"FakeLinux: If she tells you she's faking it, tell her you fake it too."
Update July 2007:
lately I have been a command line dork, and have not been using fakelinux remote compiler through GUI plugins.. I have just been compiling programs using FPC installed on colinux/fakelinux. I am just using a PuTTY terminal to compile my web applications through the CoLinux system (putty is on the windows machine, freepascal is on the virtual colinux machine).
This will change in the future, there are plans to work on fakelinux and MSEIDE/Lazarus/Delphi plugin some more (and also EditPlus and other editors with a TOOLS menu or similar abilities). The video below is old and shows an experimental plugin version of lazarus.
Alternatives to fakelinux
Also offered soon will be a web based compiler so one only has to upload sourcefiles to the server. The problem with FakeLinux is that it takes a lot of time to customize and setup, and one must be familiar with Linux to use it.. whereas a web compiler would not require this. If you have the ability to understand linux.. then you can check out the fakelinux plugger setup bible for now and set it up. There is no easy way to offer fakelinux in a point and click installation - this is the main problem.
Fakelinux combined with a compiler client allow linux executables to be compiled on a MS Windows machine. Lately I'm not using Lazarus for my web development, and I'm making Fakelinux plug-into other programs. That will be coming soon.
News
See FakeLinux In Action in this Video
Download the video from the sourceforge files page.
Unzip, launch the HTM file. You should have flash
installed in your web browser in order to see it.
Download?
All that needs to be done is FakeLinux needs to be packed into a convenient installer. Right now, manual setup instructions for Fakelinux are available in the FakeLinux Plugger Setup Bible.
FakeLinux ran first as plug-in for Lazarus RB Edition. This was even more powerful than cross-compiling, because actual linux apache server and other programs were available. Cross compiling does not allow you to test your linux programs on Apache, run your programs, run true actual linux commands (not like cygwin ones, REAL 100 percent linux ones), etc.
FakeLinux allows systems programmers, C++ programmers, Pascal programmers, Digital Mars D programmres, and other "compiled" language programmers to write web applications on Windows for a Linux server.
Normally, it would be hard for an MS Windows user to create a compiled CGI program for a Linux server. Not any more with FakeLinux.
The power of FakeLinux:
- Store your source files on actual Windows directories, and compile the Linux program on actual Windows directories.
- Still the complete ability to also see the files in Linux directories from a Linux text console window. This is because of directory synchronization, part of Fakelinux.
- Compile your Linux applications/cgi programs from Windows, without ever touching
or seeing a real Linux box
- Integrated compiling from the IDE, not running to the command line like an idiot
typing tedious commands. However, if you really want to, you can also run to the
command line like an idiot and type in compiling commands (or if you are using
make files)
- Integrated Apache server. Test your Linux CGI applications on MS windows with a Linux apache server integrated into Fakelinux.
- With a a remote compiler client GUI plug-in:
- Autofill URL completion allows you to click a button or use a keyboard
shortcut to test your CGI, there is no typing URL's in your browser
manually. It finds out where the CGI is located and calculates the server URL
based on you directory synchronization paths.
- Similarily Autofill project/compiler completion means that your compiler
settings can be stolen from your IDE and sent to the fakelinux compiler. You
just click a button or use a keyboard shortcut to compile your program/cgi,
there is no typing in arguments/settings manually.
- With a a remote command line compiler:
- you can customize the way your current text editor works by simply changing
yourcompiler path to the fakelinux remote command line compiler. For example,
many text editors offer an extendable Tools menu to setup your compiler.
In short, the fakelinux plug-in allows you to build and test linux CGI applications and linux programs on MS Windows without ever needing to install or boot to linux. But in an integrated way. These aren't tedious command line cross compiling gimmicks or childrens' VMware/cygwin toys that we are playing with here.
See also FakeLinux ScreenShots, FakeLinux FAQ
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