Xboard 4.6.X Installer for Mac OSX

[Josh Pettus]

Yup, I'll get around to it one of these days. Your script can still put links in this "/usr/bin/engines" folder, though. I'll need a small update to that if you could.

Thanks for exploring that, is there a way i could have the installer modify this paths file? what command would it be to add a line to a text file?

[imai]

Hi,
Here is a link to a folder with 3 applescripts.
http://www.mediafire.com/?n5l80b5wiwd3m

I updated the xboard GUI to address the /usr/bin/engines folder and I added 2 choices for playing on FICS
Uploaded version 1.2 of xboard gui script, fixed a bug in the "change defauld engine" module

The "add path to$PATH" script is written by StefanK (on the MacScripter forum) and it will add the /usr/bin/engines folder to the PATH. I tested it and it works perfectly. If you need any changes to incorporate it in your installation package, let me know.
The third script is a batch install for links of all engines cq files located in /Applications/Xboard/Engines.
regards,
Imai

[Josh Pettus]

Hi Iami, sorry its been a little while before I actually attempted it. I fear the apple packagemaker doesn't like applescript. (go figure) is there anyway to add the line into the path file using a simple shell script? I fear I don't know the command to add text to a text file, if there is such a one.


[EDIT] oh nvm, it's "echo" Didn't know it could be used in that way.

But that would have a problem, evreytime someone ran the installer it would add "/usr/bin/Engines" to the paths file. that's no good.
-----------
Ok I've tried the sed command in the uninstall script to remove all instances of the line, but the fact that the string i want to remove is a directory with
"/" it's messing it up. Any advice would be great.

[imai]

Darklord42,
I know a little Applescript but I'm not familiar with Unix but I found this on the net :
You can use use e.g. question marks as separators instead of /
In terminal I made a text file with my PATH on my desktop "echo $PATH > path.txt", then "sed 's?:/usr/bin/engines??g' path.txt > new.txt" and /usr/bin/engines is no longer in new.txt

Simply "sed 's?:/usr/bin/engines??g' path.txt" gives the result in the terminal.
"cp new.txt path.txt" gives the correct result in path.txt

[edit]
With the pico editor I created a file "newpath" with the text ":/usr/bin/engines" on the desktop and with "cat newpath >> path.txt" the text is appended to the file path.txt
[edit]

I guess it can be done in a better way but I hope this will help you.

Be warned, when I tried "sed 's?:/usr/bin/engines??g' path.txt > path.txt" it resulted in a blank path.txt file !!!!

[Josh Pettus]

Good find with the '?' with the separator, exactly what I needed. Yah if there was some problem with the command it would generate a blank file. I was careful to backup my "etc/paths" before doing this.

So everything works with the 4.5.2a package now I just have to make a new hgmmaster build one and we will be all set.

[imai]

Darklord42,
Sorry for the late reply, I have been on holidays.
I had second thoughts about changing the /etc/paths file. It will work but it will work for all users.
You might consider to make the changes in the ~/.profile file, then it would only effect the $PATH of the Xboard user.
If you take this solution the installer should then check for the existence of the .profile file (it is not installed by default), create the file if not exist and add the /usr/bin/engines path

[Josh Pettus]

Hello, Sorry for my long hiatus, I was having problems since I updated to Lion and was unable to compile xboard again, but now I am finally back in business.

I have finally updated to Xboard 4.5.3 and Updated Polyglot to 1.4.67b, updated Fairymax, changed to a timestamp meant for intel macs, (the old one would no longer work in lion) And included imai's scripts for managing engines. (thank-you!)

http://www.mediafire.com/?9cg7lf31u58b5vo

[imai]

Hi Darklord
I installed your package but could not start Xboard. When loading I get an error :
"dyld: Library not loaded: /usr/X11/lib/libX11.6.dylib
Referenced from: /Applications/Xboard/xboard
Reason: Incompatible library version: xboard requires version 10.0.0 or later, but libX11.6.dylib provides version 9.0.0
Trace/BPT trap"
I still use Snow Leopard with the latest version of Xquatrz (2.7.0) and X11 (2.3.6). I suppose version 10.0.0 of libX11.6.dylib came with Lion.

[Josh Pettus]

Hi iami,

Dang, sorry about that. Right now I'm not sure how to fix it. If it were xcode I'd just change the SDK to 10.6 If someone has any suggestions. I'd be open to it. I guess I trusted too much that it would just work. What a pain.

[Josh Pettus]

Well I looked into it a little bit. People have been getting that same exact error with other x11 based apps since 2010 when there was a problem with a "leopard" security update. I don't think this is because of LIon. No one else has complained of such a problem. Try removing Xquartz or reinstall x11. Xquartz isn't needed anymore anyway as apple seemed to have long fixed what was ever causing that dialog box bug.

