MADDE/FAQ
 |
MADDE is currently a technology preview. These instructions are liable to change as development progresses. If some of the components do not work as expected, please add your question to the MADDE talk thread and follow up the discussion. tablets-dev.nokia.com is down, see MADDE#Installation for alternatives. |
What is MADDE?
MADDE stands for Maemo Application Development and Debugging Environment. It is SDK for cross compile, debug and package new application for Maemo. It is not meant to use to build debian packages that use Autotools or anything that aids compilation by figuring out native system information.
What platforms are supported?
MADDE supports Windows (XP, Vista, 7), Linux variants, Mac OS X (Snow Leopard). It probably works on other Unix variants too but it is not tested there.
Where can I get MADDE?
You can download the installer from MADDE downloads
How do I install MADDE?
Installation instructions can be found from main page MADDE
How do I setup cross compilation environment?
Cross compilation environment is created by using 'mad-admin create target' command. You can list supported targets by using 'mad list targets' command.
How do I use created cross compilation target?
Usually you compile your program by using Makefile and make command. Now you can give command 'mad -t <target> make' and compilation is done by using cross compilation environment named <target>.
Why doesn't the installer come with the toolchains and sysroots for all available targets?
Not every developer needs every target. Installation is faster when no unneeded components come with the installer. Furthermore, this approach makes it easier to provide more targets in the future.
Can I use several targets simultaneously?
Yes you can. When you have created several targets use 'mad -t <target>' to cross compile for <target>.
How well does MADDE work for GTK+ development (in C)?
MADDE works well for GTK+ development (in C). At minimum the lines 'pkg-config --cflags gtk+-2.0' (for source to object file compiling) and 'pkg-config --libs gtk+-2.0' (for linking) is needed in your Makefile
Use 'mad pkg-config --list-all' to see some other (gtk) modules you may need.
(Note that if you try to run gcc compilation from command line outside mad environment the line must be like
mad gcc -o foo foo.c `mad pkg-config --cflags --libs gtk+-2.0'
to get both gcc and pkg-config be run inside mad environment -- When inside Makefile this is not a problem as whole make is run inside mad environment...).
How about Hildon development (in C)?
Like the above; just replace 'gtk+-2.0' with 'hildon-1 libosso'
Is there an emulator for testing?
Not yet. Be patient, its coming soon.
Where can I get source code?
It is not available yet but it will be. Unfortunately I don't know when. By the way, most of code are perl and bourne shell scripts. Look inside directories {MADDE}/version/bin/ {MADDE}/version/madlib/ {MADDE}/version/madbin/
How does MADDE work?
MADDE is basically a cross-compiler. Cross-compilation are done via 'target'. Without 'target' one cannot compile. 'Target' hides from the end user the fact that she/he is actually cross-compiling. The end user can use same Makefile as in native compilation. Usually no modifications are needed.
Traditionally cross-toolchain contains sysroot. MADDE separates toolchain and sysroot into different components, because libraries and header files are updated more often than compilation tools. MADDE supports GNU GCC and binutils as a toolchain. No others are currently supported. Support for other toolchains is quite easy to add if they offer similar feature than GCC's --sysroot option.
Compilation is done through 'target' specific wrappers. GCC wrappers work so that they add --sysroot=$SYSROOT_DIR option (SYSROOT_DIR is absolute path into target specific sysroot) and mangle all absolute paths from arguments to be relative to the $SYSROOT_DIR. After that wrappers call a real GCC binary. Path mangling is done by changing first '/' character with '='. If path prefix already contains SYSROOT_DIR it is not mangled.
In practice SYSROOT_DIR is patched inside wrapper when target is created.
'mad' command finds out the used 'target'. The it adds 'target' specific bin/ (wrappers are there) into PATH environment variable. Now when GCC family is called OS finds out first our wrappers. Process is simple, isn't it?
Where is IDE?
Under the work. Qt Creator + madde integration is coming soon.
How do I mount local directory to N900 with MADDE?
See instructions from there Mounting