the book CD
(the installation procedure will be shown further in the next step).
4.
5.
Make sure you install Pilrc inside the folder C:\PalmOSCygwin.
It will create the folder pilrc-3.2\ inside C:\PalmOSCygwin\
Copy the file pilrc.exe into C:\PalmOSCygwin\bin\
6.
You are all set! You should no longer get the Pilrc error. See Figure 4.
Figure 4: Compiling a Palm Application at the Cygwin Shell
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3.7 Installing the Resource Compiler Pilrc
Pilrc is a resource compiler. There is no need to install it if you already
downloaded Palm OS Developer Studio. However, you need to install Pilrc only
if you have a Pilrc error when you attempt to build the project in Developer
Studio.
The Pilrc error in Developer Studio means that the Pilrc executable is missing
from Developer Studio's Cygwin tool. If so, then install the Pilrc tool and then
look for and copy pilrc.exe into the bin/ directory inside C:\PalmOSCygwin).
Once pilrc.exe is stored inside the C:\PalmOSCygwin\bin\ folder, rebuild the
project again. The palm executable (.prc file) should be generated without any
errors.
3.8 Cygwin References
To obtain a free copy of the latest version of Cygwin and latest information and
news about it, the following links are most useful sites about Cygwin:
a.
b.
c.
d.
http://www.cygwin.com
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cygwin#History
http://www.cygwin.com/faq/faq.html#faq.what
http://www.gnu.org/manual/
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