Before publishing real tools, I chose to start with an intentionally very simple application: AppErgo Hello.

It is not yet useful software for the end user. AppErgo Hello is rather a small test application, inspired by the classic “Hello World”, but designed to validate the entire publishing chain of a program on the AppErgo website.

Testing the website in real conditions

So far, AppErgo remains mainly a presentation website, with articles, upcoming project pages and an already fairly complete FAQ. It already mentions the Forge, software and downloads, even though these elements are not really available yet.

With AppErgo Hello, the goal is to test these pages in real conditions: software page, version page, file page, download links, screenshots, FAQ, known bugs, SHA256 hashes, ZIP archives and installer. Testing all this before offering my own software is therefore far from useless.

Testing C++ compilation

AppErgo Hello will also be used to test the entire C++ compilation chain: generating the executable, portable version, installer, ZIP archive and associated files.

Since the program is basic, it makes it possible to focus on an important point: optimizing the size of the generated files. After the work already done on the website to make it lighter and faster, I want to apply the same logic to future AppErgo software.

Preparing future tools

The point of AppErgo Hello is therefore not what it does, but what it makes possible to verify.

The choices made with this small program — compilation, packaging, file size, download organization — will serve as a basis for future software published on AppErgo.

It is a modest but useful step: test simply, fix early, and prepare a cleaner chain before the first real tools arrive.