[KBibTeX] Preparing for KBibTeX 0.3

[Thomas Fischer]

Hello,

I just uploaded a tar ball for KBibTeX/KDE4 on the new download server:
http://download.gna.org/kbibtex/unofficial/

** This is not an official release (yet)! **

It is taken fresh from SVN trunk and is supposed to be tested if the
whole release tool chain is working.

Therefore, please test:
- Downloading the files, verifying both checksums and GPG signature
works. For the GPG key please check
http://pgp.mit.edu:11371/pks/lookup?search=0x8D861F41&op=index&fingerprint=on&exact=on
On signature verification, see here:
https://gna.org/cookbook/?func=detailitem&item_id=116
- Extracting, compilation, and installation works without hassles
- Package builders: You can create packages that do this job
- All files are installed in place and accessible. This includes icons,
xsl files, desktop files etc
- Package builders: Check for wrong installation paths, missing options
to configure the build process, or incomplete/wrong .desktop or .rc
files
- The program starts, uses its icon, and shows the correct version
number in the About box ("0.3-test1")
- You can load BibTeX files, content is displayed correctly.
- You can edit the file's content, save it, and the written file is
still valid (you can compile LaTeX+BibTeX documents)

If you have access to different machines/distributions/plattforms,
please test KBibTeX on different ones.

The current release has known bugs and issues. Some are listed in the
project's bug tracker at
https://gna.org/bugs/?group=kbibtex
If you find new bugs, please add them there.

Again:

** This is not an official release (yet)! **

If anyone reports a severe problem in above steps, I will delay the
official release of 0.3 to fix the problem.
Please do not announce the availabilty of the release of KBibTeX 0.3.

Thank you in advance for you time and effort!

-- Thomas
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[Jürgen Spitzmüller]

Post by Thomas Fischer
- Downloading the files, verifying both checksums and GPG signature
works. For the GPG key please check
http://pgp.mit.edu:11371/pks/lookup?search=0x8D861F41&op=index&fingerprin
https://gna.org/cookbook/?func=detailitem&item_id=116

md5 is fine, I did not check the gpg sig.

Post by Thomas Fischer
- Extracting, compilation, and installation works without hassles

works fine.

Post by Thomas Fischer
- The program starts, uses its icon, and shows the correct version
number in the About box ("0.3-test1")

yes.

Post by Thomas Fischer
- You can load BibTeX files, content is displayed correctly.

yes, a large latin9-encoded file seems to be displayed correctly (on a quick
test).

Post by Thomas Fischer
- You can edit the file's content, save it, and the written file is
still valid (you can compile LaTeX+BibTeX documents)

From my POV, there are still some basic things missing:

* most notably: editing/inserting new entries. The current UI which requires
to insert key/value pairs and source data is very clumsy and error-prone
(since you need to remember the key names and take much care about syntax
errors in the data).
I remember I saw a screenshot some time ago on the kbibtex4 webpage showing an
entry editor with real widgets for the basic entries, quite similar to
kbibtex3. However, I never saw these widgets appear in the svn version. Also,
I only see "Article" as selectable entry type (although I can define myself
other types).

* selecting an entry from the value list browser does not seem to to anything.
I'd expect it to filter the relevant entries, as in kbibtex3.

* the program currently only supports LaTeX-encoded output, right?

* about the output: I tried to compare the output of kbibtex4 with kbibtex3,
but it's difficult since kbibtex4 re-orders the items of an entry and it does
downcasing where kbibtex3 does upcase or camelcase (@inbook vs. @InBook, title
vs. Title). So it's hard to check for real differences.

Anyway, the app looks promising (although I would rate it pre-alpha, unless
the basic functionality is there).

J?rgen

[Thomas Fischer]

Hello J?rgen,

Post by Jürgen Spitzmüller
* most notably: editing/inserting new entries. The current UI which
requires to insert key/value pairs and source data is very clumsy
and error-prone (since you need to remember the key names and take
much care about syntax errors in the data).
I remember I saw a screenshot some time ago on the kbibtex4 webpage
showing an entry editor with real widgets for the basic entries,
quite similar to kbibtex3. However, I never saw these widgets appear
in the svn version. Also, I only see "Article" as selectable entry
type (although I can define myself other types).

I guess the problem you observe is due to a wrong install statement
which I just fixed. Two configuration files were missing. You should get
a much better experience now when editing entries. Please test and
check.

Post by Jürgen Spitzmüller
* selecting an entry from the value list browser does not seem to to
anything. I'd expect it to filter the relevant entries, as in
kbibtex3.

The value list browser and the filter widget (where it should be
connected to) are located in two different modules/libraries. I haven't
connected both as it would violate a lot of "clean design" principles.
Still looking for a good solution here ...

Post by Jürgen Spitzmüller
* the program currently only supports LaTeX-encoded output, right?

Yes and no. The current *GUI* does not allow you to select any encoding,
therefore LaTeX is used by default. The code to load/save BibTeX files
itself should support it (subject to bugs).
Adding such a GUI to KBibTeX is one of my next goals.

