[Haskell-cafe] Haskellers hate GUIs!!
Thomas Schilling
nominolo at googlemail.com
Fri Apr 2 08:37:32 EDT 2010
Haskeller's certainly aren't GUI-haters! It's just difficult in
general to write cross-platform GUIs. The goal *is* to put gtk2hs
into the platform, but in order to do that, it needs to be buildable
using Cabal. The limiting factor is time, not motivation.
2010/4/2 Jürgen Nicklisch-Franken <jnf at arcor.de>:
> I am in the damned position to have tried to develop a GUI app in
> Haskell. I'm building on top of gtk2hs, now we have a new compiler
> version a new Platform release and no gtk2hs release, so
> I cite from a mail from a potential user/contributor for my GUI app.
> What shall I say, how should he install gtk2hs? Is their a way to get a
> stable version from a changing darcs repo?
> If not all Haskellers were such GUI haters, we would have GUI libs with
> the platform.
>
> Jürgen
>
> "
> ...
> Each gtk2hs package (like glib-0.10.1) installed in that
> non-standard
> location by Ubuntu apt-get does at least have a package.conf
> file, like
> glib.package.conf. However, on inspection, the "id" fields are
> missing,
> and the "depends" fields look more like .cabal file "depends"
> fields (no
> ABI ID).
>
> I tried an experiment on my glib.package.conf, used "ghc
> --abi-hash" to
> generate an ID, so eventually creating a new line something like
>
> id: glib-0.10.1-d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e
>
> and then set up the "depends" properly by getting the real
> dependencies
> using "ghc-pkg -v list".
>
> After doing this then
>
> ghc-pkg register glib.package.conf
>
> worked just fine, and I see it in my global DB. It's cool that
> this
> works but it seems highly roundabout. :-)
>
>
> Building gtk2hs from source is broken. Not sure why - I did it
> OK with
> ghc-6.10.3. I can run ./configure no problem with
>
> ./configure --with-hcflags=-O0 --disable-split-objs
> --with-ghc=/usr/local/lib/ghc-6.12.1
>
> and it claims that it will build:
>
> * The following packages will be built:
> *
> * glib : yes
> * gtk : yes
> * gio : yes
> * glade : yes
> * cairo : yes
> * svgcairo : yes
> * gtkglext : no
> * gconf : yes
> * sourceview : no
> * gtksourceview2 : yes
> * mozembed : no
> * soegtk : yes
> * gnomevfs : no
> * gstreamer : yes
> * documentation : no
>
> But "make" fails horribly...can't find any packages like "base"
> that
> configure had no problems finding, so I have no idea what the
> problem is
> there. Which is why I'd rather figure out a way to make
> ghc-6.12.1
> recognize the gtk2hs packages that I have in that non-standard
> location.
>
> It works but it's awkward. :-)
>
> Each gtk2hs package (like glib-0.10.1) installed in that
> non-standard
> location by Ubuntu apt-get does at least have a package.conf
> file, like
> glib.package.conf. However, on inspection, the "id" fields are
> missing,
> and the "depends" fields look more like .cabal file "depends"
> fields (no
> ABI ID).
>
> I tried an experiment on my glib.package.conf, used "ghc
> --abi-hash" to
> generate an ID, so eventually creating a new line something like
>
> id: glib-0.10.1-d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e
>
> and then set up the "depends" properly by getting the real
> dependencies
> using "ghc-pkg -v list".
>
> After doing this then
>
> ghc-pkg register glib.package.conf
>
> worked just fine, and I see it in my global DB. It's cool that
> this
> works but it seems highly roundabout. :-)
>
> I think I'll pack it in for the evening. The procedure I
> described works
> well in theory, but apparently if the "depends" field in the
> "package
> conf" files says something like foo-2.0.1.0, it's not OK to use
> an
> existing registered "foo" that has a higher version number...I
> registered everything in gtk2hs manually but when building ltk
> it
> complains with
>
> Bad interface
> file: /usr/lib/haskell-packages/ghc6/lib/gtk-0.10.1/imports/Graphics/UI/Gtk.hi
> mismatched interface file versions (wanted "6121", got
> "")
>
> Unfortunately when using these package configuration files one
> has to
> use the ABI ID - "ghc-pkg register" won't work otherwise - so
> it's very
> finicky.
>
> I'll have to un-register all my gtk2hs packages, and start again
> from
> scratch.
>
> Anyway, back to Ubuntu, Haskell and Leksah. :-)
>
> I am removing vestiges of ghc-6.10.3 off my Ubuntu system as I
> encounter
> them, although I have no reason to believe that the presence of
> directories and files for that old version are causing me any
> harm. I am
> keeping ghc-6.10.4 around, in parallel with ghc-6.12.1.
