Yes that’s an option, but a lot of the requirements are the same (objc runtime, base, gui, back, the helper tools, the config file etc) so there’s also value in having a shared process that all apps can opt into. I don’t know that gnustep-make is the right place for this, but it has some useful attributes. Another option is to use one of the other “packaging” outputs like deb and then a package converter to build the AppImage.
Cheers, Graham. > On 26 May 2026, at 17:18, Joseph Maloney <[email protected]> wrote: > > That's really cool. I wonder if it would make more sense to make a reusable > workflow that could apply to specific repos like apps-easydiff, > apps-projectcenter, apps-gorm instead of tools-make though? That way you > just go to those repos, get the appimages, etc. > > Joseph Maloney > > Sent with Proton Mail <https://proton.me/mail/home> secure email. > > On Tuesday, May 26th, 2026 at 11:12 AM, [email protected] > <[email protected]> wrote: >> HI all, >> >> I used some time today to prototype this in GNUstep make, and successfully >> built a portable image of EasyDiff: >> >> https://github.com/gnustep/tools-make/pull/70 >> >> I think lots of caveats (documented in the PR description), but it basically >> works. It would be nice to have CI that builds non-flattened AppImages that >> work on multiple architectures, for example. >> >> Best wishes, >> >> Graham. >> >>> On 25 May 2026, at 12:37, [email protected] >>> <mailto:[email protected]> via Discussion list for the >>> GNUstep programming environment <[email protected] >>> <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: >>> >>> Hi, >>> >>>> Am 25.05.2026 um 10:41 schrieb Riccardo Mottola >>>> <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>>: >>>> >>>> Hi, >>>> >>>> [email protected] >>>> <mailto:[email protected]> via Discussion list for the >>>> GNUstep programming environment wrote: >>>>> I think, GNUstep needs lower hurdles for entering our ecosystem and so I >>>>> had the thought „What if we distribute the GNUstep dev tools as >>>>> AppImage?“, e.g. bundling everything needed (basic GNUstep installation; >>>>> compiler, linker, make; Gorm.app and ProjectCenter.app; some example >>>>> code) into an AppImage like PikoPixel did, so that our App can be run >>>>> everywhere AppImages are supported. >>>>> >>>>> What do you think about the idea, would it help our cause? >>>>> >>>>> What would be the prerequisites for such an attempt? >>>>> >>>>> How much work would it be? >>>>> >>>> >>>> I don't know about AppImages but GNUstep supports packing everything into >>>> a single directory containing Application, frameworks, themes, preferences >>>> into a single folder. >>>> >>>> It is useful to ship a single application with its environment, I use it >>>> with success on windows and have scripts for that. Very convenient. >>>> Theoretically it can also contain more than one app. >>>> >>>> It is instead not very smart having several directories for each app, >>>> since that way you have multiple runtime installations and running them in >>>> concurrency may cause issues (beyond space waste). I don't know how >>>> AppImages would handle this. >>> >>> I mentioned AppImages because those are a recognized way to distribute apps >>> für Linux (and BSD? I don’t know). Yeah, they somewhat reinvented the wheel >>> after OpenSteps app bundle, but they still seem to be the way commonly >>> used. Please correct me if I am wrong. >>> >>> Despite all this I am off course open to other but similar easy ways to >>> distribute (binary) apps to users. >>> >>>> >>>> -R >>> >>> kind regards, >>> >>> Lars >> >
