====== Getting started with the source code ======





===== How to install the source code to compile with Lazarus. =====

The simplest way is to add a ./src directory to your existing cdc binary directory.

Download the source file skychart_v3_xxx_source.tar.gz to this directory 
and extract the file here. \\
On Linux the command is : tar xzf skychart_v3_xxx_source.tar.gz

Or better get source from Subversion using a svn client. \\
The command is: 
<code>svn co https://skychart.svn.sourceforge.net/svnroot/skychart/trunk .</code>

Finally you must have something like that :

<file>
cdc -|                                    < base directory containing the executable 
     |- src -|                            < devel directory 
             |- skychart |                < skychart module
                         |- component     < project component
                         |- library       < project library
                         |- ...
                         |- units         < all compilation object go here
             |- tools | - data            < the "data" directory structure require to run the progran
                      | - ...             < various tools not necessarily useful to the end user
</file>

To use this source code install Lazarus using the last daily snapshot or SVN version from http://lazarus.freepascal.org. See http://wiki.lazarus.freepascal.org/Installing_Lazarus for more information.

Launch Lazarus and open Components-Configure, Installed Packages.

Check that Printer4Lazarus, JPEGForLazarus and TurboPowerIPro are installed, 
this is normally the case with the version 0.9.18.
If not, install them from lazarus/component 
<code>
      printers/printer4lazarus.lpk
      jpeg/jpegforlazarus.lpk
      turbopower_ipro/turbopoweripro.lpk
</code>

Then from src/skychart/component directory install
the package for the required component:

Click "Open Package", select "component/cdccomponents.lpk", click "Compile", "Install".

When the install tell you to rebuild Lazarus say Yes.

You can now open the main project files skychart/cdc.lpi and compile.

To run in debug adjust Run-Run Parameters-Working Directory to your CDC directory.

To reduce the executable size for production use strip and upx.

The library getdss and plan404 are written in C language. To compile them, install the gcc compiler ([[http://www.mingw.org/|Mingw]] on Windows) and run make from each library folder.

A few Windows specific library and plugin are not yet ported to Lazarus,
please use Delphi if you want to compile them.

===== Naming convention for the program source =====

The following naming convention is use for the main project source code
to allow to quickly recognise the destination of a unit.

<code>
cdc.lpi         : The main project
pu_*.pas        : Form units with specific code only
pu_*.lfm        : Form definition
cu_*.pas        : Unit containing non-visual object.
u_*.pas         : Unit with generic code.
</code>