I’m trying to compile Audacity for the first time but I’m having real problems with all the different bits and pieces which need compiling etc. I’ve had a look at the http://audacityteam.org/wiki/index.php?title=Developing_On_Windows instructions but can’t get it to work despite following the steps a few times. I’ve also looked at a few other websites as I try to solve each problem in turn but as a newbie to this I’m just getting more and more problems.
Does any know if there is a simple step-by-step for downloading and just getting Audacity to run from scratch, so developers new to Audacity can have a ‘play’ before starting any serious development.
Of course if the more serious developers would like to write one that would be cool too
Perhaps I could suggest that you set up Linux on a computer. Building from cvs is relatively straightforward on Linux as it has all the necessary tools for the job. I’m not a programmer, but even I have managed to learn enough about Linux and compiling source code to accomplish the task (not sure if I would have succeeded on Windows).
Perhaps as a last resort but I’m a windows developer so would prefer to use the IDE I’m used to, I’m worried installing VM and Linux will just make things even more complicated
You wouldn’t need to install VM. Just install Linux as a dual boot option (or install on another machine).
You can try out Linux without installing by booting from a “Live CD” (a good way to test it out, though of course there will be some performance hit as CDs are much slower than hard drives). https://help.ubuntu.com/community/LiveCD
You can do better than that, you can compile as a Linux executable
Seriously though, to compile a Windows executable on Linux, I think you would need to do it in WINE, but I suspect that would be far from straightforward as you would be bringing all of the difficulties of compiling in Windows into your developer friendly Linux environment.
It should not really matter what platform you develop on, the code needs to be multi-platform (Mac, Linux and Windows). If you write any patches on any platform, the Audacity developers are a very helpful bunch. At the moment they are all concentrating on bug fixing, (getting ready for the release of Audacity 1.4, so no new features are currently being added).
Your best bet is probably to sign up on the developers mail list and direct any specific questions there. I’ve found them to be incredibly helpful, but keep in mind that they are very busy people (proper day jobs as well as developing Audacity), so try and keep questions specific.
Tequilaprince, did you ever find a simple guide for beginners?
I am a total novice! Today I downloaded Audacity 1.2.6 for Windows but don’t know what to do next. Somewhere I read there is a manual that can be downloaded. Can anyone tell me where to find the manual and how to download it?
T the K, although the subject of this topic says “A nice and simple guide for beginners”, you need to read the content of the thread (you can’t judge a book by its cover). If you read the first post you will see that the question was about “A nice and simple guide for beginners for compiling Audacity from the source code with a view to software development”
Since I’m a beginner, I misunderstood the meanings of “compiling,” “source code,” etc. When I read, “SURELY SOMEONE CAN TELL ME HOW TO COMPILE AUDACITY FROM SCRATCH ON WINDOWS,” I thought Tequilaprince wanted to know how to use the basics of Audacity.
Today is the first time I’ve used the forum. When I finally noticed the Search box, I typed in “Instruction Manual,” and found the same link you gave me. Thanks.
tequilaprince, You are not the first person to make this request. Perhaps you could post what steps you did take, and exactly where you got into trouble. Others have been successful at this and perhaps they could post some help.
can I compile as a Windows EXE on Linux?