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Revision as of 08:26, 8 November 2010 by Tfry (talk | contribs) (Start add FAQ for the compiler issue (a bit more to come))
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How to replace windows explorer as shell?


What versions of windows does KDE windows work on?

KDE4 is known to run on various versions of Windows XP and Vista, as well as Windows 7.

Does KDE windows use additional resources or does it replace any windows resources with its own?



Is it stable?




Reasons for KDE on Windows

... tell me who except über geeks need KDE on Windows?

We need KDE on Windows for three reasons:

1. Most businesses can't just switch to Linux. I've heard more than enough stories of workers being stuck with Windows as they're of course not allowed or able (because of special apps) to convert their boxes to Linux. KDE might provide them with a comfortable working environment to which they are used.



KDE on windows attracts developer





Morty wrote - Not the desktop

... The power of KDE are its library and the applications made with it, and those are also interresting for the Windows platform.


majorTomBelgium wrote about amarok, dolphin, ...



back to KDE on Windows


Multiple compiler support

Why do you support so many compilers? Is that really what the project needs, at this time?

You are not the first to bring up this suggestion, and the decision to support multiple compilers has not been entirely uncontroversial. However, we have reached a decision on topic (on the 2007 Developers meet in Berlin, if you want to know), and we do intend to stick with it for the foreseeable future. Here are some of the primary reasons:

  1. Having multiple compilers going through the code helps catch issues, as different compilers produce different warnings about problems.
  2. Unfortunately, C++-libraries compiled with MSVC cannot be linked against with GCC, and vice versa, so the two cannot be mixed. We want to give developers the chance to compile their applications with the compiler of their choice. But that means compiling everything (well, mostly everything) with both compilers.
  3. Some features / applications cannot be compiled or do not work when compiled with MSVC, some others don't work with GCC. This is a relatively small share of the software we offer, but still, dropping either compiler would mean dropping the respective features. Supporting both compilers still does not allow to have all these features in one KDE installation, but at least it will allow users to use these features at all.
  4. So perhaps having support for multiple compilers is not all that important to you. But keep in mind that the majority of KDE on Windows developers are volunteers. We are glad, if our project is useful to you, but our priority is to work on the things that we care about. And yes, support for multiple compilers is a thing that some of the primary developers do care about.

Ok, so having multiple compilers is a good thing for developers, but do we really need to include multiple compilers in the installer for end users?

Keep in mind that some features / applications can only be compiled with either MSVC or GCC (see above). Also, application developers, too, may be interested in using the installer to install ready-made packages, and they should be able to build their software with the compiler of their choice (see above).
