Distributing Ring Applications

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.

Creating Windows Installer

There are many tools that you can use to distribute your application.

Check : nullsoft scriptable install system

URL : http://nsis.sourceforge.net/Main_Page

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.