[Gambas-user] Where are the examples?

[Tobias Boege]

On Tue, 16 Dec 2014, rolf wrote:
> Hi Jussi
> 
> > Maybe "examples" option could be added to main dialog (the place where it
> > used to be) after you have installed at least one example?
> 
> There is no "examples" option in the main dialog and no examples are installed 
> on the system by the "make install" and I found no target "make install 
> examples" or so.
> 
> I found them in trunk/app/examples (or so) and copied them into a directory of 
> mine, but could not "install" one of them from the software farm.
> 

Yes, that's what the commit log tells you:

Revision: 6721
-----------
[CONFIGURATION]
* NEW: Examples are not installed anymore and were removed. They will be
  stored in the Gambas farm server.

[DEVELOPMENT ENVIRONMENT]
* NEW: Remove the examples from the welcome dialog, the open project dialog
  and the 'File' menu.

Revision: 6724
-----------
[EXAMPLES]
* NEW: Put the old examples in '/trunk/app/examples'.

You read the commit logs, right? Because you are compiling an (unstable)
development version during a period of heavy changes.

> BTW why must the directory ".local" be hidden??? I see no reason. Why can the 
> directory not be choosen by the user or taken from an environment variable?
> 

If you look at the source code:

--8<-- [ app/src/gambas3/.src/Project/Farm/CSoftware.class ]----------------
165 Public Sub GetInstalledDir() As String
166
167   Return Desktop.DataDir &/ "gambas3/src" &/ LCase(Vendor) &/ Name
168
169 End
--8<------------------------------------------------------------------------

The installation directory is chosen as Desktop.DataDir which, per docs[0]
of the Desktop class (gb.desktop), mirrors the environment variable
$XDG_DATA_HOME. This is per freedesktop standard[1] the place to put
"user-specific data files". Software downloaded from a farm is not to be
seen as just projects anymore, they mean something to the IDE, too. That
means they constitute a database of "installed software", _maintained_ via
the IDE and in this regard, it makes sense to put them into $XDG_DATA_HOME.

As was shortly brought to attention in this thread[2] -- alas without being
resolved -- I would also opt for a configurable target directory, although
I don't feel strongly about that because I'll certainly employ a bookmark
either way.

Regards,
Tobi

[0] http://gambaswiki.org/wiki/comp/gb.desktop/desktop/datadir
[1] http://standards.freedesktop.org/basedir-spec/basedir-spec-latest.html
[2] http://sourceforge.net/p/gambas/mailman/message/33079591/

-- 
"There's an old saying: Don't change anything... ever!" -- Mr. Monk