[KDE/Mac] Randa Meetings 2014 and KDE-Mac

[Ian Wadham]

On 13/04/2014, at 1:21 AM, mk-lists at email.de wrote:
> On 12 Apr 2014, at 15:08 , Mario Fux <kde-ml at unormal.org> wrote:
>> What about this techbase page, is this still ok?
>> http://techbase.kde.org/Getting_Started/Build/Mac_OS_X/MacPorts

Hmmmm.  Interesting.  I have not come across that page before.  In 2011,
I picked up another page, among the KDE-Mac pages, which was soon after
declared obsolete and "do not use" … but using that page was how I got
started with developing KDE Games on Mac.

http://techbase.kde.org/Getting_Started/Build/Mac_OS_X/MacPorts is also
rather obsolete.  It dates back to 2010.  The interesting thing is the section
headed "Edit 07/2012", written by "Zarboz".

Mario, how can I find out who Zarboz is and how to get in touch with him/her?
The link to Zarboz in the page history is empty.

What is interesting is that Zarboz was able to install kdesrc-build and get it
running --- something I have never been able to do.  I must have another go.

Once you have kdesrc-build, it is easy to build and install any part of KDE
software, independently of whatever you may have in MacPorts.  Then you
can get debug output and insert your own debugging code.  Obviously, that
would be an important tool for us.

> OK, I had a quick look at it now and have to say that I have never ever followed such a path of installation.
> This obviously allows to have the whole build environment in your user directory.
> And all this in parallel to an underlying MacPorts installation…
> Well, I can’t figure out now how those two can coexist without interference.

Secret KDE business … ;-) … [1]

> That’s why I guess I wait for Ian, who might have chosen to install KDE like that for his kde4-games testing.

My setup at present only includes KDE Games source code from the master
branch of the git repository (i.e. the bleeding edge, equiv. to TRUNK).  It can
also include any other KDE app, but not (so far) kdelibs, kde-runtime, etc.,
which it gets from MacPorts.

So I have lately been developing Palapeli 2.0 for KDE SC 4.13 (due to be
released in 3 days), but using kdelibs for 4.12.2, as provided by MacPorts.

This is handy because MacPorts also contains a stable, released version
of all the KDE Games.  I can always play them for my enjoyment, or to
compare before-and-after effects of changes I am making to a game.

I am using something like the techniques explained or linked to in the
main (top) part of
http://techbase.kde.org/Getting_Started/Build/Mac_OS_X/MacPorts

My ~/.profile contains David Faure's functions cs, cb, cd and cmakekde.
I use /kdedev as my development tree.  David's version of cd does a
normal "cd" command, but also steps its way up the directory tree
looking for a file called .my-setup and then sources its contents, which
define a whole lot of Shell environment variables.  Those variables
insulate my testing, as much as I wish, from MacPorts and stable versions
of the games I am working on.  The setup includes its own environment
for saved settings, saved games, graphics caches, etc.  So any time I
do "cd" to a development area under /kdedev, my environment gets
set up and insulated automatically.

This all works because any file-area used in building, installing or
running KDE software can be re-defined as a Shell environment
variable.

Also kdelibs has a facility called KStandardDirs which finds files for
an app, no matter where they may be located.  So the app does not
need to know any filepath prefixes.

In its effect the KStandardDirs class is like the Apple OS X technique of
grouping stuff in a /Applications/<appname>.app tree or in ~/Library,
but the KDE files are scattered around more.

Secret business revealed … :-)

Cheers, Ian W.

[1]
In Australian Aboriginal culture, most traditions, stories, ceremonies and
sacred sites are known to adults, but a few are known to women only and
a few to men only.

Several years ago there was a project to build a bridge to a small island in
the state of South Australia, but it met with a lot of local community opposition.

Eventually it was alleged that the work would interfere with Aboriginal
sacred sites.  When asked "What sites?", the reply came back, "Secret
women's business …".

AFAIK the bridge never did get built, but the saying "Secret xxx's business …"
has passed into the Australian language.