# Slightly offtopic: Windows Explorer extension

1 messages from 2006-09-02 to 2006-09-02. Participants: Johannes Schindelin.
Thread: https://gitlist.dev/t/5456

## Johannes Schindelin, 2006-09-02 15:38

Subject: Slightly offtopic: Windows Explorer extension
Message-ID: <Pine.LNX.4.63.0609021724110.28360@wbgn013.biozentrum.uni-wuerzburg.de>
URL: https://gitlist.dev/e/Pine.LNX.4.63.0609021724110.28360%40wbgn013.biozentrum.uni-wuerzburg.de

```
Hi,

a couple of weeks ago, I started to port git to MinGW, with the ultimate 
goal of writing a Windows Explorer extension a la TortoiseCVS.

The two biggest obstacles are fork() and the network stuff (I do not plan 
on supporting Git.pm there). To overcome the absence of fork() I wanted to 
use the subprocess stuff in MinGW's port of GNU make.

Unfortunately, this effort was stalled a bit: I got side-tracked by the 
Windows Explorer extension mechanism. I found it really exciting (in the 
sense of an Arcade game end-of-level monster) to find a way to _easily_ 
write a Windows Explorer extension. Without cashware.

Since the extensions are a very substantial part of Windows Explorer, one 
might guess that it is relatively simple to write one. Ha! COM!

Attached is my (unfortunately stalled) WIP of such an extension. You need 
MinGW to compile it. It adds a menu entry "Hallo Dan de Man" to the 
Explorer context menu. If you select it, it just shows an alert box with 
the current file/directory name.

I'll be gone for one week, so if anyone wants to pick up the ball, go 
wild.

Ciao,
Dscho

```