Distributing Ring Applications (Manual)
In this chapter we will learn about distributing Ring applications.
The next method is old and was used in Ring 1.5 and previous versions!
Starting from Ring 1.6 we have a nice tool called Ring2EXE
Using Ring2EXE we can distribute applications quickly for Windows, Linux and macOS
Check the Ring2EXE chapter for more information!
Distributing Applications for Microsoft Windows
Step 1:
Copy c:\ring\bin folder to be for example c:\myapp
Step 2:
Rename c:\myapp\ring.exe to c:\myapp\myapp.exe
Step 3:
Create a file c:\myapp\ring.ring
And write
Load "myapp.ring"
When you run myapp.exe the file ring.ring will be executed automatically
So your file myapp.ring will be called and executed
Or just rename myapp.ring to ring.ring
It’s a fast way to distribute applications.
Protecting the Source Code
Step 1:
Execute the next command
ring myapp.ring -go
This will generate one object file (myapp.ringo) from the project files (*.ring)
Step 2:
Rename myapp.ringo to ring.ringo
When you run the executable file (ring.exe) or (myapp.exe) the file ring.ringo will be executed.
The files ring.ring and ring.ringo
Ring will run ring.ring or ring.ringo only when
The file exist in the current directory
No file is passed to (ring.exe) to execute
We added the support to ring.ring (and ring.ringo) for a way to distribute Ring apps (before Ring2EXE)
Creating Windows Installer
There are many tools that you can use to distribute your application.
Check : nullsoft scriptable install system
Using C/C++ Compiler and Linker
Another method to distribute applications is to use a C/C++ compiler.
Ring can be embedded in C/C++ projects, We can create executable files using a C/C++ compiler by embedding the Ring language in our project.
Check the “Embedding Ring Language in C/C++ Programs” chapter.
Using this way we will avoid using ring.ring or ring.ringo files.
Distributing Applications and Games for Mobile
Ring can be embedded in a Qt projects or LibSDL projects to build Mobile applications and Games.
You can build the Qt project or the LibSDL project and get the Android package directly (*.apk)
Check Ring distributions for Mobile development using Qt or LibSDL.