Options for distributing a C++ Linux application that uses wxWidgets

Question

I'm working on a C++ Linux application that uses wxWidgets , and needs to be distributed as a compiled binary application. The project lead has specified that we are to include all dependencies for the application so that the end user does not need to install anything to run the application, provided they have standard system components installed already ( libc , etc). I think this requirement is something that the end user asked for. I know that this is not what you might consider to be a "normal" distribution process for Linux applications.

For simple libraries that don't have many dependencies themselves, this is not an issue. But for wxWidgets I'm running into issues with webkitgtk which is required for the WebView class (which is used in the application). webkitgtk has a number of dependencies itself, which may have their own dependencies, and so on. Basically, it looks like I'd be opening a real can of worms by trying to include everything in the application, and the more senior developer on the project seems to agree.

So I'm wondering, what are my options for distributing such an application? I've tried searching for information about this, and the prevailing opinion seems to be to have the end user install wxWidgets . These are the options that I've come across:

• Compile all dependencies as shared libraries as the project lead wants. The downside to this is that there are many libraries to worry about and this will lead to significant bloat.
• Require that the end user install wxWidgets (on top of GTK and webkitgtk ). The downside here is that the user would have to install multiple dependencies, and if they aren't on a distribution with appropriate versions of the above in their package manager, this could be a real hassle for them. It also means we couldn't provide something that was specifically asked for.
• Require that the end user have GTK and webkitgtk installed, but not wxWidgets . Same downsides as above, but with fewer dependencies. An additional downside is that there may be version compatibility issues if different versions of the dependencies are installed than were used to build the packaged wxWidgets library.

Am I correct in my assessment of the pros and cons of these various options? Are there any options that I'm missing?

Thanks!

Answer 1

David, The best possible solution is probably to ask user to install X11, GTK+{2,3} and WebKit-GTK. wxWidgets can be statically linked with the application.

You can ask you user to have a WebKit-GTK to be at least version XYZ and that should satisfy the requirements. Integrating WebKit-GTK with all its dependencies, especially since there is a dependency on GTK+ itself will be very hard. So if you go this route you will be screwed.

Answer 2

As linux user i vote for manual dependencies installation via package manager. It's not that hard and could even be done automatically if you provide package (Not just binary). Carrying runtime may cause problems (Eg Steam on Debian). Another option is to provide two flavors: all inclusive and dependency requiring.