>
> In any case, to the degree that I have exercised it, ghc-6.12.1
> is
> apparently OK. I have done some "cabal install"s on a few
> executables
> and libraries, both into user and global, and things seem OK as
> evidenced by "ghc-pkg list".
>
> Now, to gtk2hs and ltk and Leksah. After having initial problems
> with
> building gtk2hs from source, for reasons I don't want to spend
> time
> investigating (yet), I am returning to the apt package approach,
> command-line this time instead of through the Synaptic GUI.
> Running
>
> sudo apt-get install libghc6-gtk-dev
>
> partially returns
>
> ---------------
> Selecting previously deselected package libghc6-glib-dev.
> (Reading database ... 257458 files and directories currently
> installed.)
> Unpacking libghc6-glib-dev
> (from .../libghc6-glib-dev_0.10.1-1ubuntu2_i386.deb) ...
> Selecting previously deselected package libghc6-cairo-dev.
> Unpacking libghc6-cairo-dev
> (from .../libghc6-cairo-dev_0.10.1-1ubuntu2_i386.deb) ...
> Selecting previously deselected package libghc6-gtk-dev.
> Unpacking libghc6-gtk-dev
> (from .../libghc6-gtk-dev_0.10.1-1ubuntu2_i386.deb) ...
> Setting up libghc6-glib-dev (0.10.1-1ubuntu2) ...
> Reading package info from
> "/usr/lib/haskell-packages/ghc6/lib/glib-0.10.1/glib.package.conf" ...
> done.
> Writing new package config file... done.
>
> Setting up libghc6-cairo-dev (0.10.1-1ubuntu2) ...
> Reading package info from
> "/usr/lib/haskell-packages/ghc6/lib/cairo-0.10.1/cairo.package.conf" ...
> done.
> Writing new package config file... done.
>
> Setting up libghc6-gtk-dev (0.10.1-1ubuntu2) ...
> Reading package info from
> "/usr/lib/haskell-packages/ghc6/lib/gtk-0.10.1/gtk.package.conf" ...
> done.
> Writing new package config file... done.
> ---------------
>
> You'll see the files I was talking about, the *.package.conf
> files. I've
> attached the one for cairo, so you can also see what I was
> talking
> about: these files are real close to the *.conf files in the
> user and
> global package.conf.d databases, but they are missing the "id"
> field,
> and the "depends" field entries are like
>
> base-4.1.0.0
>
> as opposed to a full
>
> base-3.0.3.2-52acef427378232ec569bca0486ee48f
>
> In other words, as is, "ghc-pkg register" can't use these files.
> Which
> is why I manually edited them.
>
> I still see no reason why my manual approach will not work
> (although
> figuring out how to build from source would be even better), but
> I'll
> have to keep the exact versions specified in these
> *.package.conf files.
>
> Much obliged for the tip about using darcs for the gtk2hs build.
> Worked
> like a charm. Combined with that, and doing occasional "cabal
> install"'s
> along the way, I have ltk and haddock-leksah-6.12 now built.
>
> I don't consider the 5 or 6 hours I spent on all this (which
> includes
> building ghc-6.12.1 from source) to be wasted; I learned a lot
> more
> about GHC package management.
>
> Bit of a snag now with leksah-server (the version in
> leksah-server.cabal
> is 0.8.0.5). I've included the console output of the build.
>
> Looking at that very first problem:
>
> /home/arved/.cabal/lib/ltk-0.8/ghc-6.12.1/libHSltk-0.8.a(Parameters.o):
> In function `s9Ao_info':
> (.text+0x28b9): undefined reference to
> `gtkzm0zi10zi1_GraphicsziUIziGtkziGeneralziEnums_zdfShowShadowType_closure'
>
> I can sort of parse this. I see code concerning ShadowType in
> ltk/Graphics.UI.Editor.Parameters.hs, and I can see that a
> complaint is
> being made about something related to ShadowType not being found
> (I
> believe) in gtk/Graphics.UI.Gtk.General.Enums.
>
> With the
>
> {-- #if MIN_VERSION_gtk(0,9,13)
> -- now defined in gtk
> #else
> instance Show ShadowType
> where show _ = "Any Shadow"
> #endif
> --}
>
> in Parameters.hs, and seeing as how gtk is 0.10.1, I would
> expect us to
> be using gtk code to provide that Show instance for ShadowType,
> no?
>
> Any ideas?
> ...
> "
>
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