GODI news

[Gerd Stolpmann <info@gerd-stolpmann.de>]

Hi caml-list,

Welcome to GODI news, the newsletter that informs you about updates of
GODI, the source-based O'Caml distribution.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS:

1. GODI upgrades to O'Caml 3.08.4
2. Various problems solved
3. Current GODI development
4. Where to find more information about GODI
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1. GODI UPGRADES TO O'CAML 3.08.4

The GODI project recently upgraded to O'Caml 3.08.4. This means that the
"3.08" branch of the distribution now bases on this O'Caml version
instead of the formerly used version 3.08.3. The old version is
discontinued at the same moment.

Existing installations of GODI can be easily upgraded using the standard
mechanism. This works in an almost fully automatic way, GODI takes care
not to only build the new O'Caml base but also rebuilds all dependent
libraries. Although well tested, it is recommended to save a copy of the
old installation before trying the update.

To start the update, invoke godi_console in interactive mode, and do:

- Update the list of packages
- Go into the menu where one can select the packages. Press 'u'
  to upgrade the packages, and confirm with 'o'. Start the installation
  as usual. There is one special point that requires manual 
  intervention: Because godi_console updates itself, the user is
  warned about potential problems, and another confirmation ('o')
  is required. You will see a describing message at that point.
- Enjoy the updated installation

It is also possible to do the same from the command-line:

$ godi_console update
$ godi_console wish -rebuild
$ godi_console perform -wishes -newer
$ godi_console wish -reset


2. VARIOUS PROBLEMS SOLVED

As more and more operating systems are shipping with GCC 4 as default
compiler, it became urgent to fix the incompatibilities with this GCC
version. Partly, the problem could be solved by the upgrade to O'Caml
3.08.4. However, GODI still uses some C programs that could not be
compiled. These had to be additionally fixed.

It is recommended that users of GCC 4 bootstrap GODI from the beginning.
(You can find out the GCC version by entering the command 
"gcc --version".)

Another problem in the past months affected only Mac OS X 10.4 users.
Because of a change of a system call some programs had to adapted to the
new style.


3. CURRENT GODI DEVELOPMENT

Current versions of godi_console include an integrated rewrite of the
"BSD make" utility GODI uses to drive all sorts of shell scripts. One
can call this version of the "make" utility by calling "godi_console
make ..." instead of "godi_make ...". It is still experimental, although
it seems to be good enough to replace the old C program that is
currently being used.

For a discussion of the consequences, see this thread:

https://gps.dynxs.de/pipermail/godi-list/2005-July/000627.html


4. WHERE TO FIND MORE INFORMATION ABOUT GODI

GODI is a source-based O'Caml distribution. It consists of a framework
that automatically builds the O'Caml core system, and additionally
installs a growing number of pre-packaged libraries. GODI is available
for O'Caml-3.07 and 3.08. It runs on Linux, Solaris, FreeBSD, NetBSD,
Cygwin, HP-UX, MacOS X.

Advantages of using GODI:

      * Automatic installation of new libraries: GODI knows where a
        library can be downloaded, which prerequisites are needed to
        build it, and which commands must be invoked to compile and
        install it
      * Complete package management of the installation: A library is
        installed as a package (a managed set of files), so it is
        possible to remove it later without any hassle.
      * GODI implements the necessary logic to upgrade installations:
        Because of the way O'Caml works, all dependent libraries must be
        recompiled if a library is upgraded to a newer version. GODI
        automates this process.
      * Integration with the operating system: If additional C libraries
        are needed to build an O'Caml library, and the operating system
        includes them, they will usually be automatically found and
        used. Non-standard locations can be configured (there is only
        one configuration file for the whole installation).
      * GODI has a menu-based user interface that makes it simple to use
        even for beginners.
      * GODI tries to standardize the directory layout of library
        installations, so it becomes simpler to find files of interest.

GODI currently supports 73 add-on libraries and 12 applications written
in O'Caml.

Read more on the GODI homepage: http://godi.ocaml-programming.de

-- 
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Gerd Stolpmann * Viktoriastr. 45 * 64293 Darmstadt * Germany 
gerd@gerd-stolpmann.de          http://www.gerd-stolpmann.de
Telefon: 06151/153855                  Telefax: 06151/997714
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