[oi-dev] proposal for new squeak package

[stes at telenet.be]

I'm testing a version of the IPS squeak package that downloads from a github repository.

The opensmalltalk packages are already versions which are already downloading from github, but those opensmalltalk packages do not support opening old Smalltalk images. 

I see no reason to change the current IPS squeak package which uses "subversion".

But the test is useful if for some reason in the future the support for "subversion" revision control would be removed from the OpenIndiana build framework, or if for some reason the subversion revision control system would not work any longer (I don't see why that would happen).

----- Op 15 mar 2026 om 19:21 schreef Andreas Wacknitz via oi-dev oi-dev at openindiana.org:

> Am 15.03.26 um 19:08 schrieb stes--- via oi-dev:
>> If the mirror would be, or would remain, an exact mirror then there's no
>> difference, but I would expect that there could be changes on the github
>> repository that are not in the subversion repo and then the VMs are also
>> different ...
>>
>> Therefore something like:
>>
>>     pkg set-mediator -V 4 -I fromgithub squeak
>>
>> could be used to select the squeak binaries built from the github sources.
>>
>> instead of
>>
>>     pkg install squeak
>>
>> something like
>>
>>     pkg install squeakfromgithub
>>
>> would set the mediator "squeak" to -V 4 -I fromgithub
>>
>> I don't know what differences would exist, but I think that's it likely that
>> some differences may happen, and that subversion and github are not in sync.
> Why would there be differences between the subversion and the git based
> repositories if the github repository is just a mirror? If it is not
> just a mirror it would be a fork. And then the question would be why is
> a fork needed or wanted?
> 
> In my eyes this sounds premature. Start with creating the mirror and
> make use of it for the OI packages to make the build process more
> stable. Only if you find out that you need patches that you cannot
> provide inside the oi-userland repository you should think about a fork.
> Squeak and Smalltalk are already niche. Providing too many packages will
> only irritate new users.
> 
> Andreas
>>
>> The make-rules/prep-svn.mk fortunately supports subversion revision control, so
>> I hope that the support in the build framework for using subversion remains.
>>
>> ----- Op 15 mar 2026 om 17:28 schreef John Howard echosoft.llc at gmail.com:
>>
>>> Just curious on my part, but what is the difference between the original using
>>> SVN and any "mirror" using Git?
>>>
>>> I don't have a say in deciding whether it is worthwhile or not. But I am an
>>> interested Smalltalk developer and occasional OI user.
>>>
>>> -- John
>>>
>>>> On Mar 15, 2026, at 10:45 AM, stes--- via oi-dev <oi-dev at openindiana.org> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> 
>>>> Although there is already an IPS squeak package in OpenIndiana, I'm considering
>>>> to submit a PR for a new squeak package (or a set of new squeak packages).
>>>>
>>>> The squeak project uses "subversion" (svn) to manage the C source code.
>>>>
>>>> A large part of that C source code is automatically generated from Smalltalk
>>>> using "Slang".  Slang is Smalltalk code that can be transpiled into other
>>>> source code like C (or Javascript).
>>>>
>>>> The current IPS squeak package uses the 'prep-svn.mk' from:
>>>>
>>>> https://github.com/OpenIndiana/oi-userland/blob/oi/hipster/make-rules/prep-svn.mk
>>>>
>>>> I think a solution could be to submit an (almost identical) new set of packages
>>>> which differ only in the way they would retrieve source code.
>>>>
>>>> The new set of packages would retrieve source code from github.com instead of
>>>> from the subversion server for squeak, so the new packages would not use
>>>> prep-svn.mk to fetch the C source code to build the packages.
>>>>
>>>> Using IPS mediators (there is an IPS mediator squeak) the implementation could
>>>> then be set (choosen) using 'pkg set-mediator'.
>>>>
>>>> This is already done for the moment to choose between squeak or opensmalltalk
>>>> VMs.
>>>>
>>>> The squeak project continues to use subversion, so I'd prefer not to change the
>>>> existing squeak package as long as the squeak subversion server exists ...
>>>>
>>>> On the other hand, the metadata for IPS (the OpenIndiana repository catalog)
>>>> will grow as additional squeak packages would be added.
>>>>
>>>>  From my point of view, I'd prefer to have two set of squeak packages (one set
>>>> built from subversion), the other set from github, so I do not mind the IPS
>>>> metadata issue (the size of the OpenIndiana metadata catalogs), but before
>>>> submitting the pull request for the new packages, what is the opinion please of
>>>> OpenIndiana maintainers/developers ?
>>>>
>>>> Regards,
>>>> David Stes
>>>>
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