lmemsm

Building base libraries from source

2026-06-06T19:46:02Z

I've been working updating my build scripts to the latest versions of certain libraries. It can be a difficult process because, I often use older C/C++ compilers or less popular C runtime libraries and patch to make path handling more portable and build for several target platforms. I typically do a lot of patching and don't follow upstream sources that closely. I sometimes add my own build system in place of the upstream version or patch to fix build issues, security issues or even to add missing features I need.

(Read more ...)

comments

My ideal desktop GUIs

2026-05-24T13:48:25Z

With the recent resurgence in using and maintaining legacy software with projects like XLibre and gtk2-ng, I started to rethink my own desktop strategy. Did I want to take the easy route and update a lot of legacy gtk2 software? There certainly are enough choices in software that work with gtk. I did build XLibre (on Debian with musl) and gtk2-ng (on Debian with musl and on Windows with original MinGW) from source. I haven't shared the build scripts for XLibre but I did upload some of my build scripts for gtk2-ng in case they may be of use: https://git.devuan.org/lmemsm/bldgtk After the experience, I found myself wanting a more lightweight alternative even more than before. So what would a more lightweight desktop environment look like? Glad you asked.

(Read more ...)

comments

GTK2 fork

2026-05-07T22:52:14Z

I was very interested to hear about a GTK 2 fork. I have enough programs and libraries to build a portable desktop environment. However, I really miss SciTE and that requires GTK to build on most systems. I had considered trying to revive a GTK 1.2 build just to get a minimal version of SciTE working. Amigo Linux had an updated version of GTK 1.2. However, when I heard about the GTK 2 fork, I decided to give building it a try and see how portable it would be and if it would work on the systems I'd want to run it on.

(Read more ...)

comments

Database Extraction and Loading

2026-04-18T14:14:22Z

It's getting harder and harder to find C/C++ programs. Many developers are working in other languages. Developers should have the choice to work in whatever language they want. However, it's dismaying to see the lack of C/C++ software currently available.

(Read more ...)

comments

Lightweight Desktop Software

2026-03-30T12:04:56Z

One thing I've wanted for a while now is a lightweight collection of desktop applications. Since my preference is for cross-platform software, it would be nice to work with applications that don't lock you into a particular system. So, you could use them with X or Wayland or nano-x or even in framebuffer mode. Operating systems like XFDOS showed you can put together a desktop collection that not only works on Linux or Windows but would even port to platforms like FreeDOS.

(Read more ...)

comments

Light the Night

2025-12-08T15:46:51Z

I wanted to do something FLOSS related to brighten up people's holidays this year. My initial idea was a countdown to the holidays highlighting different Free, Libre and Open Source software each night. While I may still do that on my Mastodon feed, my initial plans were derailed. I'm in the middle of updating my build scripts and rebuilding some of the FLOSS programs I use from source code with the latest versions of libraries. I thought about sharing build scripts and doing some kind of build from source group meetings but I haven't been able to connect with other source code enthusiasts who enjoy building their software from scratch. I also have not figured out an effective method of sharing build scripts or executables. Feel free to contact me on Mastodon if you have any suggestions related to these ideas: https://fosstodon.org/@lmemsm

(Read more ...)

comments

Diff Utilities

2025-10-18T15:14:28Z

I've been looking at different diff tools trying to figure out how I would design my own cross-platform portable diff program with the features I use most. The most interesting thing I found out was how different the various outputs of the diff programs all are. There's also no one algorithm that creates the most intuitive output for a human to read. A certain algorithm may be better for one case but not for another. I'll share a summary of what I've researched about diff utilities so far.

(Read more ...)

comments

Science Fiction Free and Open Source Software

2025-09-08T12:54:58Z

I've been collecting some FLOSS links to programs that might be of interest to science fiction enthusiasts for a while now. Thought I'd document them in one place.

