Hi Michael,
On 26.10.2025 02:43, Michael Lueck wrote:
Rony G. Flatscher wrote:
On 25.10.2025 17:51, Michael Lueck wrote:
At least the XALAN package has been available to install on Xubuntu (Ubuntu) systems for quite
some time. I was thinking, from that context, to merely list it as a dependency to have
installed and available to perform builds of ooRexx. Possibly I am missing some obstacle, or
possibly is having XALAN packaged by the distro not common on other distros?
Well that is rather easy on Linux distributions, but not so on Windows. In my case I was not able
to find a Windows xalan.exe to download and run despite quite a few queries and looking up the
served links, unfortunately.
Then did I misunderstand the ooRexx build requirement? I thought it was that the XALAN step needed
to be run on Windows.
Well, the CMakeLists.txt file looks for a xalan executable, hence it may be the case that it would
run on a Linux machine that has a xalan executable. You could try that out, just touch
"trunk/interpreter/messages/rexxmsg.xml", then rebuild ooRexx.
Building software is sooooo complicated!!!! I must be dumb.... I just expect the ooRexx
interpreter to be installed and available, and to start writing ooRexx code! :-D
That is the purpose of the installation packages which are available for all major operating systems
and quite many Unix variants.
Anyway, I still think I understood the ooRexx build process to be to run the XALAN step on a
Windows ooRexx developer machine. Since XALAN binary packages exist at least for Ubuntu, would
that mean this step could be made cross-platform and not dependent on Windows?
Most developers work and build on Windows, hence making sure that at least on Windows all programs
are available, in this case xalan.exe. Originally it was available, but somehow it got moved,
deleted and was not available when I had a need for it.
Rick found out that it was gone and (re-)uploaded it to the Sourceforge file section at <
https://sourceforge.net/projects/oorexx/files/oorexx-buildutils/Windows/1.2.0/>. That is also the
location for nsis package used for creating the ooRexx installation package for Windows.
---
Having said this I was just curious whether an installed version of Java could be used for XSLT,
hence my ooRexx script using BSF4ooRexx850. It would be in theory possible to check whether Java and
BSF4ooRexx850 was available to CMake and if so use an ooRexx script like the one I posted. This
solution would be platform independent, but would demand that also some other ooRexx interpreter was
available and that is just too much of prerequisites, making everything complicated, so it is not
worth it.
HTH
---rony
Rony G. Flatscher wrote:
Speaking of the OS/2 days: there was one international Rexx symposium in the US, where Chip
challenged the attendees to come up with a Magic 8 ball program in their favorite Rexx.
I suspect I was there for that RexxLA Symposium. I recall meeting John, and another of the authors
of the spiral bound book about ORexx. I had the unfortunate turn of events to have to leave my
copy behind when resigning from Consumers Energy. I praised the book online, and ended up being
gifted with my own copy by a coauthor to John.
Object REXX by Example - EDM2
Object REXX by Example Authors: Gwen L. Venesky, Will Trosky, John J. Urbaniak Publisher: Aviar
1996 ISBN 0-9652329-0-5
Then likely Gwen was also at that RexxLA, and was the gifter of my personal copy of the book. From
my notes:
2001 - 2002 Rexx Language Association (RexxLA) Symposium
Those were the only RexxLA Symposiums I have made it to so far.
Dave Plummer uses the Prime Sieve as his task to port to test platforms and languages. My port
challenge is to develop the Fifteen Puzzle in development tools. Here (attached) is progress
porting from MS Access VBA code to VisPro Rexx on OS/2 last Summer according to the filename. This
has a good mix of simple UI and algorithm use of the target tool. It is my one and only game I
developed.... back in 1998 headed by Amtrak to WarpStock Chicago, which was at the same time as
COMDEX Chicago. My newly married wife and myself attended the conferences. She was board with all
of the "tools" on my laptop, so I whipped up the Fifteen Puzzle in Paradox for Windows ObjectPAL
language while in route, and she played it to pass the time. The Access VBA port was the second...
Rem /* 2022/10/14 MDL Initial Creation, completed port from Object PAL
on Paradox*/
and VisPro Rexx was third. I coded that port commenting /* API to .... */ so that will make it
hopefully a breeze to port to VX-Rexx. Just search for all of the "API to" LOCs, and swap out for
the appropriate VX-Rexx call.
If you do the math, then that is 24 years gap between the first game I developed, and porting that
game to the next tool / language. As a script in a famous David Barnes OS/2 ad closed....
"With all I am actually doing, I do not have time for games."
"OS/2 Ad #2"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8SPhq-OJ1E
David sums me up well in that.
I am thankful,
_______________________________________________
Oorexx-devel mailing list
[email protected]
https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/oorexx-devel
