Newb wanting to get started in Linux development Q's

[sccoupe]

Hello,

     Can someone give some solid answers to the questions below? I'd like to develop some opengl apps for Raspberry Pi and Beaglebone boards but have no Linux experience (been a Windows guy for a long long time). It looks like Code Blocks may be the way to start.

Do I need to run Code Blocks on a Linux machine to develop apps for Linux or can it be done just as easily on a Windows machine?

MiniGW seems like to proper compiler for what i'm looking to do. Does this run on both Linux and Windows?

If developed in Windows, can it be run from windows or does it need copied to a Linux machine to test?

Flipping back and forth between OS seems like it could be a pain, but maybe it makes no difference?

Is one version of Linux better than another for development?

Is one version of Linux better than another for opengl apps?

A development machine, code blocks, MiniGW, and a Raspberry Pi should be all thats needed to get going?

Does the Pi need to run a gui to run these opengl apps or can it be set to boot faster without needing the gui?


Thanks

[stahta01]

I suggest doing this post on another site; since most of the questions are NOT CB Questions.

GCC works on both Windows and Linux. The windows version is called MinGW GCC.
You can compile Windows programs on Linux.
I do NOT think you can compile Linux programs on Windows.

You can use Code::Blocks on both windows and Linux.
For simple projects you can use the same project file for both Linux and Windows by having separate project targets for each OS.
If your project has lots of targets, it gets too complex to use just a single project for both OSes.

You might wish to learn about cygwin which is a way to port Linux programs to windows.
MinGW MSys is another way.

Please, read the CB Rules and FAQs.
http://forums.codeblocks.org/index.php/topic,9996.0.html
http://wiki.codeblocks.org/index.php?title=FAQ


Tim S.
 

[Vuki]

Hello,

     Can someone give some solid answers to the questions below? I'd like to develop some opengl apps for Raspberry Pi and Beaglebone boards but have no Linux experience (been a Windows guy for a long long time). It looks like Code Blocks may be the way to start.

Do I need to run Code Blocks on a Linux machine to develop apps for Linux or can it be done just as easily on a Windows machine?

You want to develop programs on Windows machine, but run them on ARM machines such as Raspberry or Beaglebone? Yes, this is possible with CB. And not that difficult, I do it myself.

MiniGW seems like to proper compiler for what i'm looking to do. Does this run on both Linux and Windows?

No, MinGW is only for programs running on Windows. For ARM Linux development on Windows you need a special crosscompiler suite. Linaro toolchain is commonly used for ARM development. You need to configure it in CB just like a typical GCC toolchain.

If developed in Windows, can it be run from windows or does it need copied to a Linux machine to test?

If you have code that can run on both systems, then you can compile it with MinGW and run it on Windows.
But usually you copy the executable to Linux box and run it there from a command shell.
You can also debug the code from your Windows machine through gdbserver. CB supports that.

Flipping back and forth between OS seems like it could be a pain, but maybe it makes no difference?

I don't understand what you mean. You develop on Windows and you have remote Linux shell open in PuTTY or similar terrminal program. No need for flipping.

Is one version of Linux better than another for development?
Is one version of Linux better than another for opengl apps?

For developing programs on a Linux host? No, choose the distribution you like. If you meant Linux version on Raspberry or Beagle, you should ask this on relevant forums.

A development machine, code blocks, MiniGW, and a Raspberry Pi should be all thats needed to get going?

Not MinGW but a proper toolochain. Yes, it's enough for starting.

Does the Pi need to run a gui to run these opengl apps or can it be set to boot faster without needing the gui?

If you want to run OpenGL apps and see the results, you obviously need GUI (desktop). For simpler programs that do not have GUI, text shell is faster and uses much less resources on the device.