WINDOWS BUILD NOTES
====================

Below are some notes on how to build Dash Core for Windows.

The options known to work for building Dash Core on Windows are:

* On Linux, using the [Mingw-w64](https://mingw-w64.org/doku.php) cross compiler tool chain. Ubuntu Focal 20.04 is required
and is the platform used to build the Dash Core Windows release binaries.
* On Windows, using [Windows
Subsystem for Linux (WSL)](https://docs.microsoft.com/windows/wsl/about) and the Mingw-w64 cross compiler tool chain.
* On Windows, using a native compiler tool chain such as [Visual Studio](https://www.visualstudio.com).

Other options which may work, but which have not been extensively tested are (please contribute instructions):

* On Windows, using a POSIX compatibility layer application such as [cygwin](https://www.cygwin.com/) or [msys2](https://www.msys2.org/).

Installing Windows Subsystem for Linux
---------------------------------------

With Windows 10, Microsoft has released a new feature named the [Windows
Subsystem for Linux (WSL)](https://docs.microsoft.com/windows/wsl/about). This
feature allows you to run a bash shell directly on Windows in an Ubuntu-based
environment. Within this environment you can cross compile for Windows without
the need for a separate Linux VM or server. Note that while WSL can be installed with
other Linux variants, such as OpenSUSE, the following instructions have only been
tested with Ubuntu.

This feature is not supported in versions of Windows prior to Windows 10 or on
Windows Server SKUs. In addition, it is available [only for 64-bit versions of
Windows](https://docs.microsoft.com/windows/wsl/install-win10).

Full instructions to install WSL are available on the above link.
To install WSL on Windows 10 with Fall Creators Update installed (version >= 16215.0) do the following:

1. Enable the Windows Subsystem for Linux feature
  * Open the Windows Features dialog (`OptionalFeatures.exe`)
  * Enable 'Windows Subsystem for Linux'
  * Click 'OK' and restart if necessary
2. Install Ubuntu
  * Open Microsoft Store and search for "Ubuntu 20.04" or use [this link](https://www.microsoft.com/store/productId/9MTTCL66CPXJ)
  * Click Install
3. Complete Installation
  * Open a cmd prompt and type "Ubuntu1804"
  * Create a new UNIX user account (this is a separate account from your Windows account)

After the bash shell is active, you can follow the instructions below, starting
with the "Cross-compilation" section. Compiling the 64-bit version is
recommended, but it is possible to compile the 32-bit version.

Cross-compilation
-------------------

Follow the instructions for Windows in [build-cross](build-cross.md)

Installation
-------------

After building using the Windows subsystem it can be useful to copy the compiled
executables to a directory on the Windows drive in the same directory structure
as they appear in the release `.zip` archive. This can be done in the following
way. This will install to `c:\workspace\dash`, for example:

    make install DESTDIR=/mnt/c/workspace/dash

You can also create an installer using:

    make deploy