(Read more ...)

comments

Looking for a Distro

2025-07-12T15:29:31Z

I've looked at several lightweight Linux distributions and tried alternative FLOSS operating systems. I keep looking for a distribution with similar goals. I have a lot of experience porting programs to alternative operating systems or compilers. It would be nice to use those skills to build programs and libraries for a lightweight distribution. Unfortunately, I've been having a hard time finding a project to work with. I've created my own build system/lightweight package manager over the years. It makes it extremely quick for me to put together a package for a library or program. However, it makes it very difficult to work with other projects that have their own styles of building projects and their own tools for doing so.

(Read more ...)

comments

Console Based Software

2025-06-09T16:50:29Z

Let's talk console based software and FOSS operating systems. First, some console based software resources I've liked over the years include:
https://inconsolation.wordpress.com/
https://termux.dev/en/
https://archiveos.org/rogue/
http://inx.maincontent.net/

(Read more ...)

comments

sudo alternatives

2025-04-27T16:29:15Z

I recently had an issue doing an upgrade of AIX Toolbox on an AIX machine and it caused the sudo program to fail because it couldn't find dependencies it needed to execute successfully. I started searching to see if there were simpler alternatives that could do a job similar to sudo and would not have so many dependencies. Of the various options out there, I found three that were interesting.

(Read more ...)

comments

Web browser alternatives

2025-03-02T16:38:19Z

I've been interested in web browser development for a while now. Trying to find a lightweight web browser than can be built independently from source and still supports the ability to view the average modern web page is extremely difficult. I feel like the main browser developers now have so much of a monopoly over web development that they managed to become the web standards committee, taking this job away from the W3C which originally maintained web standards. They control what standards become part of the web and even eliminate the need for certain products. Products like Flash and Silverlight became practically obsolete with the advent of HTML 5. While Flash and Silverlight weren't exactly a boon for Free and Open development, the current web standards are so difficult to develop for that independent commercial and Free/Open development alike are both at a loss to keep up.

(Read more ...)

comments

Shell Environments for Windows

2025-01-04T22:14:24Z

I remember sending in a bug report to the developers of GNU make. They refused to fix the bug because cygwin and msys bash were, in their opinion, the only viable shell options on Windows and the only environments they wanted to officially support. When I tried to build autoconf with a natively built version of make on Windows, it just hung. There's also the problem of using make on Windows without a shell. The command prompt has a limitation of how many characters can be passed to it. Typically, it's not enough to be able to run many of the commands used in standard makefiles. So, using make with a shell on Windows is a requirement to work with typical makefiles from many Free, Libre and/or Open Source software projects.

(Read more ...)

comments

Software Freedom Day 2024 Resources

2024-09-20T23:45:45Z

Thanks to everyone who helped make Software Freedom Day 2024 a success. The official highlights page has been moved to https://digitalfreedoms.org/en/sfd/blog/software-freedom-day-2024-highlights

(Read more ...)

comments

Text User Interfaces

2024-06-24T16:17:45Z

I'm investigating ncurses/pdcurses and various other implementations of the curses library. Since there are several, I thought it would be useful to start a list to keep track of them all.

(Read more ...)

comments

Well-Being Strategies

2024-06-03T14:18:35Z

I was recently asked for some references to psychological and self-help books I found useful. Thought I'd collect it all in one place.

(Read more ...)

comments

Open Source Science and Education Platforms

2024-01-12T18:37:31Z

Miscellaneous links related to Open Science and Education.

(Read more ...)

comments

Autism Support Links

2024-01-12T18:08:21Z

I previously put together a list of HSP resources. I've been wanting to put together a list of additional resources geared toward the autism spectrum. This is by no means comprehensive.

(Read more ...)

comments

CSV Utilities

2023-10-03T12:41:43Z

This list is to consolidate information on basic CSV related utilities and libraries. If you know of other interesting CSV resources, code or have some tips and tricks for making the most of the CSV format, please share them.

