Mozilla Build

I am excited to see how long it will take me to build mozilla on my computer. First i need to set up my computer, i have Ms Visual Studio 2008 so i though it would be easy. I just didn't realize it would be so time consuming.
I am using this simple firefox build guide.
I downloaded and installed the mozillaBuild from http://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/mozilla.org/mozilla/libraries/win32/MozillaBuildSetup-Latest.exe
I cloned mozilla with the start-msvc9 tool found in the mozillaBuild directory. To clone I used this command: hg clone https://hg.mozilla.org/mozilla-central/ mozilla
This was an easy step, however i was under the impression that the mozilla directory would be found in the same directory as the start-msvc9 tool, it wasn't. After some time, i figured out to use the pwd command which pointed me to the right location.
I am currently installing Visucal C++ 2008 Express edition from http://www.microsoft.com/Express/vc/#webInstall but it is complaining that I do not have Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 Service Pack 1 so I have downloaded the installer from http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=FBEE1648-7106-44A7-9649-6D9F6D58056E&displaylang=en which is currently installing..... it said its gonna take 28min yikes.......

Ok, so now that i have everything downloaded, I think i am ready to build.

1.# Setup a basic mozconfig file

echo '. $topsrcdir/browser/config/mozconfig' > mozconfig # let's build Firefox...

echo 'mk_add_options MOZ_OBJDIR=@TOPSRCDIR@/objdir-ff-release' >> mozconfig # ...in this directory...

echo 'mk_add_options MOZ_MAKE_FLAGS="-j4"' >> mozconfig # ...quickly.

2.# Build

make -f client.mk


So the first time i did this i got a tone of output during the first 20 min and then got nothing for 1.5 hrs. I spoke to ppl on irc and they informed me that I should check to make sure the tree is green before cloning. U can check using http://isthetreegreen.com/.

I decided to clone again when the tree was green and rebuild. It took 30min but i got 2 errors. I am trying to figure out a fix or a problem.

Firefox/Gecko Development Meeting

So I participated in the development conference call meeting. Agenda

It ran from about 2pm to 2:40. When i joined the meeting the system informed me that there were about 35 participants. This was my first time listening on a conference call. I have done phone interviews but this was completely different. It was pretty easy to follow along however I did not know who was talking. It was hard to distinguish, after a short pause, if the same person continued talking or if another person took over. Also, i think some people had a bad connection. Overall it was a good experience. Having 35 people listening to you is kind of intimidating, its a good thing i was on MUTE.

Mozilla Community

I spent some time watching the Mozilla Community with guest speaker Mike Beltzner from Mozilla Corporation. Exactly how much time i don't know cuz the plug in didn't specify the video length. Maybe its my settings?? Anyhow the video was very interesting. Thing that stuck the most:

Netiquette

- look before you leap.... observe b4 u put in ur 2 cents

- be respectful until you are respected..... this will definitely get me into trouble

- make it a conversation (ie. listen) ..... something i an very good at

- don't underestimate the value of someone else's time..... with all of the discussion boards, chats, people pages things can get overwhelming. Google (look) for the answer before asking for help

- operate within the context of the environment..... ask questions in the appropriate places.

Overall I think audio lectures are gr8. I don't think you need a visual, its sometimes distracting, but I did benefit from the overview slides.

The Beginning

Just joined CDOT (Centre for Development of Open Technology) at Seneca.

Spent the weekend reading stuff and setting up accounts, including this blog :)

So Far so good.