Do we include gcc in maxima windows distribution?

OK, before you read the following, I would like to ask a question.  Why
is the gcc compiler included?  Is it needed if Lisp code is to be
compiled in Maxima?  Does it serve other purposes?  Would building
against Clisp for the binary eliminate this need? Now that I've
declared my ignorance in those matters, I'll proceed with the opinions
:-).  Please ignore them if my ignorance renders them moot.

I'm a little fuzzy on the pros and cons of the various options (heck I
can't even get the darn thing to build on Windows) but I think we need
to keep the following in mind when making any decision:

1)  This is a developer release.  Do we want to have a maxima developer
distribution for Windows be adopted in the few places that are
currently using/considering it as the stable standard, which would be
the likely result if we provide a simple install for this release? This
is not a rhetorical question, since IMHO it is probably fair to say
that 5.9 will be much better than 5.6, even though 5.6 is the "stable"
release, and this may be a desirable outcome.  My voice should not
govern on that point however, so let's discuss this one - I just
thought it should be considered.

2)  Whatever we decide now, in the final release, we need to have an
installable Windows version which does not require any other software
to be installed.  Windows users would not expect to have to download
and install supporting software, and that would likely be a significant
stumbling block to adoption of the program, and a huge source of bug
reports.  Do we need to "practice" such a release with this developer
release?  There may be unforseen issues with creating it that would be
better discovered now by having this release widely installed.

3)  I personally don't think we should worry too much about "standards"
set with 5.5 - our user base is currently small and relatively skilled,
and now is the time to make significant changes for the better.  If we
are destined to gain a larger following at 6.0 then we want to fix any
weird stuff now without spending time and effort worrying about 5.5. 
If we include the compiler, it should be because it gives us
necessary/desirable functionality.  This is, of course, IMHO - feel
free to disagree.


OK, that's about all I can think of now.  Sorry if I'm rambling - these
late night emails are rather dangerous.  

CY

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