How to test a fresh HotSpot build on Windows without building the whole JDK?

[Tim Bell]

Volker Simonis wrote:

> thank you very much for the hints and insights. I'll try the manifest
> stuff tomorrow. Regarding your suggestion to use the gamma launcher, -
> I'd like to, this was my initial intention - however there's no gamma
> launcher for windows (i.e. 'hotspot/src/os/windows/' contains no
> 'launcher/' subdirectory with the relavant files like the
> corresponding 'linux/' and 'solaris/' subdirectories). Did you mean I
> should build something equivalent to the Unix gamma launcher for
> Windows by using the corresponding files from the jdk workspace?

I didn't realize the gamma launcher was missing on Windows, but it
sure looks that way when I check into it.  Sorry for the bad advice
there on my part.

> Would this be worthwhile if you say that it is not very good to mix
> different runtimes in the same address space?

Mixing runtimes will probably fail right away.  If not it will lead to
bizarre failures or odd behavior later.

> Aren't the other native libraries of the binary JDK  7 build dependant on "msvcr71.dll" as
> well?

Yes, they are.

> Thank you and best regards,
> Volker
> 
> PS: I also had to set "/D _CRT_NONSTDC_NO_DEPRECATE" (see
> http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms235384(VS.80).aspx) to make
> some deprecated functions visible without a leading "_".

I have been ignoring these warnings.  I agree there are a lot of them.

The longer term plan is to fix warnings, but that comes after we get a
build that works, and it will be done under other bug-IDs.

> to insert some cast to avoid warnigs like "result of 32-bit operation
> converted to 64-bit...). Didn't you had these problems when you did
> your VS 2008 build? I couldn't find any related changes but if you
> want, I can post the diffs.

I am fixing the missing casts and other minor code changes required to
build with the new VS compiler, with help from developers in other
product areas such as AWT, HotSpot, deploy.

Tim