How to do windows applications ?

[Simon Strandgaard]

I am going to write a ruby application for a dog-school.
They train dogs, do statistics of the dogs, etc..
I use unix myself, but the application has to be available
on offline windows machines (so an online webservice doesn't work).

I would prefer a platform independent solution; bundling
apache+mod_ruby+my future dog application. But I see many loose ends:
How to bundle these things together, so it will be
installed as *one* application ?


Question1: What modules do you use for windows applications ?

Question2: Any hints to a unix-man, which has to write a windows
application?

 

[Thomas Sondergaard]

Does it have to be a web application? If it is an offline application why
not take advantage of the situation and give your users a proper user
interface for once.

apache+mod_ruby+my future dog application.

I suppose you will need ruby too

Tom

 

[Robert Klemme]

I am going to write a ruby application for a dog-school.
They train dogs, do statistics of the dogs, etc..
I use unix myself, but the application has to be available
on offline windows machines (so an online webservice doesn't work).

I would prefer a platform independent solution; bundling
apache+mod_ruby+my future dog application. But I see many loose ends:
How to bundle these things together, so it will be
installed as *one* application ?

Why do you want to use a web server if the machines are offline anyway?
Why not just create a Ruby/Tk (or other GUI toolkit) application? If you
have a local network and need a centralized server then Ruby/Tk with DRB
might be an option, too. If you want to go for a web application IMHO
bundling is not so important since you will install it only on one
machine.

Question1: What modules do you use for windows applications ?

For web apps there's plenty of template frameworks out there, eruby,
amrita, ...

Question2: Any hints to a unix-man, which has to write a windows
application?

I'd say do it the same way as Unix applications: write it portable. Use
such things as File.join, File.basename, File.dirname, File::SEPARATOR,
File:ATH_SEPARATOR etc.

Cheers

robert

 

[Simon Strandgaard]

Why do you want to use a web server if the machines are offline anyway?

It was just a thought..

Why not just create a Ruby/Tk (or other GUI toolkit) application?

Yes I some experience with using FxRuby, this is probably the way for me
to go.

For web apps there's plenty of template frameworks out there, eruby,
amrita, ...

This doesn't answer the question, what ruby-modules/frameworks do you use
for composing windows application ? How do you install it so it *feels*
like a typical windows application (installshield?) ?

I'd say do it the same way as Unix applications: write it portable. Use
such things as File.join, File.basename, File.dirname, File::SEPARATOR,
File:ATH_SEPARATOR etc.

Also the shebang concept does'nt work on windows, what do I have to do if
I want to make a ruby script executable ?

 

[Stephan Kämper]

This doesn't answer the question, what ruby-modules/frameworks do you use
for composing windows application ? How do you install it so it *feels*
like a typical windows application (installshield?) ?

I use a) whatever I need and b) what's available. (That's of course completely indepentent of the OS
anyway...)
I personally, don't think a special kind of installer makes an application feel more like a typical
windows app. Many people don't like that installer stuff anyway, and prefer to just place the
file(s) in a directory and run the program. That depends heavily on your customers "culture" and
back ground, of course.

Do you think about wrapping the app in something like exerb to produce a windows executable?
Then you might think about wrapping _that_ into some installer in turn...
But I wouldn't like it delivered that way. But I'm not a dog trainer.

Also the shebang concept does'nt work on windows, what do I have to do if
I want to make a ruby script executable ?

Just run it - like in "ruby killerapp".
If the system's set up appropriately it should recognize the .rb prefix and run the Ruby interpreter
automatically. What I think is that "How to fire up the program" is likely the most OS oriented
question you should encounter (part from trying "fork" and things on a Windows box).

The main part of the app however should be largely unrelated to the underlying OS - especially if
you do it in Ruby anyway.


Cheers,

Stephan

 

[gabriele renzi]

il Sat, 20 Sep 2003 13:30:24 +0200, Simon Strandgaard
<[email protected]> ha scritto::

Also the shebang concept does'nt work on windows, what do I have to do if
I want to make a ruby script executable ?

I think you may set some stuff in WinRegistry to get this same effect,
but I can't remember
BTW, imo, it is far better to distribute a single installer with a
batch file or exe file that just execute 'ruby myscript.rb'.
You should take a look at how FreeRIDE is distributed, maybe..

 

[Simon Strandgaard]

il Sat, 20 Sep 2003 13:30:24 +0200, Simon Strandgaard


I think you may set some stuff in WinRegistry to get this same effect,
but I can't remember <
BTW, imo, it is far better to distribute a single installer with a
batch file or exe file that just execute 'ruby myscript.rb'.
You should take a look at how FreeRIDE is distributed, maybe..

Thanks everyone, I will take a look at FreeRIDE.

Who wants to do batch jobs, when they got ruby