newbie - hey walter, improvement potentials for installer

[Brad Anderson]

On Sun, Feb 12, 2012 at 5:02 PM, Alf P. Steinbach <
alf.p.steinbach+usenet at gmail.com> wrote:

> Hi
>
> I just installed D 2.x.
>
>
>   * Improvement potential #1  --  installer description.
>
> It was not clear to me that the first download is a full offline
> installer. In ignorance I used the one that downloads from web. The web
> page can possibly be mucho improved! :-)
>
>
>   * Improvement potential #2  --  Start menu link to help file.
>
> It didn't work. Sorry I didn't check where it pointed, but it started
> searching for some [index.html]. I found that file by manual searching,
> plugged it in manual in the search that the link brought up, and all's well
> that ends well, but this is DEFINITELY an improvement opportunity!
>
>
I'll look into this one and make a pull request.


>
>   * Improvement potential #3  --  Linker executable name.
>
> The name [link.exe] conflicts with Microsoft's linker. Please name it
> [optlink.exe]. I just renamed it and fixed the options file, but this is
> not just an improvement opportunity, it's more on the MUST end of the
> scale: it is very impractical to have such a needless name clash.
>
>
>   * Improvement potential #4  --  Standard options for tools.
>
> Why have "-quiet" for the compiler and "-nologo" for the linker?
> Standardizing options across the toolset is a very nice improvement
> opportunity. Also, it would be nice if the linker refrained from reporting
> all about itself when it encounters an error.
>
>
>  * Improvement potential #5  --  The description of Windows prog.
>
> Following main site's links to [http://d-programming-**
> language.org/windows.html <http://d-programming-language.org/windows.html>],
> I found a real monstrosity as an example of purportedly simplest possible
> Windows GUI program. It's almost funny. Here is mine:
>
> <code>
>    import std.c.windows.windows;
>
>    void main()
>    {
>        MessageBoxW( null, "Text", "Caption", MB_OK | MB_ICONINFORMATION );
>    }
> </code>
>
>
> And here is how I built it:
>
>
> <example>
> [d:\dev\test\d]
> > dmd minimal_gui.d -L-subsystem:windows
>
> [d:\dev\test\d]
> > dumpbin /headers minimal_gui.exe | find /i "sub"
>            3.10 subsystem version
>               2 subsystem (Windows GUI)
>
> [d:\dev\test\d]
> > minimal.d
> </example>
>
>
> Maybe with DMD tools something potentially bad happens here. However, with
> extant C++ compilers (and even old Borland C++ 5.5) this way of doing
> things works splendidly. So here is a definite improvement potential for
> the web site page with the monstrous code, and if the current tools don't
> handle it well, also for the the toolset. :-)
>
>
> Cheers & hth.,
>
> - Alf (at very beginning of checking out the D language)
>

Regards,
Brad Anderson
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