[imai]

Darklord,
After upgrading to Lion, Xboard could be started so it seems that the problem is related to the Lion upgrade and this package is only suitable for OSX Lion.
Alas, in this version of Xboard, the "load new engines" option is missing and my scripts to change engines are not working.
It would be nice if you could replace this version of Xboard with a more up to date version.
Regards

[Josh Pettus]

Well by upgrading to lion, you also reinstalled x11, so now we will never know. But rest assured that error was received by people over a year ago, before lion came out. Google it if you don't believe me. Heck I think I came across that error once for another unix application. Reinstalling X11 did the trick, I think. If someone else with snow leopard says it doesn't work for them then I will remove the Snow-leopard comparability claim, but aside from that, there is nothing I can do. Your script to change engines, however works just fine. I tried it myself. Something must be up, you might want to look closer.

I was going to make a install package with hgmmaster branch or the upcoming 4.6.0 build, but I have been getting a few problems with the program that no one seems to have answered yet, check my thread on the subject

viewtopic.php?f=19&t=52035

[H.G.Muller]

Can you update the package for the development version to the latest hgmaster version? Some Mac users might want to use it for Seirawan Chess, and I had to make some fixes to get that working in ICS play, recently.

[Josh Pettus]

Hi hgm,
Sure, I'll have one up probably today or tomorrow. I have to re go through the installer, make sure everything is all set still.

Still get the

Warning: No type converter registered for '(null)' to 'FontSet' conversion.

error while xboard is running, but it doesn't keep filling up the terminal screen. Which is good.

[H.G.Muller]

We added some new stuff in the "make install", for which I am not sure if it will work on Mac. It is the association of icons with file (mime) types (we included WinBoard-like icons for PGN and TRN files), and association of mime types with commands through desktop files. So on my Ubuntu I can now bring up XBoard as game viewer by clicking on a PGN file, and resume a tourney by clicking on its TRN file. Just like with WinBoard.

[Josh Pettus]

So didn't take near as long as I thought, already up!

I see
Yah probably won't work in mac, Especially since I don't ever type in "make install." I should take a look at that make install portion. Perhaps I can get the installer to do some of that.

[H.G.Muller]

In Linux we needed a set of xdg-... commands for installing desktop and icon files, and defining mime types. Look at the target 'install-mime-database' in Makefile.am to get an idea. If these commands work on Mac, you should get the installer to somehow run them. If the Mac has other commands, you might have to use them on the files mentioned there. If it needs other file formats to define these things, I guess we are dead...

[Josh Pettus]

I shall, but to be frankly honest, I have never heard of a mime before. That may not bode well, but I shall look into it. But also I'm no expert. Perhaps Imai might know more in this regard.

[H.G.Muller]

'mime-types' seems to be a uiversal (platform idependent) classification of files. E.g. undistiguished text files have mime-type text/plain, HTML has text/html, and PGN files application/x-chess-pgn. In Windows the mime-type ispurely determined from the filename extension, but the type can also be defined as beig recognized from the file content. E.g. in Linux a file without extension would still be recognized as PGN when its contents starts with [Event: " .

An unrelated question:

I have put up a tutorial for how to use the Variant-ICS ( http://hgm.nubati.net/VICS ), but currently it is only addresses Windows users. I should still add notes for Linux users on how to install XBoard and connect with it (which is easy), as well as for Mac users (for which I have no idea how it is done).

How does one connect to the Variant-ICS once XBoard is istalled on a Mac? Simply by starting terminal window and typing "xboard -ics -icshost 80.100.28.169 -icshelper timeseal", as in Linux? Or does your install contain a menu item or shortcut for that?

This reminds me of a complaint by Mac user on TalkChess just before the holidays, that he could not get XBoard to install from your package. And a reply from anotherMac user that this is because one first needs to alter the write permission on some critical directories ( http://www.talkchess.com/forum/viewtopi ... =&start=15 ). Are they doing something wrong?

[Josh Pettus]

Well, what I do is include executable .command files in the xboard folder that people can click on and launch with the appropriate settings. I don't have one for your Variant server, but I'll include one. Although they could open up a terminal and type that in just as in linux. As for the permission thing, darn, I thought I fixed that. but looks like I forgot to fix permissions for the fmax and maxqi .ini files. Yah, I put them in the same place as they would in linux, but the permissions have to be fixed in a script afterward. I have played with recompiling your engines and putting those pesky .ini files in more mac appropriate places but for one reason or another, which I don't recall, I went back. Dang, thanks for letting me know.