[rkward-devel] rkward on Mac

[Thomas Friedrichsmeier]

Hi!

On Tuesday 02 October 2012, Paul McKimmy wrote:
>  I note from the sourceforge site that "access to a Mac is limited for the
> main contributors, so we are still figuring out a complete step-by-step
> guide and do need your help."

That's still true, but ti's no longer quite as limited as it used to be. We 
have made (more precisely: Meik has made) pretty good progress towards an 
easily installable Mac port. And in fact, for the upcoming release, we're 
planning to announce Mac support much more visibly, and using more encouraging 
wording.

Several users have reported success installing RKWard using the precompiled 
binary bundle (https://sourceforge.net/projects/rkwardextras/files/MacOSX/), 
and overall my impression is that it works rather well. At the same time, the 
Mac version is still very young, and a whole bunch of small problems should 
still be expected. Also, the Mac version is currently missing out on graphics 
window integration (on screen graphics do work, but you're missing out on 
several RKWard specific features related to on screen graphics).

> Would it be as simple as providing a Mac to one of the main contributors
> to achieve easily accessible Mac binaries?  I am pushing rkward in higher
> education courses, where installation on Macs is a barrier for novice
> students.  I think it would be well worth the investment if such an
> arrangement were possible.

Regarding Mac binaries: I'm certainly not trying to talk you out of providing 
us with a Mac, but before anything else: Try the bundle we provide, today. 
There is certainly room for improvement, e.g. regarding updating. But perhaps 
this sort of polishing can best be done by some tech savy person who is 
actually using a Mac as their main platform.

Lacking any real experience in developing for Mac, I'd be very reluctant to 
promise anything in this respect, but esp. for fixing the on screen graphics 
problem, having physical access to a Mac would certainly be very helpful. If 
you (or somebody else) could provide a used (but not ancient) Mac, I'm all 
ears. I am somewhat afraid that shipping one from outside Europe, dealing with 
taxes and absurd import regulations, etc. might be a lot more hassle and a lot 
more expensive than it sounds, though.

Again, I am *not* trying to talk you out of the idea, but one alternative to 
consider might be to find a Mac user with programming skills near you. Then 
persuade (or pay) that person to help with RKWard on the Mac.

Regards
Thomas
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