[fpc-devel] Win64 FPC is in wrong download location

[Florian Klaempfl]

Graeme Geldenhuys schrieb:
> On 4 May 2010 16:14, Jonas Maebe <jonas.maebe at elis.ugent.be> wrote:
>> b) we only distribute an i386->x86-64 cross-compiler because on Windows the problem that exists under Linux does not exist, and there is no advantage to having a native x86-64 Windows compiler (at best it will be just as fast as a i386->x86-64 cross-compiler, and at worst it will be slower)
>>
> 
> 
> "This is a cross compiler package from i386-win32 to x86_64-win64.
> Before you can use it, you need to install fpc for i386-win32. " --
> Free Pascal website
> 
> http://www.freepascal.org/down/x86_64/win64-ftp.freepascal.org.var
> 
> 
> So to be able to compile Win64 apps, we need two installations. The
> Win64 download (17MB) and the i386 download (35MB).
> 
> * now installation is more complex than it needs to be. It now
> requires two FPC versions.

... having the advantage that you can create 32 and 64 bit executables.
Further, you shouldn't forget that win64 executables are larger (example
from today: ppcrossx64.exe 1774956 bytes, ppcx64.exe 2203296 bytes) so
I'd expect a Win64 installer to be 40-45 MB so the additional size due
to the two packages is negliable.

> * Increases download size

Not necessarily: I use 32 bit windows (laptop) and 64 bit windows
(desktop). To be able to compile 32 bit, 64 bit and windows ce apps, I
need to download three packages, I install them on my laptop and on my
desktop. Having a native win32 bit compiler and a native win64 compiler
and cross compilers for every host, it would require that I download 6
packages, i.e. the double size.

> * Cross-compiling doesn't always work, by producing corrupt binaries.

I'am not aware of a single problem with cross-compiling to win64 and I
consider it also as very unlikely because win64 uses no cross-binutils
but assembling and linking as done completly by fpc and not a single
external program is involved.

> * Myth that Win64 compiler was slower than i386 cross compiler

I didn't see new Win64 numbers yet?

Anyways, I'am glad if anybody else volounteers runs, fixes, uploads and
tests future win release builds and provides more than the current
installers. He might start with the bug complaining that fpc cannot be
installed without administrator privileges ;)