Hi!
First things first: I’m using currently CVS ROOT under Kubuntu, but would like to port my working executable program to Windows XP.
I’m a bit confused with the status/recommended-way of developing ROOT under Windows.
E.G., the binaries download page states that cygwin/gcc is currently in a very poor stage and the download of the VC++ version is recommended. On the other hand I find very recent post showing that Axel is still actively supporting development under Cygwin, so is the statement above only valid for the binary distribution?
Simple question:
Am I correct in assuming that I don’t need to compile ROOT from source, only because I want to develop my own application with ROOT?
Precise question: 
Here is what I would like to achieve (my target):
With the help of you guys in the forum I developed a working standalone (though dynamically linked) application under Linux that I would like to port to Windows, not knowing anything about developing under Windows 
.
On top of that I would like to have it statically linked and working without a preinstalled ROOT on other computers so that I can give it to other people who still have to be persuaded of the good-doings of ROOT! 
What would be the most efficient way and/or the most recommended way to do it?
I know the pages of Axel and Francois-Xavier, but
I don’t have any preference in working environment and I am in the lucky position to have a work license of Visual Studio 2005, should I try it with that, if all I want is a fast uncomplicated port of my working ROOT code to Windows XP? Or is the cygwin way still the most standard?
I would be happy to report on my experiences of using Visual Studio 2005 to do the porting, if this is a first and you are interested. Or are there already working project files around?
What do other ROOT users think is the simplest if all I want is a port from existing application under Linux? (So make use of the Makefile.win32 would be recommendable, i guess?)
Best regards,
Michael