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


OpenPTC Win32 now comes with precompiled dynamic link libraries:

	ptc.dll      -  release ptc library
	ptcdebug.dll -  debug ptc library
	hermes.dll   -  HERMES for Win32 (see http://hermes.terminal.at)

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 HERMES 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 the
instructions below to get everything working as quickly
as possible :)


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

   - Add the OpenPTC "library" directory to your path.
   - 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) Generate the import libraries for your compiler

   - Import libraries are no longer included with OpenPTC Win32
     so you have to build them yourself for your compiler.
   - Dont worry its easy. Read "compiler.txt" for instructions.


3) Compile and run the examples and demos 
   
   a) Visual C++ 5.0/6.0

   - If you are using Visual C++ 5.0/6.0 
   - 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.

   b) Other compilers
    
   - Read "compiler.txt" for information on how build the example
     and demo programs with your compiler.

4) Build your own applications using PTC

   a) Visual C++ 5.0/6.0

   - Read "visual.txt" for instructions on how to setup your own
     project and workspace for using Visual C++ with PTC.

   b) Other compilers

   - Study the batch files for your compiler in the "scripts"
     directory. You can either choose to use these batch files
     as is, modify them to suit your needs, or setup your own
     batch files, makefiles or whatever you want.


5) 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
