Re: NetBSD cross compile from Win32?

[Andrew Gillham <gillham%vaultron.com@localhost>]

Greg A. Woods writes:
> 
> Are you a sucker for punishment, or what!!?!?!!  :-)

I think so.  I try not to use Windows too much myself though. :)

> My understanding was most embedded developers were already comfortable
> with unix-like programming environments.
>
> If that's no longer true then perhaps its long past time to provide
> tools that would make them comfortable with a unix programming
> environment.

I don't really know, the few I have run into all seem to be using Windows
and things like vxworks, etc.  They're not all that "hard core" though.

I don't think they're likely to give up their normal environment just
to use NetBSD.  The few I know are the type to keep paying Microsoft
for development tools and operating systems, even when they could
probably develop the same stuff under NetBSD and not pay at all unless
they want support from someone.

I think a lot of it the fact that they're current tools run on the same
PC and OS that the local accountant and secretary uses and is "supported"
in their mind.

I don't want to advocate using Windows as a hosting platform, I'm just
curious as to how easy/hard it would be to use it.
I think that a pretty powerful toolbox can be built that will run on
Windows _or_ NetBSD, yet have the same consistent interface.
Consider the following tools available on both:
        V IDE -- GUI Integrated Development Environment that supports gcc
        Insight -- Full GUI for gdb.
        gcc/g++ -- Hopefully able to target NetBSD from anywhere. (just about)

So it would be nice if the Windows coder could just plop in these tools
and be able to target NetBSD.  It seems to me it would make NetBSD more
viable for a lot of these shops.

(and I could easily be totally offbase here)

-Andrew