Re: [PHP-GTK] running php-gtk2 on mac

> forgive me if i am wrong but couldn't you use something like Platypus  
> to get an OS X app binary for this?  I found it very easy when  
> creating an OS X app based on just a command line php script.

Platypus is what I initially used to create the icon that loads the script 
file that loads the dmg that unzips (as needed) the binary files for the 
right chip architecture that hosts the php-gtk application. 

It works, now. Rather well. Mac users see our product much like any other, 
once Xcode/X11 are installed. I won't be changing ANYTHING, thank you. 

Look at it like this: how do you install your software? In environments where 
end users often don't have administrative priviledges? To a directory that's 
fixed in location? So that the program can update itself regardless of 
permissions? In a way that's easy enough for Mac users? Complete with the 
exact library combination that you need? (In my case, the killers were mcrypt 
and zlib) On all flavors of OSX? 

Have you ever installed Firefox? (download the .dmg, double click, drag the 
icon over) It isn't until you've talked a few end users through THAT install 
process that the size of the problem really becomes clear. 

It's much, much harder than it seems, and that won't be really clear to you 
until you've actually sold some software and tried to support it for a few 
hundred non-techie "what is a .dmg file?" end users at locations 600 miles 
away. My respect for the devs of PHP-GTK and their patience is immense, I 
only wish my life circumstances were such that I could devote more to this 
project! 

I love the idea (posted separately) that php-gtk2.x has far fewer deps than 
php-gtk1, however, the major differences between php-gtk1.x and php-gtk2.x 
suggests a MASSIVE porting effort (almost a re-write) of our otherwise 
substantial application, so while nice in the future, we won't be switching 
anytime soon. (EG: more than a year away) 

Am I ranting about OSX? Sure am, having had the ultimate insult today: 

The end user was complaining that my detailed, screenshot-by-screenshot 
instructions for installing X-Code and X-11 "didn't work" and that she had 
tried to follow them and "nothing happened". I've heard this complaint 
before, despite everything "just working" when I actually try it, so I used a 
VNC-based remote desktop tool to watch what she actually DID. 

Turns out, she was clicking on the screenshot itself (complete with the 
circles and arrows) and wondering why it did not work! 

THE SCREENSHOT! ON THE WEB PAGE! AugKh! 

So I updated my instructions page with some javascript so that if/when the end 
user clicks on the screenshot, it pops up a .js alert like "This is not the 
installer file. You have just clicked on the screenshot in the instructions. 
Find the installer window that looks like this one and click there". 

-Ben 

On Monday 25 February 2008, Joseph Crawford wrote:
> 
> Joseph Crawford
> 
> On Feb 25, 2008, at 2:38 PM, Benjamin Smith wrote:
> 
> > My challenge with Macintosh hasn't been getting it to work. It's  
> > been getting
> > it to work for end users. It seems that getting anything beyond  
> > "Drag the
> > icon to your desktop" to work without intense frustration is nigh  
> > impossible.
> >
> > For what it's worth, I've been maintaining a mac port of PHP4-GTK1  
> > for OSX to
> > support my PHP-GTK software. Over the last year, I've gotten it  
> > refined so
> > that installing my software is almost as easy as, for example,  
> > Firefox -
> > download the file, double-click the .tgz icon, double-click the
> > resulting .app icon.
> >
> > The path to making this so is anything but simple:
> >
> > 1) The end user has to have Xcode and X11 libraries installed from  
> > their O/S
> > DVD.
> >
> > 2) The boot process is ridiculously complex:
> > 	A) Icon links to a script file within the myicon.app directory.
> > 	B) script mounts an embedded .dmg file so that the absolute path  
> > requirements
> > of php/gtk can be met.
> > 	C) php/gtk has been source-compiled to the default mount directory  
> > of the
> > embedded .dmg. This was no small feat in itself, but you can get the  
> > sources
> > with compile scripts at http://chico.benjamindsmith.com/phpgtk_osx/
> > 	D) Within the .dmg file are copies of binaries for both  
> > architectures.
> > (ppc/i386) uname is used to determine which set to run.
> > 	E) Call to php/x11 made to launch the actual php-gtk script.
> > 	F) PHP-GTK program launches.
> > 	G) Background script is run to unmount the mounted drive. It tries  
> > every 5
> > seconds, will fail so long as script launched in F is run.
> >
> > 3) Binaries are all compiled on OSX 10.3. Older binaries work on newer
> > releases, newer binaries don't work on older releases.
> >
> > Hard to come to? Yes. But it seems to be the best way from an end-user
> > perspective. I've tried repeatedly to get rid of the requirement for  
> > Xcode.
> > (X11 isn't so bad, Xcode is over a GB)
> >
> > -Ben
> >
> > On Friday 08 February 2008, kksou wrote:
> >>
> >> Hi,
> >>
> >> My friend just bought an imac, and he wants to explore php-gtk2.
> >>
> >> I'm not familiar with the mac platform. I've only run php-gtk2 on  
> >> windows
> >> and linux.
> >>
> >> Was wondering if any mac user could give some advice:
> >>
> >> 1) I know OS X is a built on top of unix. So is it possible to  
> >> download the
> >> php-gtk2 source code and compile them just like what we did on  
> >> linux? Is it
> >> as straightforward as in linux? Or as complicated as in compiling on
> >> windows?
> >>
> >> 2) The other alternative I was told is to use vmware to run linux  
> >> or windows
> >> on mac (think this might be an overkill).
> >>
> >> 3) Are there any resources on running/compiling php-gtk2 on mac?
> >>
> >> Thanks in advance for your advice.
> >>
> >> Warm Regards,
> >> /kksou
> >>
> >> -- 
> >> View this message in context:
> > http://www.nabble.com/running-php-gtk2-on-mac-tp15354952p15354952.html
> >> Sent from the Php - GTK - General mailing list archive at Nabble.com.
> >>
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