(Read more ...)

comments

Tutorials for Learning C

2023-09-11T14:59:11Z

I keep losing my list of interesting C tutorials and can't find them whenever I talk to someone who wants to learn more about C. Also, the links get out-of-date after a while. So, I'm sharing my list here and will try to keep it somewhat up-to-date.

(Read more ...)

comments

Web-based Open Source

2023-08-28T12:40:18Z

Thought it would be fun to consolidate my list of Open Source apps that work via the web. You can use them right in your browser without having to download or install any software.

(Read more ...)

comments

SDL Migration Options

2023-05-22T20:18:21Z

I've been using SDL for a long while now. The newest version of SDL 3 will require migrating from SDL 2 versions. Like the switch from 1.2.15 to 2, it will once again break backward compatibility. It will remove support for several older platforms and change the API. The good news is that SDL 3 will have a compatibility layer much sooner than SDL 2 did. I'm still patching some of the SDL 1.2.15 programs I use so that they'll work with either SDL 2 or SDL 1.2.15. In my experiences with it so far, patching seems to work better than using the compatibility layer for SDL 1.2 support. SDL 3 will make more use of the GPU and modern graphics libraries and drivers. From what I've read, it'll introduce a new, portable shader language. So, you may now need more than just a C compiler to write programs. I prefer working with a minimal number of languages and compilers and am not looking forward to some of the new changes SDL 3 may bring. This leaves me wondering if I should seek another graphics/GUI library for more of my development.

(Read more ...)

comments

calendar program

2023-05-12T17:45:02Z

I've been investigating calcurse which is supposed to have support for importing and exporting ical format and exporting pcal format. It sounded like it could integrate well with the other software I use. It has a calendar, information about appointments and a todo list. So, it covers a lot of the functionality I am interested in. I don't find the interface immediately intuitive, but there is documentation. I prefer programs that will work on any operating system I'm using. That means I need Windows support when I'm at work. I could not find any ports of calcurse to a Windows system. The code includes fork and other non-portable functionality which makes porting a nuisance. I did find a DOS version of calcurse. So, I figured if it had been ported to DOS, it could be made to work on Windows. I didn't read the fine print and the DOS port mentions the program hangs on exit and doesn't handle shelling to other applications properly. I went ahead and debugged those issues as best I could. It currently seems to be working on Windows with enough functionality to use it. Haven't figured out how to integrate it with my workflow yet, but it's at least a step toward some progress. I can get it to build with modified code, but I have not put in the work to attempt to automate the building and patching processes. If I'm just going to use it for myself, I may not need to go through that effort. However, if I want to share it and I want to be able to reproduce building on Windows easily, I need to set up my build scripts and create patch files. So, now I'm curious. Is there anyone other than me that would like to have calcurse working on Windows?

comments

Android on Windows

2023-05-09T15:06:03Z

Slow Android emulators to test Android programs may be a thing of the past on my current Windows system. I downloaded and installed Windows Subsystem for Android. It's a convenient way to test out apps you've created without having to resort to installing VirtualBox and Android x86 or using other alternatives such as Qemu or some of the very slow Android app emulators.

(Read more ...)

comments

Inertia Alarm Program

2023-05-05T18:56:26Z

I've continued my search for organizing software ( https://lmemsm.dreamwidth.org/25452.html ). I've tried several options available from F-Droid and Google Play. I've run across interesting concepts such as using gamification and rewards systems to encourage new habits or complete large tasks. There are also tools to help set goals (such as Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-Bound SMART goals), break down tasks, remind when to do a task and track what's completed. With all those apps and even some FLOSS programs out there, I've yet to find anything I'm comfortable working with. Some of the commercial mobile apps have wonderful concepts behind them. However, they also have fees or ads or require you to sign up for a service on the Internet. The F-Droid apps are typically more friendly when it comes to privacy. They don't have ads and most don't require sending personal data over the Internet. They're typically simpler than the commercial apps which can be a good thing. However, it's a matter of finding one that does what you need in a way that's comfortable to you not just what the developers and core users need.

(Read more ...)

comments