Statically Linking GTK+ libraries with Win32 in MS VC++

[Tor Lillqvist <tml iki fi>]

Matthew Yaconis writes:
> my executable depends on at least the libgtk-win32-2.0-0.dll,

Which in turn depends on a bunch of other DLLs. A proper GTK+ and
Pango installation also includes some DLLs loaded at run-time on
demand (for loading various image formats, and for text
"shaping"). Plus there are a lot of message catalogs for other
languages than English (but you can leave those out if all your users
use English).

> Does anyone have some advice on how to specify static linking with
> GTK+ libraries in MS Visual C++ so the application can be run on
> most any workstation?

My advice is, don't... Or if you do, you are on your own. There are
various things that more or less depend on the libraries being
DLLs. There is also a license issue, if you link statically to GTK+ or
GLib your application must be distributed under the GPL. I think.
Read the license, and consult your lawyer if you are trhinking of
distributing GTK+-using software commercially.

> Or do I have to have some sort of installation so it will properly
> run?

It's presumably easiest to one some of the existing GTK+
installers. The most used one would be Jernej Simoncic's, I think. See
http://www2.arnes.si/~sopjsimo/gimp/ .

--tml