gtkaml is built using autotools and therefore the distribution comes with a './configure' script that only depends on unix utilities (so you don't have to have autotools installed - autoconf, automake etc.)
But you do have to install a compatible compiler and shell.
The instructions here are based on MinGW (minimal gcc for windows) and MSYS (minimal system)
Use the Automated MinGW installer - as we speak this is MinGW-5.1.4.exe. The default installation path is C:/MinGW but you can change it.
Do not install the make utility that comes with MinGW.
At the moment, the base system has automatic installer only for the 1.0.10 version, found here: MSYS-1.0.10.exe and as for the development toolkit, for the 1.0.1 version which is here: msysDTK-1.0.1.exe Tell MSYS where MinGW resides (usually C:/MinGW). The default installation path for MSYS is C:/msys/1.0
Now you should already have an msys shortcut on your desktop to start the rxvt terminal and play with shell commands like ls -l et co.;)
gtkaml requires gtk-2.0, which is available for download at www.gtk.org.
Just get the developer bundle.
Make a folder named C:/usr (or C:/libs or how you prefer) and unzip all the files there. They usually come with sub-directories like include, bin, share and lib and they will nicely overlap just like on a UNIX /usr folder.
Now we will add C:/usr/bin in the $PATH and C:/usr/lib/pkgconfig in $PKG_CONFIG_PATH. To do this, enter msys and do a
$ mkdir /etc/profile.d
$ touch /etc/profile.d/gtkaml.sh
$ chmod a+x /etc/profile.d/gtkaml.sh
Now edit gtkaml.sh (you can have any other name here too) with your faVorite edItor so that its contents are:
#!/bin/sh
export PKG_CONFIG_PATH=/c/usr/lib/pkgconfig:/c/msys/lib/pkgconfig
export PATH=$PATH:/c/MinGW/libexec/gcc/mingw32/3.4.2/:/c/usr/bin
Adjust the paths if necessary - and restart msys.
(Note: to be able to run the Gtk+ programs outside msys consider adding that PATH to Windows's environment)
Important: from now on, make sure you configure every package with ./configure --prefix=c:/usr so that it works outside of msys too (c:/usr is a valid windows path, but msys is able to emulate /c/usr which is not valid outside it). Another reason to do this is so that you don't install executables in c:/msys/1.0/bin, because msys might fail to pass command-line arguments to those binaries.
Last but not least, gtkaml uses libxml2, which you can find here for windows: http://www.zlatkovic.com/libxml.en.html, but that distribution doesn't contain the libxml2.pc required for pkg-config.
So if you want to compile gtkaml, you have to compile libxml2 too. Otherwise, use binary packages for both (see below).
Download the latest version from ftp://xmlsoft.org/libxml2/, and do the following:
$ tar xvzf /path/to/libxml2-2.7.2.tar.gz
$ cd libxml2-2.7.2
$ ./configure --prefix=c:/usr
$ make
$ make install
Download vala 0.5.2 or later (for gtkaml 0.2.2.2). Start msys and change to a folder of your choice, and type there
$ tar -xvjf /path/to/vala-0.5.x.tar.bz2
$ cd vala-0.5.x
$ ./configure --prefix=c:/usr
$ make
$ make install
The same exact steps are for compiling gtkaml
$ tar -xvjf /path/to/gtkaml-0.2.x.x.tar.bz2
$ cd gtkaml-0.2.x.x
$ ./configure --prefix=c:/usr
$ make
$ make install
If gtkaml compiled, it already means that vala works, and Gtk+ and libxml2 are properly installed.
(This is because gtkaml uses libxml2, has .vala sources and some .gtkaml files in /tests or /examples which use Gtk+)
If you install from binary packages, try pasting the example in a file and compile it.
Binary packages are available at the download section here. Unzip them in c:/usr and you're done!
(UPDATE: the Val(a)ide project provides an installation kit for MinGW, Gtk+, and Vala. You would still need msys for binutils though)
Now you can start reading the Vala Tutorial or try out the sample code from vala's homepage, then you can jump to the gtkaml tutorial (when it's done).