Twyster wrote:I'm regretting switching from a simple .nml to the Makefile system. I assumed it would either use the same command line commands as for compiling an NML, or compile once uploaded to the repository (automatically or at the press of a button or two).
First times are really difficult, but once you get the hang of it, you will be very happy as the set grows. Regarding compilation: Windows is not really suited for the Makefile-stuff, I use a Virtual Machine with Fedora 15 (same as in the guide I linked to) for that.
Regarding compilation on the DevZone, it should do it, but I don't see any compiled result
here. Maybe planetmaker has to change something.
Instead, I'm presented with Mercurial, which I knew nothing about up to this point and have no idea where to begin. You said chapters 2, 3 and 5? That won't be enough: I have to read the entire thing, and I don't even know how or when Mercurial got involved in the first place.
Mercurial is a version control system. Instead of having to save multiple copies of a file for every change, Mercurial takes care of that. Compare it with working on a formal document, those often have a list of versions and a summary of changes in each version. Mercurial basically does the same, but with more detail. That is how Mercurial got involved.
Now to how to use it: TortoiseHg provides a graphical user interface (Workbench) to do all Mercurial-related stuff, so you don't have to care about command line stuff if you don't want to work with the command line. The command line can still be used of course (even from inside TortoiseHg), but I never needed it. The big guide planetmaker refers to really goes with the command line and might be nice if you want some more background, but for the very basic stuff you want, the graphical user interface is fine enough.
I can't handle all of these different things at this point. And if I switch back to a normal .nml file, it means I'll have to host it somewhere to meet the GPL.
GPL is a license and you can just as well apply it to the .nml file as to a .pnml file you make, but you do need software to push it to the DevZone, which is done by version control software like TortoiseHg.
I hate to say this, but I need to make sense of all this or I have no choice but to cancel the entire project. Help, please?
You will get all the help you need to make it work, no need to cancel the entire project. Just show where you are running into trouble.
But I agree with you, the first time setup is quite overwhelming when your background is not really in computer coding.