[Xcircuit-dev] xcircuit 3.6.24-1 unusable on amd64

[R. Timothy Edwards]

Dear Larry,

> I don't mean to complain, but the recent upload of xcircuit 3.6.24-1
> to unstable is completely unusable for me on amd64.  This is unlike
> any previous version of xcircuit.  I get segfaults or illegal
> instruction crashes within half-a-dozen X actions.

It helps to know these things, which is why you *should* be
complaining.  Complaining is the only way to get things done in
the open source world (unless, as you say, you want to become
a developer yourself).

> This is true even when I rebuild from sources, either in or out
> of the Debian package framework.  I note a large number of 64-bit
> concerns flagged by the compiler (gcc-4.0.4), about half of them
> in the Xw widget set.  I tried fixing some of the worst of these,
> and using gdb to find details of the crash, but have not yet
> succeeded in finding or fixing the problem(s).
> 
> This leaves me with a number of questions:

> 2. is xcircuit the only Debian package using Xw?

I wasn't aware that the Debian package uses Xw.  I thought
that the executable was compiled with Tcl/Tk, and assumes
Tcl/Tk as a dependency for the package.

> 3. where did upstream (that's you, Tim) get that copy of Xw
>    (and are you maintaining that copy yourself)?

Looooooong time back.  I first used Xw (which comes from HP,
by the way) in a GUI front-end for a neural network in 1991.
I don't really maintain it at all.  I've switched to Tcl/Tk
to handle the GUI.  The Xw package remains there as a
backup for people who, for whatever reason, don't or can't
install Tcl/Tk.

> 4. will upstream accept 64-bit cleanups (and do you have
>    access to a 64-bit machine to test them)?

I have an AMD Opteron.  I (somewhat) regularly compile
and test the Tcl/Tk version of xcircuit on it.  I'll take
a look at the latest 3.6 version, and also with Xw, but
my suspicion is that updating Xw to be 64-bit clean is
probably a painful exercise, and of questionable worth.

> 5. will this be the kick in the pants I need to become
>    a Debian Developer and adopt this package?

I wouldn't want to force you to resort to drastic measures.

				Regards,
				Tim

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