Re: GTK+ runtime libraries (for Windows) to stay in lib directory, not in bin

[Armin Burgmeier <armin arbur net>]

On Fri, 2009-03-20 at 10:33 -0300, Paulo Flabiano Smorigo wrote:
> Hi Armin,
> 
> Your answer makes perfect sense but as a linux user I feel
> uncomfortable to see libraries in the bin directory. There is not
> workaround to put the libraries in the lib dir except by adding them
> in the path?

Maybe you can add a wrapper program or script which adds your lib
directory to PATH and then executes your real application. But I don't
think it's worth the effort. All applications for Microsoft Windows that
ship GTK+ do it the put-DLLs-in-bin/ way.

Another way to look at it might be: The files in lib/ is what you link
against. On Linux, you normally directly link against the shared object
(.so). On Windows however, you don't link with the DLL, but with an
import library which is indeed in lib/. From this perspective, it makes
perfect sense that DLLs do not belong into lib/.

Armin

> Thanks...
> Paulo Flabiano Smorigo

> On Fri, Mar 20, 2009 at 10:09, Armin Burgmeier <armin arbur net> wrote:
> > On Fri, 2009-03-20 at 09:42 -0300, Paulo Flabiano Smorigo wrote:
> >> Hello All,
> >>
> >> I'm building a stand-alone application for Windows using GTKmm. So,
> >> following the instruction at http://live.gnome.org/gtkmm/MSWindows in
> >> the "GTK+ Runtime" section, said that you need to put all libraries in
> >> the bin directory. Maybe I'm making a mistake but the correct is not
> >> to put the libraries in the lib directory? I know that it's a
> >> "cosmetic" change but isn't the correct place to be? I start to think
> >> that the libs are in the bin directory for some unknow reason.
> >
> > DLLs are normally in the bin/ directory on Windows, and import libraries
> > are in lib/. However, when redistributing your application, you only
> > need the DLLs. They need to be at the same path as your application's
> > executable, so the DLLs can be found when the application is started.
> >
> >> Thanks...
> >> Paulo Flabiano Smorigo
> >
> > Armin
> >
> >