SGI: Development

Geoman wrote: I installed Firefox3 from Nekoware/stable using nekosync on my 'new' Octane/SSI (fresh install of 6.5.16 then patch 5086 then update to 6.5.22). On start I get:

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IRIS 1% firefox3
Fontconfig error: Cannot load default config file

Since I've just been through this ... you've got errors in your fonts setup. You're not seeing them in other programs because the traditional apps use X but Fireflop is dependent on freetype and fontconfig. Fireflop3 definitely needs fontconfig running correctly to work.

Even in a generally usable state, I was seeing the occasional pango gdk-pixbuf etc warning: notices, followed shortly by a crash. With my current well-oiled highly-tuned font setup, those have gone away completely.

(Still get the occasional std:badalloc and a core dump tho. Not too often but once in a while.)

Firefox2, on which I'm typing this, is running flawlessly.

And displaying in a 4" wide stripe down the center of the window Unfortunately, Flop2 doesn't work correctly on a whole bunch of sites.

You're right, it did not seem to be as persnickety, tho.

You may have some other problems too, but the errors you are getting are exactly the same as what I was seeing, which are now corrected by fixing the fonts setup. And I finally got the chinese working, too. Yay !

A word of warning : if you only mess around with fontconfig, you're safe. I think canavan put a working nekoware setup in fonts.conf (or whatever the config file is named). Make your additions to a file < local.conf > and save backups.

But if you dive deeper and make changes to X, definitely save the originals so that when you single-user in, all you have to do is some renaming. If your fonts setup is screwed up, it's quite possible that you won't be able to start X. This is an uncomfortable situation (And kind of a stupidity on X'es part, if you ask me. But nobody did, so it is what it is ...)

Also if you make changes to the X end of things, do not repeat do not forget as root to < xset fp rehash > after you make any changes or you will be sooo sorry. You can also set the bootup screen to verbose, that will give you some hints - such as "Error in item 3 of fontpath, starting from 0" right before XSgi refuses to start.

It was worth it in the end tho, imo. Now when I ask for Helvetica, I get Helvetica. The very same Helvetica that the printer uses, not something kinda-sorta similar.

hamei wrote: Since I've just been through this ... you've got errors in your fonts setup. You're not seeing them in other programs because the traditional apps use X but Fireflop is dependent on freetype and fontconfig. Fireflop3 definitely needs fontconfig running correctly to work.

The green box is now my "Nekoware-Beta-Testing-Spree-Machine", and I thought with a clean IRIX installation this package out of Nekoware/current should work when proper installed (all prerequisites installed and so on).

The interesting thing is, that on my Octane2 on which I type this using FF3 everything works right - so is it 6.5.30 over 22 or was fontconfig corrected by installing some other Nekoware on it(=the Octane2)?

hamei wrote: Even in a generally usable state, I was seeing the occasional pango gdk-pixbuf etc warning: notices, followed shortly by a crash. With my current well-oiled highly-tuned font setup, those have gone away completely.

(Still get the occasional std:badalloc and a core dump tho. Not too often but once in a while.)

You may have some other problems too, but the errors you are getting are exactly the same as what I was seeing, which are now corrected by fixing the fonts setup. And I finally got the chinese working, too. Yay !

A word of warning : if you only mess around with fontconfig, you're safe. I think canavan put a working nekoware setup in fonts.conf (or whatever the config file is named). Make your additions to a file < local.conf > and save backups.

Should Canavan's modifications then be a prerequisite when installing neko_firefox3.0.19.tardist or automatically changed during install?

hamei wrote: It was worth it in the end tho, imo. Now when I ask for Helvetica, I get Helvetica. The very same Helvetica that the printer uses, not something kinda-sorta similar.

That is how it should be
BTW it's cool that SGI licensed Helvetica for IRIX back in the days...

Geoman wrote: Should Canavan's modifications then be a prerequisite when installing neko_firefox3.0.19.tardist or automatically changed during install?

I had a little struggle with that myself .. iirc, canavan added the infinality subpixel rendering options to freetype. Unless you build freetype 2.5.2 yourself with that enabled, that's so far the nicest.

I guess the defaults must be okay, most people don't have this trouble but you and I must have screwed things up


Fontconfig's method was to offer several different sample configs, then you could choose the one you liked and rename or link to that. I had to study a little to see what it really wanted.

Their other suggestion, to add any local enhancements to local.conf and leave the fonts.conf file pretty much alone was a good one. When you upgrade you lose your nice modified fonts.conf. Ask me how I know Local.conf will stay the same.

The configuration files and examples are under

/usr/nekoware/etc/fonts

there are samples in the /conf.avail directory, canavan's default fonts.conf should work for most people ? but I probaly messed it up ... your first error message was "fontconfig not available" or similar, so you are most likely in the same boat as me. And your fireflop error messages were the same as mine.

Thorough (but not so well-written) instructions should be here :

/usr/nekoware/share/doc/fontconfig

Recently, nekoware is just as good but doesn't get tested or upgraded as much, so you have to struggle a little more.

BTW it's cool that SGI licensed Helvetica for IRIX back in the days...

Display Postscript, too

First post from Octane2 freshly configured with Firefox3 installed this morning ! YEAH ! Thanks to everyone who contributed to make this work ! I'm gonna post some hinv next !

Works fine over here, at work at the minute so not using it now, at home can browse on Yuyuko and Mima very well.