288690 - make version_win.pl able to use the app name from configure vars

Status: RESOLVED FIXED

(Firefox Build System :: General, defect)

Description

[Robert Kaiser]

While working on rebranding our suite application (bug 285696), I discovered we
are currently hardcoding our application name in module.ver as well as
splash.rc, which are both process by version_win.pl to create a module.res file.
To make branding work for different products easier, I figured that perl script
could use the MOZ_APP_DISPLAYNAME var from configure to more or less preprocess
that data while creating module.res, and we get better and easier branded binary
files as a result.

A patch follows, though I'm no Windows guy, I'm currently building on WinXP with
my suite rebranding patch, which contains those changes, and it seems to work...

Comment 1

[Robert Kaiser]

Attachment: patch: add a -DISPNAME option and use it

Here's the patch. What it does is adding a -DISPNAME option to version_win.pl
and use it where it makes sense, so that we can stuff @MOZ_APP_DISPLAYNAME@
strings into module.ver and splash.rc - this may be no complete solution for
getting a generic module.ver, but it goes a nice part of the way.

We can now do e.g. those:
splash.rc:
	ID_DDE_APPLICATION_NAME,	    "@MOZ_APP_DISPLAYNAME@"
	IDS_STARTMENU_APPNAME,		    "@MOZ_APP_DISPLAYNAME@"

module.ver:
WIN32_MODULE_DESCRIPTION=@MOZ_APP_DISPLAYNAME@
WIN32_MODULE_PRODUCTNAME=@MOZ_APP_DISPLAYNAME@
WIN32_MODULE_NAME=@MOZ_APP_DISPLAYNAME@

Additionally, the displayname gets the default productname, if set.
I think this might help in doing some aviary builds without trademark stuff as
well...

Comment 2

[John Dobbins]

We may want to use a different approach on this file. version_win.pl sets the
information displayed in the Windows dll files' properities view. Properly
speaking the product name here should be "Gecko" not the application that
happens to be using Gecko as it's rendering engine.

Simply changing the line:

my $productname = "Mozilla";

to

my $productname = "Gecko";

Would be more accurate and work with all applications using Gecko.

Comment 3

[Robert Kaiser]

(In reply to comment #2)
> my $productname = "Gecko";
> 
> Would be more accurate and work with all applications using Gecko.

I certainly don't want mozilla.exe or firefox.exe call itself "Gecko".

If we want the DLLs be called "Gecko" (I'd think there should be a "Mozilla" in
though, as "Mozilla" is the trademarked name of the platform actually), then we
may think of replacing the default productname, but I'd prefer to call them
"Mozilla".

The most important part for me is that I can use @MOZ_APP_DISPLAYNAME@ in
splash.rc and module.ver, and that ASAP (meaning Gecko-1.8b2 level), so please
don't stop that patch by such hypothetical views.

Comment 4

[Chase Phillips]

Comment on attachment 179316 [details] [diff] [review]
patch: add a -DISPNAME option and use it

sr=chase

Comment 5

[Robert Kaiser]

Comment on attachment 179316 [details] [diff] [review]
patch: add a -DISPNAME option and use it

requesting approval. This patch alone shouldn't change anything in our
applications, but it gives us the possibility of rebranding them more easily
(module.ver and splsh.rc recognize @MOZ_APP_DISPLAYNAME@ strings and replace
them by the display name as set by configure)

Comment 6

[Asa Dotzler [:asa]]

Comment on attachment 179316 [details] [diff] [review]
patch: add a -DISPNAME option and use it

a=asa

Comment 7

[Robert Kaiser]

checked in.

We may want to replace the version number in module.ver as well, I realized in
the last days. I'll probably have to look into how to do it best in another bug
one time...

Comment 8

[Robert Kaiser]

> We may want to replace the version number in module.ver as well, I realized in
> the last days. I'll probably have to look into how to do it best in another bug
> one time...

I filed bug 316387 for that.