OpenPTC 1.0 Win32 Distribution Installation
-------------------------------------------


OpenPTC Win32 now comes with the following precompiled libraries:

	ptc.lib      / ptc.dll        (release ptc library)
	ptcdebug.lib / ptcdebug.dll   (debug ptc library)
	hermes.lib   / hermes.dll     (hermes for win32)

This means that you no longer have to build the source yourself,
the reason for this is that with the addition of java support
you would have to first download JDK 1.1, then MSJAVA SDK,
then finally NASM to compile the assembly files. All of this
is quite difficult and annoying to do (the combined download
would be close to 30 megabytes total) so i've decided to have
precompiled libraries from now on for ease of use.

If you are feeling masochistic today, then perhaps you should
take a look at "build.txt" and build your own OpenPTC Win32,
however i strongly suggest you skip that and follow these
instructions to get everything installed as quickly as possible :)


1) Install "ptc.dll" and "ptcdebug.dll"

   - You can either add the "Library/debug" and "Library/release"
     directories to your path, or copy the files "ptc.dll" and
     "ptcdebug.dll" into your windows system directory.
   - I recommend that you choose to put the directories in your
     path instead of copying to the system directory, and also
     you should make sure the "Library/release" directory is
     before the "Library/debug" in your path. This will make
     sure that the release version of "hermes.dll" is linked
     to from your programs instead of the debug version.
   - If you do not have the dynamic link libraries in your path
     none of your PTC executables will be able to run!
   - A nice installer program for the dll files is coming soon
     so you wont have to do this in future versions.

2) Compile and run the examples and demos

   - You can build the example programs by opening up the
     "Examples.dsw" directory in the "Examples" directory.
   - To build the demo programs open up the "Demos.dsw"
     workspace file in the "Demos" directory.
   - There are some example programs showcasing extensions
     to the OpenPTC 1.0 standard for Win32 in the "Extensions"
     directory. Open up the "Extensions.dsw" to take a look.
   - You can move between seperate projects in the workspace
     using "Set Active Configuration" in the build menu. This
     is how you can choose which executable you want to build
     and run. If you have the project view window open, you can
     right click on the project name in the class view or file
     view tree and select "Set as Active Project" to make that
     project active, ie. the current project to build and run.

3) What if you cant get it to work??

   - You can get support on the newsgroup news.scene.org/coders.ptc
   - If you find a bug you can report it to news.scene.org/coders.ptc.bugs.
   - If you need some functionality in the Win32 distribution that is
     missing, post a request to news.scene.org/coders.ptc.development
     and we will see if we can help you.
   - Remember that this is a beta release. We have fixed all known major
     bugs, but some may still be lurking under the surface, and there
     are plenty of features left to be added. By telling us about bugs
     promptly we can fix them as fast as possible! Make sure you include
     the "ptc.log" file when you submit bug reports!


Good luck!
--
Glenn "Gaffer" Fiedler
ptc@gaffer.org
