[vbox-dev] Windows build instructions

[Huihong Luo]

you can try to get the old wdk from Windows Connect Site
 
http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/devtools/ddk/default.mspx

It should install fine on 64-bit. If not, you can always install it on 32-bit, then just copy the whole dir to a different machine.
 
Without shared folder source, you can still go ahead to work on dnd, but eventually you will need to extend the features of shared folder driver in order to support dnd.
 
At the moment, you can just share the whole host C: drive as read/write, for example, when you drag a file from host to guest, inside guest you can retrieve the file from the mapped network drive. When you drag from guest to host, you simple save a file to the shared folder.
 
The difficulty is to how to enable an app (e.g., Windows Explorer inside the guest) to pick up the dnd action, coming from the host, and verse versa. >From my initial investigation, it requires a deep understanding of Microsoft COM, the very low level of drop/drag impl, in order for an invidual app to pick up the drag/drop event. In other words, it may requires you to re-implement a low level mechanism of Windows drag and drop.
 
I might be wrong, though.
 

--- On Wed, 4/21/10, Sergiy Byelozyorov <rryk at graphics.cs.uni-sb.de> wrote:


From: Sergiy Byelozyorov <rryk at graphics.cs.uni-sb.de>
Subject: Re: [vbox-dev] Windows build instructions
To: "Huihong Luo" <huisinro at yahoo.com>
Cc: "VirtualBox developer's list" <vbox-dev at virtualbox.org>
Date: Wednesday, April 21, 2010, 4:39 PM









(2) C:\WinDDK\3790.1830


Where can I get WinDDK? Will it install on Windows 7 64-bit?
 





if you do 64-bit build, it's very involving, you need to have a gcc cross compile tool chain to build a component.


So far I want to build only 32-bit version.
 





 As for drag and drop support, I spent some time too, it's a very difficult job, just be prepared. The current vbox COM model is incompatible with Windows DnD requirement, which requires single apartment threading, so you will have to do it inside a dedicated thread, and then there are other obstacles to deal with.


Sounds difficult, but I believe that makes it even more challenging and interesting :).
 





If you want to drag and drop files, since the vbox shared folders driver (for windows guest) is not open sourced, you won't be able to do it.


Does that mean that I will not be able to create shared folder programmatically?









--- On Wed, 4/21/10, Sergiy Byelozyorov <rryk at graphics.cs.uni-sb.de> wrote:


From: Sergiy Byelozyorov <rryk at graphics.cs.uni-sb.de>
Subject: [vbox-dev] Windows build instructions
To: "VirtualBox developer's list" <vbox-dev at virtualbox.org>
Date: Wednesday, April 21, 2010, 3:30 PM






Hello, VirtualBox Team


I am looking forward to devote some of my free time to develop host/guest drag&drop support for VirtualBox. I have tried this once few years ago, but didn't find enough time then due to some significant changes in my life. Since than I have improved my C++ skills and now my life is more stable. So I would like to try again.


I have read Windows build instructions only to find out that my development environment is heavily different from the one required. I am using Windows 7 64-bit, Visual Studio 2008, Windows SDK 2008 and WDK (DDK is not available for download anymore). Is there any chance that I will be able to build VirtualBox with these tools? I have noticed that requirements haven't changed much since I have seen them last time (over 2 years ago). Does that mean that windows builds are not maintained anymore? Or maybe it's just the outdated page?
Sergiy

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