[GRASS-dev] CLI!=GUI

[Francesco P. Lovergine]

On Sun, Nov 28, 2010 at 09:29:28PM +0000, Glynn Clements wrote:
> 
> Hamish wrote:
> 
> > > > If the only available packages (RPM, .deb, etc) insist
> > > > upon installing GUI libraries, complain to the people who
> > > > make the packages.
> > 
> > Paolo:
> > > OK, so, now I'm complaining ;) : packagers, please have
> > > your saying here.
> > 
> > disk space is very cheap. package maintaining time is not. IMHO
> > unused libraries & a couple extra packages do no real harm
> 
> It isn't "a couple". Once you link against wx, you're looking at ~60
> extra libraries.
> 
> I'd suggest that the core GRASS package shouldn't list X, wxWidgets or
> (in 6.x) Python as dependencies.
> 
> It shouldn't be necessary to split the actual GRASS distribution into
> GUI and non-GUI components. Put everything in the non-GUI package, and
> have a separate GUI package which is empty (or contains a single dummy
> file if the packaging system doesn't allow empty packages) and exists
> solely to hold the GUI-specific dependencies.
> 

As said in another mail of mine, it is not a problem brute-splitting GUI
dependencies (e.g. current squeeze release for 6.4 only *suggests*
wxpython dependencies). Moving GUI-related binaries in different
packages is a pain to maintain, but theoretically it can also be done. 

It remains a brute hack anyway, which is a symptom of
a fundamental design problem: the whole system is theoretically 
layered and modular, but in fact it cannot be really componentized
in a *clean* way. Something I find basically disturbing and not
elegant, sorry my purism. 

BTW, I tend to disagree about considering GUI maintainance not influent
in the releasing cycle. It *is* influent and caused many of the
past/present windows/macos delays. Having a sort of grass-toolbox 
and grass-gui sub-projects could help a lot (like CNES does 
with OTB and Monteverdi).

And like it or not, there are people that do not use the
default GUI or a GUI at all. Splitting would gain consensus
about the core, which is IMVHO the true value of GRASS.

Of course, my 2 cents, as always.

-- 
Francesco P. Lovergine