[clug] Tips for creating portable executables?

[steve jenkin]

Recently the authors of MHSnet (SUN IV) told me it's been GPL'd [version
3 license].

There may be some of you who remember the days of ACSnet pre-AARnet,
otherwise there's a short page on Wikipedia about MHSnet. It came out of
Sydney Uni & UNSW, one of the first email systems in the world and
developed much better functionality than UUCP.

For a little project to build my skills, I'd like to build executables
or packages of MHSnet for a few different systems.

I run Debian and OS/X natively, so can work on & test those platforms.
Under Debian, I've got Virtual Box, so can fire up something with RPM's
(RedHat Package Manager), Fedora or CentOS possibly.

I've got no idea how to proceed with Winders any-version and building an
exe for it and testing...
Can probably boot a Win-XP system with a little effort, though I'd
prefer to run XP under VBox - a whole other story.

I have both WINE and "CrossOver" available on Debian.
I appreciate that the MHSnet servers may not work under Windows. The
code is written solely for Unix/POSIX environments, so only a few
client-side programs may be possible.

There must be multiple people on-list who've got direct experience in
cross-platform compilation and even preparing binary packages.

Any pointers appreciated, especially for the Winders side of things.
Suggestions for a good RPM distro to work with also appreciated :)

I'm not creating a sexy new, leading-edge project, seeking to break new
ground and needing fast iterations plus all the latest bells and whistles...
It's very mature and well tested code that could do with an update.

Thanks in Advance.

steve


-- 
Steve Jenkin, Info Tech, Systems and Design Specialist.
0412 786 915 (+61 412 786 915)
PO Box 48, Kippax ACT 2615, AUSTRALIA

sjenkin at canb.auug.org.au http://members.tip.net.au/~sjenkin