Post by Jürgen Spitzmüller
* about the output: I tried to compare the output of kbibtex4 with
kbibtex3, but it's difficult since kbibtex4 re-orders the items of
an entry and it does downcasing where kbibtex3 does upcase or
check for real differences.

Configuring casing will be configurable in a later revision. Re-ordering
of elements is not intended, so I will look into what causes it.

Post by Jürgen Spitzmüller
Anyway, the app looks promising (although I would rate it pre-alpha,
unless the basic functionality is there).

I do not promise anything except for a KDE 4.0.0 experience ... ;-)
Maybe your pre-alpha experience is due to the incomplete entry editor as
discussed above?
This program is a 90% rewrite of the old code and I can compete feature-
wise with KBibTeX 0.1 several years ago.

-- Thomas

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[Jürgen Spitzmüller]

Post by Thomas Fischer
I guess the problem you observe is due to a wrong install statement
which I just fixed. Two configuration files were missing. You should get
a much better experience now when editing entries. Please test and
check.

Indeed. WAY better now! :-) All I miss now -- from a first glance -- is input
completion for author names. But this is of course extra candy.

The UI looks pretty good.

Post by Thomas Fischer
The value list browser and the filter widget (where it should be
connected to) are located in two different modules/libraries. I haven't
connected both as it would violate a lot of "clean design" principles.
Still looking for a good solution here ...

I see. I guess users coming from the kbibtex3 will be confused.

Post by Thomas Fischer

Post by Jürgen Spitzmüller
* the program currently only supports LaTeX-encoded output, right?

Yes and no. The current GUI does not allow you to select any encoding,
therefore LaTeX is used by default. The code to load/save BibTeX files
itself should support it (subject to bugs).
Adding such a GUI to KBibTeX is one of my next goals.

Cool.

Post by Thomas Fischer
Maybe your pre-alpha experience is due to the incomplete entry editor as
discussed above?

Basically, yes. All other things are less severe and to be expected from an
initial release.

Post by Thomas Fischer
This program is a 90% rewrite of the old code and I can compete feature-
wise with KBibTeX 0.1 several years ago.

Sure. No offense intended of course. I'm pretty impressed how you drive both
versions of kbibtex basically as a single-man project.

J?rgen

[Thomas Fischer]

Hello J?rgen,

Post by Jürgen Spitzmüller
Indeed. WAY better now! :-) All I miss now -- from a first glance --
is input completion for author names. But this is of course extra
candy.

One more item on my TODO list ...

Post by Jürgen Spitzmüller
The UI looks pretty good.

:-)

Post by Jürgen Spitzmüller
Sure. No offense intended of course. I'm pretty impressed how you
drive both versions of kbibtex basically as a single-man project.

None taken. Years of dedication. ;-)

-- Thomas

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[Jürgen Spitzmüller]

Post by Thomas Fischer

Post by Jürgen Spitzmüller
Indeed. WAY better now! :-) All I miss now -- from a first glance --
is input completion for author names. But this is of course extra
candy.

One more item on my TODO list ...

Oh, and while you are at filling this list, you might also consider to add the
"et al." widget in authors/editors, which is in kbibtex3. This is not strictly
needed, since you can just add "others" as a name, but I find it rather
pracitcal, especially for users with low BibTeX knowledge.

J?rgen

[Thomas Fischer]

Hello J?rgen,

Post by Jürgen Spitzmüller
Oh, and while you are at filling this list, you might also consider
to add the "et al." widget in authors/editors, which is in kbibtex3.
This is not strictly needed, since you can just add "others" as a
name, but I find it rather pracitcal, especially for users with low
BibTeX knowledge.

Ok, this one is fixed. There is a minor UI glinch, but that can wait...

-- Thomas
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[Jürgen Spitzmüller]

Post by Thomas Fischer
Ok, this one is fixed. There is a minor UI glinch, but that can wait...

Looks good here.

J?rgen

[Gandalf Lechner]

Hi all

Post by Thomas Fischer
I guess the problem you observe is due to a wrong install statement
which I just fixed. Two configuration files were missing. You should get
a much better experience now when editing entries. Please test and
check.

Ah, that is much better indeed! I also wondered what happened to the
element editor, but now it's similar to the kde3 version.

Post by Thomas Fischer
I do not promise anything except for a KDE 4.0.0 experience ... ;-)
Maybe your pre-alpha experience is due to the incomplete entry editor as
discussed above?
This program is a 90% rewrite of the old code and I can compete feature-
wise with KBibTeX 0.1 several years ago.

[Jürgen Spitzmüller]

Re-ordering of elements is not intended, so I will look into what causes it.

AFAICS the elements are ordered alphabetically (address, author, booktitle,
crossref, pages, publisher, title etc.), whereas kbibtex3 uses a somewhat more
hierarchical order (title, booktitle, author, pages, address, publisher,
crossref). I think the latter follows the widget order in the editing dialog.

