Re: Making it easier to start contributing to LibreOffice development
Hi Hossein, Hossein Nourikhah wrote: > How to automate (from command-line) the installation of a Visual Studio > Build Tools build environment, for C++, .NET, C#, etc > https://stackoverflow.com/q/62551793 > I think that's a _really_ great idea, adding that to lode - pulling in just the build tools, and putting them into a non-standard path via --installPath (so as to not interfere with any existing install). That should make for a much more standardized build env on Windows, with fewer opportunities to get it wrong. > 2-4 Dropping some of the huge dependencies > There was disagreements in this area, but it is actually possible to drop > some of the huge dependencies to simplify the build process. It is also a > big task. This is an example patch from me: > > Drop boost dependency for writerfilter > https://gerrit.libreoffice.org/c/core/+/139279 > For this one, I'm not convinced that is the right approach. You'll have a hard time replacing boost/spirit, the json parser and the various specialized containers with something equivalent. As Stephan said, the useful bits out of boost will eventually appear in std c++ - and that is the way, we'll eventually get rid of boost. If boost is a drag (is it really? we only build a tiny fraction of it, no?), perhaps cutting the tarball down to the absolute minimum is a better plan. Their git repo is already quite modular... Cheers, -- Thorsten signature.asc Description: PGP signature
Re: Making it easier to start contributing to LibreOffice development
SUMMARY: I think it would help if it were easier to get started on contributing to LibreOffice development. I tried, but gave up after 4+ hours. I don't know where is the best place to make this suggestion. To be able to help, it would be useful to have some feedback about these: 1) On which env and version are you (Linux distrib, macOs, Windows) ? 2) Did you use https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/Development/GetInvolved ? 3) Could you indicate some parts which blocked you ? Regards, Julien
Re: Making it easier to start contributing to LibreOffice development
Hello, Thank you for bringing this into attention. There are two things here: 1. Helping you build LibreOffice: As Ilmari said, we (me and him) can help you with possible problems in your build. If needed, I can provide screen sharing session to find the possible problems and fix them. 2. Simplifying the LibreOffice build: This is an ongoing effort. For example: 2-1 Simplifying the build instructions: The below Wiki page is my effort to make build instructions easier to use, by separating the platforms, and summarizing the instructions. It is not yet finalized, but it is usable: Build LibreOffice from source code https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/User:Hossein/Build 2-2 Simplifying the build process: This is also an ongoing effort. Using cmake or meson can help simplifying the build, but it is a very complex task. The author of meson (Jussi Pakkanen) has tried to do experimental builds of LibreOffice, and he could achieve partial success. But, for a complete build more work is needed. Building a part of LibreOffice on Windows using only Meson and WrapDB https://nibblestew.blogspot.com/2022/01/building-part-of-libreoffice-on-windows.html Compiling LibreOffice with Meson even further https://nibblestew.blogspot.com/2022/02/compiling-libreoffice-with-meson-even.html 2-3 Automating instructions Some of the tasks needed for the build are currently manual, but they can be automated. For example, installing individual Visual Studio components can be done using a script. I have opened a Bugzilla ticket for this purpose: tdf#156708 - Automate installing and checking for individual components of Visual Studio on Windows https://bugs.documentfoundation.org/show_bug.cgi?id=156708 You can read more here: Use command-line parameters to install, update, and manage Visual Studio https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/visualstudio/install/use-command-line-parameters-to-install-visual-studio?view=vs-2022 How to automate (from command-line) the installation of a Visual Studio Build Tools build environment, for C++, .NET, C#, etc https://stackoverflow.com/q/62551793 2-4 Dropping some of the huge dependencies There was disagreements in this area, but it is actually possible to drop some of the huge dependencies to simplify the build process. It is also a big task. This is an example patch from me: Drop boost dependency for writerfilter https://gerrit.libreoffice.org/c/core/+/139279 2-5 Making the actual build faster I have just merged a