From: Michael Davis <mdavis@...>
Date: 2003-11-18T12:51:04+09:00
Subject: Re: Ruby Extension/DLL Help

See comments below...

Andy Pelzer wrote:

> Hi, 
> 
> 
>>>In the end, I had to create the DLL using MS Visual C++ and put the
> 
> DLL in c:\winnt\systems (or c:\windows
> 
>>>\system).
> 
> Since i don't have MSVC i couldn't test it your way. So i tried with
> MinGW (which is delivered with Dev-C++), but couldn't manage to get my
> extension compiled. Have to "investigate" a bit (-> read manual *g*),
> seems MinGW doesn't accept include-paths with -I on command line??

Bummer.

> 
> 
>>>I think there is an issue with cygwin on XP.  I am not sure if the
> 
> issue is with cygwin or XP.
> Are you sure about the CygWin<->XP issue? I have another extension (not
> using an additional/external dll), which compiles fine and also works
> with Ruby under CygWin/XP (found an extension-example here:
> http://www.bagley.org/~doug/shootout/compare/binext/ruby/Ackermann ->
> working!). 

No, I am not sure.  I bailed on trying to figure out where the error was occurring after a few hours of debugging and opted for a different approach.  It could have been a compiler setting or an include path for the libraries.  

> 
> 
>>>Once this was done, I used win32api to successfully access functions
> 
> in the library.
> Why use Win32api to access the dll's functions? I have a dll-library,
> provided by somebody else - no code available to me, so i wrote simple
> "access-functions" in c, as an extension for Ruby. Am i mistaking
> something here?

I used Win32api to eliminate the need to write a C wrapper for the DLL functions I wanted to use.  The C wrapper may have performed a little better but would have required a little more work on my part.  One of my goals was to eliminate the need to compile any C code.

> 
> Anyways, thanks again, i'll keep on trying [ though not much time for it
> ;( ]
> 
> Greets
> 
> Andy
> 
> 
> 
> 

See comments above...

Thanks, Michael