HTH,
J?rgen

[Michael Hanke]

Post by Thomas Fischer
- Package builders: Check for wrong installation paths, missing options
to configure the build process, or incomplete/wrong .desktop or .rc
files

I updated the Debian packaging. Here is my report (based on 0.3-test1):

I seem to need to configure with

-DLIB_INSTALL_DIR:PATH=/usr/lib/kbibtex

otherwise I get private libraries in /usr/lib

Also I need

-DPLUGIN_INSTALL_DIR:PATH=/usr/lib/kde4

so KDE4 can find the part. Moreover, I see

kbibtex(27745)/kdecore (KLibrary) findLibraryInternal: plugins should not have a 'lib' prefix: "libkbibtexpart.so"

It looks like the new list of build-dependencies is this:

cmake (>= 2.6~), kdelibs5-dev, libpoppler-qt4-dev, libxslt1-dev

Does that look ok?

What about additional runtime deps? Previously it had:

texlive-latex-base | tetex-extra, bibtex2html, latex2rtf

Is that still valid?

I'm not sure what to make of this one:

kbibtex(27745)/kdecore (KLibrary) kde4Factory: The library "/usr/lib/kde4/libkbibtexpart.so" does not offer a qt_plugin_instance function.


Thanks,

Michael

[Thomas Fischer]

Hello Michael,

Post by Michael Hanke
I updated the Debian packaging. Here is my report (based on
I seem to need to configure with
-DLIB_INSTALL_DIR:PATH=/usr/lib/kbibtex
otherwise I get private libraries in /usr/lib
Also I need
-DPLUGIN_INSTALL_DIR:PATH=/usr/lib/kde4
so KDE4 can find the part.

Setting installation paths is the packager's job ;-)
However, I made some minor changes here along with fixing the prefix
issue below.

Post by Michael Hanke
Moreover, I see
kbibtex(27745)/kdecore (KLibrary) findLibraryInternal: plugins should
not have a 'lib' prefix: "libkbibtexpart.so"

Fixed as of revision 533.

Post by Michael Hanke
cmake (>= 2.6~), kdelibs5-dev, libpoppler-qt4-dev, libxslt1-dev
Does that look ok?

Sounds reasonable.

Post by Michael Hanke
texlive-latex-base | tetex-extra, bibtex2html, latex2rtf
Is that still valid?

Yes, I guess so.

Post by Michael Hanke
kbibtex(27745)/kdecore (KLibrary) kde4Factory: The library
"/usr/lib/kde4/libkbibtexpart.so" does not offer a
qt_plugin_instance function.

No idea right now what this means (have same there, too), but KBibTeX
still seems to work. Nothing critical to be fixed right now.

-- Thomas
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[Michael Hanke]

Post by Thomas Fischer

Post by Michael Hanke
-DLIB_INSTALL_DIR:PATH=/usr/lib/kbibtex
otherwise I get private libraries in /usr/lib
Also I need
-DPLUGIN_INSTALL_DIR:PATH=/usr/lib/kde4
so KDE4 can find the part.

Setting installation paths is the packager's job ;-)

That is right ;-) However, I figured it would be good mentioning it
nevertheless in case somebody notices something really stupid. Never
dealt with the KDE4-way of packaging before...

Post by Thomas Fischer
However, I made some minor changes here along with fixing the prefix
issue below.

Thanks.

Michael

[Thomas Fischer]

Hello Michael,

Post by Michael Hanke
That is right ;-) However, I figured it would be good mentioning it
nevertheless in case somebody notices something really stupid. Never
dealt with the KDE4-way of packaging before...

Hm, I am not a CMake or KDE4 build system expert (unfortunately).
The best source of information would be your fellow KDE/Debian packagers.

BTW, with Gentoo it is rather easy ;-)
Example (not KBibTeX):
http://sources.gentoo.org/cgi-bin/viewvc.cgi/gentoo-x86/kde-misc/wicd-client-kde/wicd-client-kde-0.2.1.ebuild?view=markup

-- Thomas
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[Michael Hanke]

Post by Thomas Fischer
Hello Michael,

Post by Michael Hanke
That is right ;-) However, I figured it would be good mentioning it
nevertheless in case somebody notices something really stupid. Never
dealt with the KDE4-way of packaging before...

Hm, I am not a CMake or KDE4 build system expert (unfortunately).
The best source of information would be your fellow KDE/Debian packagers.

I am a long time CMake user, just not KDE-related so far.

Post by Thomas Fischer
BTW, with Gentoo it is rather easy ;-)
http://sources.gentoo.org/cgi-bin/viewvc.cgi/gentoo-x86/kde-misc/wicd-client-kde/wicd-client-kde-0.2.1.ebuild?view=markup

Looks good -- Debian doesn't need to hide, though:

michael at meiner ~/debian/kbibtex (git)-[master] % cat debian/rules
#!/usr/bin/make -f
# one ring to rule them all ...
%:
dh $@

override_dh_auto_configure::
dh_auto_configure -- \
-DPLUGIN_INSTALL_DIR:PATH=/usr/lib/kde4 \
-DLIB_INSTALL_DIR:PATH=/usr/lib/kbibtex


Michael