Re: Emacs for Windows

[Eli Zaretskii <eliz@gnu.org>]

> From: Óscar Fuentes <ofv@wanadoo.es>
> Date: Sun, 12 Oct 2014 14:13:11 +0200
> 
> Eli Zaretskii <eliz@gnu.org> writes:
> 
> >> From: Óscar Fuentes <ofv@wanadoo.es>
> >> Date: Sat, 11 Oct 2014 21:40:23 +0200
> >> 
> >> Guile is not available as a native package. It depends on the MSYS2
> >> Posix layer. The PKGBUILD and patches are here:
> >> 
> >> https://github.com/Alexpux/MSYS2-packages/tree/master/guile
> >
> > Btw, if there's no native MinGW port of Guile, then the MSYS2 port is
> > of little use.  Guile is being used as an extension language in an
> > increasing number of GNU packages (Lilypond, GDB, and Make, to name
> > just a few).  Since you cannot link MinGW programs against MSYS2
> > libraries, users will be unable to have Guile-enhanced MinGW ports
> > unless a native MinGW port of Guile is available.
> 
> I have native and up-to-date gdb and GNU Make on my MinGW environment
> and they work fine.  You forgot to mention that Guile is an optional
> requirement for those packages (not for Lilypond, but that's a very
> different kind of software).

I didn't forget.  Python is also optional in GDB, and yet the port
distributed by the MSYS2 site does include it.  So evidently someone
thought it would be useful, and I agree.  Likewise for Guile: a GDB or
Make that can use Guile extensions are more useful than those which
cannot.

> But let's pretend that you have a strong point here and that some
> significant package requires Guile on its Makefiles. Just build it with
> the MSYS2 Make, as you probably must do anyways if the package build
> system depends on the Autotools or any other GNUism/Poxisism.
> 
> IIRC MSYS2 gdb works with MinGW binaries.

This thread was about native MinGW ports, and where and how to get
them.  Not about MSYS2 ports.  Using MSYS ports for anything but
building MinGW has its own issues, as you well know.

> Your blatant hyperbole would imply that the Windows native ports of GNU
> software that existed to this day are of little use, because MSYS2 just
> aggregates and distributes it.

My point is that people should know what they get when they download a
port.  If the ports distributed by MSYS2 are of questionable quality,
or didn't all pass their test suites, it would be prudent to say so.

And I don't think I deserve the "blatant hyperbole" part.

> Finally, if there is no native port of Guile to Windows

There is:

   http://sourceforge.net/projects/ezwinports/files/guile-2.0.11-2-w32-bin.zip/download

(Btw, you will also find Hunspell there, so perhaps you don't need to
resist that temptation of yours.)