Statically linked, correctly working readline library under Windows?

Question

We're developing a C++ software package which depends on the GNU readline library and we usually build using gcc (requiring at least version 4). Now we would like to port this to Windows, obtaining a statically linked version which we can redistribute without requiring compilation by users.

I've tried several approaches:

• Building using Cygwin (no go with the provided readline combined with -mno-cygwin or a MinGW compiler),
• Building using MinGW and readline from GnuWin32 (unresolved dependencies to stat64, which I could not resolve),
• Building using MinGW and building readline and required pdcurses from source (most promising approach, got to a static binary! But the obtained interactive shell behaved incorrectly, e.g. backspace was not visualized).

Any ideas how we might get one of the approaches to work?

Answer 1

After similar frustrations, I have just now compiled both a 32bit and 64bit version of libreadline 6.2 using MinGW-w64. Here's my how I did it:

Layout of my dev directory:

c:\dev\msys
c:\dev\mingw32
c:\dev\local32
c:\dev\mingw64
c:\dev\local64

Set some environment variables for the 32 bit build:

export CPPFLAGS=-I/c/dev/local32/include
export LDFLAGS=-L/c/dev/local32/lib

termcap 1.3.1.
Run the configure script:

./configure --host=i686-w64_mingw32 --prefix=/c/dev/local32

Edit termcap.c and fix up a few lines at the top. Mine looks like this:

/* Emacs config.h may rename various library functions such as malloc.  */
#ifdef HAVE_CONFIG_H
#include <config.h>
#endif

#ifdef emacs

#include <lisp.h>       /* xmalloc is here */
/* Get the O_* definitions for open et al.  */
#include <sys/file.h>
#ifdef HAVE_FCNTL_H
#include <fcntl.h>
#endif
//#ifdef HAVE_UNISTD_H
#include <unistd.h>
//#endif

#else /* not emacs */

//#ifdef STDC_HEADERS
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <string.h>
#define bcopy(b1,b2,len) (memmove((b2), (b1), (len)), (void) 0)
//#else
//char *getenv ();
//char *malloc ();
//char *realloc ();
//#endif

and tparam.c

/* Emacs config.h may rename various library functions such as malloc.  */
#ifdef HAVE_CONFIG_H
#include <config.h>
#endif

#ifdef emacs
#include "lisp.h"       /* for xmalloc */
#else

//#ifdef STDC_HEADERS
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <string.h>
//#else
//char *malloc ();
//char *realloc ();
//#endif

/* Do this after the include, in case string.h prototypes bcopy.  */
//#if (defined(HAVE_STRING_H) || defined(STDC_HEADERS)) && !defined(bcopy)
#define bcopy(s, d, n) memcpy ((d), (s), (n))
//#endif

#endif /* not emacs */

Modify the Makefile:

Line 23: CC = i686-w64-mingw32-gcc
Line 24: AR = i686-w64-mingw32-ar
Line 36: prefix = /c/dev/local32
Line 49: #oldincludedir = /usr/local

After that call make install and it should compile without warnings or errors.

readline 6.2
Set the same CPPFLAGS and LDFLAGS variables as with termcap before calling:

./configure --prefix=/c/dev/local32 --host=i686-w64-mingw32 --enable-static --enable-shared

Edit the Makefile:

Line 40: AR = i686-w64-mingw32-ar

make install should now compile and install readline!
If you want a 64bit library, replace i686-w64-mingw32 with *x86_64-w64-mingw32* and local32 with local64.

Answer 2

Check out MinGWEditLine library

An EditLine API implementation for the native Windows Console. This BSD-licensed library provides command line editing and history functions similar to those found in GNU Readline.

Main readline functions are implemented for the native Windows console. BSD license.

Answer 3

gnuwin32 has a port of readline: http://gnuwin32.sourceforge.net/packages/readline.htm

for non-GPL projects, libedit has a more acceptable licensing [uses BSD licensing]