[kde-freebsd] KDE4 is out, I'm back, let's get cracking

[Michael Nottebrock]

On Monday, 14. January 2008, David Naylor wrote:

> I have compiled kdelibs and kdebase-* with both qt3 and kde3
> installed.  There was plenty of problems with kde4 picking up kde3
> stuff but once FindQt4.cmake and FindKDE4Internal.cmake had been
> changed to make sure -I/usr/local/include was at the end of the list
> then no problem (of course kde4 installed into its own prefix, under
> /home/kde4/usr :-).  All you need to do is juggle around the
> QT_INCLUDES and KDE4_INCLUDES set directives (there are two
> QT_INCLUDES set directives)

That sounds like we might get away without moving existing ports to a 
different prefix after all. Good news! I have added a patch to the Qt4 ports 
which eliminates the /usr/local/include path from the pkg-config files they 
install, no idea if that will help with KDE4 but perhaps it might.

> (((
> Quick question, which files should be changed to make sure PATH and
> LD_LIBRARY_PATH is set properly for running the session (and which .X*
> file to make kdm (v3) run KDE4 automatically.) Thanks
> )))

kdm executes .Xsesssion when the session type is 'Custom'. If you want 
a 'KDE4' session type, you need to create a *.desktop file similar to the 
ones in ${PREFIX}/share/apps/kdm/sessions. There you can set the Exec= line 
to KDE4's startup script (or a self-made script).

> Given that KDE4 is not yet a drop in replacement for KDE3 I recommend
> we place KDE4 in its own prefix and when it is ready swap them, and
> then wait for the day when KDE3 is removed from ports (in many years
> to come...)  I like the idea about KDE4PREFIX, perhaps we could start
> on KDE3PREFIX to allow easy change in distant future.

Most bigger software packages in ports, including KDE, is not very robust when 
it comes to custom prefixes. That is why I tend to want to hide PREFIX so 
that only real power users will know how to manipulate it and nobody will be 
able to assume it is at all supported by kde at . :)

I was quite surprised when I first learned that a couple of people were 
overriding KDE_PREFIX to move KDE into a custom location and thought that the 
variable existed for that purpose. In fact, it was never intended to be much 
more but a buffer-variable (pmake gets easily confused when manipulating the 
contents of variables) for PREFIX (although we abused it ourselves for CVS 
builds and such as well).

Also, default prefix moves are always a horrible experience for users - just 
remember the big X11 move not so long ago. Thus I would very much like to 
find one location for KDE4 now and then stick with it forever.

> > Step 2 will be getting all the modules to build and to run somewhat
> > reasonably. It will be just like the old days, lots of swearing and
> > patching and 80% of KDE working in the beginning and 95% of KDE working
> > just before KDE5 will come out. :)
>
> I could start tracking down programs that don't run (so far everything
> compiles).  What should I do with the backtraces and list of programs
> that crash?

You could put them (or links to them) on the wiki: 
http://wiki.freebsd.org/KDE4. Account creation is open to everyone, but I 
think arved@ would need to give you write access to the page first (I'd like 
write access as well btw, account is MichaelNottebrock :).

> > Step 3 will be cutting up the distribution modules into smaller pieces
> > whereever possible/sensible and possibly write a kde.mk for the task.
>
> Sounds like a good plan (could perhaps use --exclude when unpacking
> sources?)

Once we get to a point where KDE4 becomes usable, there's basically no limits 
to optimization other than people and their motivation and time.

>
> (((
> Another quick question, since kdelibs insists on an out-of-source
> build (easily overridden)

Does out-of-source build mean builddir!=sourcedir?

> and cmake supports in very well will such a 
> capability be put into bsd.cmake.mk (and used by default?).  Oh, how
> is bsd.cmake.mk coming along?

At the moment it is vaporware(?), but I agree we should have one in place at 
least once kdelibs and kdebase are in good shape.


Cheers,
-- 
   ,_,   | Michael Nottebrock               | lofi at freebsd.org
 (/^ ^\) | FreeBSD - The Power to Serve     | http://www.freebsd.org
   \u/   | K Desktop Environment on FreeBSD | http://freebsd.kde.org
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