db_interface/IMPORTANT_BUILD_NOTE.md

Important Note About Building Windows Executables

⚠️ Cross-Platform Building Limitation

PyInstaller creates platform-specific executables. This means:

• ❌ You CANNOT build a Windows .exe from Linux/Raspberry Pi
• ✅ You MUST build on Windows to create a Windows executable
• ✅ You CAN build on Linux to create a Linux executable

Solution: Build on Windows

Option 1: Use a Windows Machine

1. Copy all project files to a Windows computer
2. Install Python 3.8+ on Windows
3. Run the build:

   python -m venv venv
   venv\Scripts\activate
   pip install -r requirements.txt
   python build_windows.py
   

Option 2: Use a Windows Virtual Machine

1. Install VirtualBox or VMware
2. Create a Windows VM
3. Follow the same steps as Option 1

Option 3: Use Wine (Advanced, Not Recommended)

Wine can sometimes work but is unreliable for Kivy applications.

What You CAN Do on Raspberry Pi/Linux

1. Build Linux Executable

source venv/bin/activate
pip install pyinstaller
pyinstaller --onefile --windowed main.py

This creates: dist/main (Linux executable)

2. Run Directly with Python (Recommended for Development)

source venv/bin/activate
python main.py

3. Transfer Files to Windows for Building

Use:

• USB drive
• Network share
• Git repository
• Cloud storage (Dropbox, Google Drive, etc.)

Recommended Workflow

For Distribution:

1. Develop on Raspberry Pi/Linux (as you're doing now)
2. When ready to distribute, transfer project to Windows
3. Build Windows executable on Windows machine
4. Distribute the .exe file to end users

For Testing:

• Keep developing and testing with python main.py on your Raspberry Pi
• The app works perfectly without building an executable

Alternative: Distribute as Python App

Instead of an executable, you can distribute:

1. Python files + instructions

   - Give users: main.py, database_manager.py, requirements.txt
   - Users install Python and run: pip install -r requirements.txt && python main.py
   

2. Docker container (works on any platform)

   docker build -t database-app .
   docker run database-app
   

Files Ready for Windows Build

✅ All necessary files are ready:

• build_windows.py - Automated build script
• build.bat - Windows batch file
• DatabaseApp.spec - PyInstaller configuration
• BUILD_WINDOWS_GUIDE.md - Complete instructions
• main.py - Main application
• database_manager.py - Database logic
• requirements.txt - Dependencies

Just transfer these files to Windows and run build.bat

Questions?

• The app works perfectly as-is with Python on any platform
• Building executables is only needed for distribution to users without Python
• For personal use or development, keep using python main.py