patch that makes it possible to use ccache on Windows: tdf#155446 Fix problem with ccache on Windows https://gerrit.libreoffice.org/c/core/+/152277 On the other hand, there is still room for more improvement, by making it possible to use PCH (pre-compiled headers) and ccache at the same time, on Windows. If you have time and you are willing to help, the above are some of the things to take a look at. Regards, Hossein On 09.08.2023 20:31, Ilmari Lauhakangas wrote: On 9.8.2023 19.32, David Booth wrote: SUMMARY: I think it would help if it were easier to get started on contributing to LibreOffice development. I tried, but gave up after 4+ hours. I don't know where is the best place to make this suggestion. BACKGROUND: A few months ago I ran into a problem using LibreOffice. Since I have experience with software development -- I'm a software architect with multiple degrees in Computer Science -- I wanted to help improve it. I followed instructions as I could find them, but found them them unclear. After spending 4+ hours I was unable to reach the point of being able to get started and had to stop, due to other priorities. Perhaps if I get another burst of volunteer energy I could try again someday. And if I do, maybe a good first task would be to improve the instructions for contributing to LibreOffice development. In the meantime I thought I should at least share my experience, in case someone else might be inspired to improve the instructions. Hello, it's true that depending on the platform (*cough* Windows) the build setup can be tedious. This is not set in stone, however, and devs are working on improvements. You can send me a private email and we can schedule a mentoring chat where we go through the first steps. It is normal these days for all new contributors. Regards, Ilmari Lauhakangas Development Marketing at The Document Foundation -- Hossein Nourikhah, Ph.D., Developer Community Architect Tel: +49 30 5557992-65 | Email: hoss...@libreoffice.org The Document Foundation, Winterfeldtstraße 52, 10781 Berlin, DE Gemeinnützige rechtsfähige Stiftung des bürgerlichen Rechts Legal details: https://www.documentfoundation.org/imprint
Re: Making it easier to start contributing to LibreOffice development
On 9.8.2023 19.32, David Booth wrote: SUMMARY: I think it would help if it were easier to get started on contributing to LibreOffice development. I tried, but gave up after 4+ hours. I don't know where is the best place to make this suggestion. BACKGROUND: A few months ago I ran into a problem using LibreOffice. Since I have experience with software development -- I'm a software architect with multiple degrees in Computer Science -- I wanted to help improve it. I followed instructions as I could find them, but found them them unclear. After spending 4+ hours I was unable to reach the point of being able to get started and had to stop, due to other priorities. Perhaps if I get another burst of volunteer energy I could try again someday. And if I do, maybe a good first task would be to improve the instructions for contributing to LibreOffice development. In the meantime I thought I should at least share my experience, in case someone else might be inspired to improve the instructions. Hello, it's true that depending on the platform (*cough* Windows) the build setup can be tedious. This is not set in stone, however, and devs are working on improvements. You can send me a private email and we can schedule a mentoring chat where we go through the first steps. It is normal these days for all new contributors. Regards, Ilmari Lauhakangas Development Marketing at The Document Foundation
Making it easier to start contributing to LibreOffice development
SUMMARY: I think it would help if it were easier to get started on contributing to LibreOffice development. I tried, but gave up after 4+ hours. I don't know where is the best place to make this suggestion. BACKGROUND: A few months ago I ran into a problem using LibreOffice. Since I have experience with software development -- I'm a software architect with multiple degrees in Computer Science -- I wanted to help improve it. I followed instructions as I could find them, but found them them unclear. After spending 4+ hours I was unable to reach the point of being able to get started and had to stop, due to other priorities. Perhaps if I get another burst of volunteer energy I could try again someday. And if I do, maybe a good first task would be to improve the instructions for contributing to LibreOffice development. In the meantime I thought I should at least share my experience, in case someone else might be inspired to improve the instructions. Thanks, David Booth