[Qgis-psc] QGIS for Mac OS packaging and infrastructure

Thu Feb 21 01:18:23 PST 2019

Hi all,

I know various people who use QGIS on mac. Some of them the reason to
use QGIS is because it runs on mac. I think we should it make as easy
and comfortable for them to use QGIS and from what I've heard packaging
has been a pain point in the past.

Some of the ones I know also support QGIS bugfixing and participate
actively in the QGIS community, so I think it also pays back to us. Even
if not directly through sponsoring packaging, but through generating a
sustainable ecosystem.

I would also argue, that the same counts from a company perspective, the
amount of advertising done by Lutra for this project certainly generated
a lot of visibility as a company, so even if the packaging itself isn't
completely paid, I think it is a very good move.

What I would ideally like to see is that we have packaging

 - completely whitelabeled on public infrastructure (qgis owned or even
better managed CI services)

 - having the scripts to generate packages in a repository (which will
make it possible for anyone to contribute package upgrades via pull
requests; especially for the numerous Python packages it's almost
impossible for a small number of maintainers with access to a packaging
machine to keep them up to date)

 - a mandate for a company to keep a defined number of packages up to
date (qt, python, gdal, sip, ...)

Sidenote/correction: I never created packages for macOS, the only thing
we did at OPENGIS.ch is to massively improve the UX for mac users by
fixing a lot of bugs (kudos to Denis) prior to QGIS 3.4.

Regards
Matthias

On 2/21/19 8:57 AM, Peter Petrik wrote:
> Hi Richard, I am very confused now. 
>
> So what is the difference between windows-only and macos-only issues? 
> Technically you cannot test windows only issue on free machines too
> since you need to buy windows OS.
>
> I do not think that MacOS development environment "is just too
> difficult (both technical as financial as in their processes)". 
> Yes, it is very different to other OSes. But frankly, differences
> between MacOS and Linux are nothing compared to Linux and Windows. 
> All development tools are for free (e.g. XCode). Also as a developer,
> you do not need to pay for license/certificate for your own development. 
> This is required only for products you want to distribute on Apple
> Store or by other means.
>
> From my point of view, if we have big enough user base on MacOS, we
> should give them reliable package that is compatible with 
> their system. And again, I would not be surprised if we have more
> MacOS users than Linux users.
>
> Kind regards,
> Peter
>
>
>
> On Thu, Feb 21, 2019 at 8:36 AM Richard Duivenvoorde
> <rdmailings at duif.net <mailto:rdmailings at duif.net>> wrote:
>
>     On 20/02/2019 21.54, Saber Razmjooei wrote:
>     > I fully understand the hurdles, costs and restrictions with Apple
>     > development environment. So, if you (as QGIS.org) decide not to
>     support
>     > their platform, it is understandable. But to be inclusive, I feel we
>     > should help users on all platforms, with an easy way of
>     installing and
>     > using the software.
>
>     I would be ok (at least for 2 years) to let PSC pay this cloud
>     thing, if
>     others/PSC agree with this too and only if Lutra, or a macOS user
>     (group) wants to be responsible for the packaging to be done on that.
>     And we can keep away from other 'Apple'-tax like developer
>     licenses etc
>     etc.
>
>     About being 'inclusive': for what I see from the outside, Apple
>     makes it
>     just too difficult (both technical as financial as in their processes)
>     to blend with OpenSource and FOSS desktop applications (server side is
>     easier). We also do not package for Playstation(r) and Nintendo(r)
>     (they
>     also have a very money based software eco system).
>
>     So only a dedicated, really eager volunteer (like William) can
>     keep this
>     running. MacOS users cannot rely on 'The QGIS Community' as a whole as
>     these cannot easily reproduce stuff/issues/fix on their (free)
>     machines.
>
>     And Andreas argument about 'Apple issues are normal issues which
>     should
>     be fixed' is partly irrelevant for me: even if I wanted I cannot
>     test/fix/reproduce them.
>
>     MacOS users need to help to make this work, not only do the free
>     riding.
>
>     Regards,
>
>     Richard Duivenvoorde
>
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-- 
Matthias Kuhn
matthias at opengis.ch <mailto:matthias at opengis.ch>
+41 (0)76 435 67 63 <tel:+41764356763>
OPENGIS.ch Logo <http://www.opengis.ch>
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