On 9/16/2024 12:56 PM, Jack Spitznagel (KD4IZ) wrote:
<snip>
Since I last used the system there is now a version of Python 3 for 64 bit Win 11 that may or may not have the needed support.
It still does not the last time I checked and it does not appear that anyone maintaining the needed packages is doing anything to make them run on Microsoft Windows, so I do not expect that to change anytime soon.
(maybe still), a separate piece of the code for LZHUF was required that was critical for certain functions of D-RATS to run. I don't know if that is still the case.
Lzhuf is in is own repository separated from d-rats as it needs to be built for the specific platform. Prebuilt lzhuf packages for some Debian based distributions including Raspbian and also Microsoft Windows distributions. I have not had time to working out building RPM packages for Lzhuf yet.
LZHUF is needed for Winlink communications. Somehow Winlink continued to use LZHUF compression after the patent holder for LZHUF started requiring paid licenses for using LZHUF and suing anyone they found distributing LZHUF compression that did not pay.
As a result, all the Linux distros removed lzhuf compression from their packages.
Because of that, there are no independent suppliers of LZHUF compression libraries.
But now the patents have expired on LZHUF world wide, it is now legal for LZHUF compression to be used with out a paid patent license. And at least in the U.S. it is past the statute of limitations for suing anyone that used it with out a license before the patent expired.
The major Linux distros may not be interested in providing a full feature lzhuf package again since because of past lawsuits, there no longer is much use of lzhuf.
(The old version did not need the interpreter because it had been compiled to work in Windows).
The old version on windows was created independently of Dan Smith's efforts by a windows programmer that bundled the Python 2 package and a pre-built GTK2 package built for windows.
It is python, and you can actually edit it in place and try to maintain it. But the tools needed to recreate the distribution package are gone.
Currently the cross platform projects that are python based with a single package installer are actually installing the Msys2 environment with a shortcut to launch the application.
I have not done that with D-Rats simply because not have time to reverse engineer what the others have done, and the Msys2 does not have documentation for that type of deployment.
The other problem is that every time there is a CVE issued against a component in Msys2, a complete new D-Rats package would have to be built and everyone must upgrade to get it. These other projects have a pool of developers and do nightly package builds.
If you have an old computer that used to run Windows XP or later, it can probably have Anti-X Linux installed on it instead, and D-Rats 0.40 runs very well on Anti-X Linux even on the older hardware.
73,
-John
