Re: [Visualpython-users] VPython on OS X, steps forward and otherwise

[Dethe E. <de...@li...>]

On 30-Nov-06, at 12:17 PM, Martin Costabel wrote:

> Yes, that's what you get when you link cvisualmodule.so with Fink's  
> libboost_python.dylib that was compiled with the system python2.3.  
> To work around this, you can link with the static libboost_python.a  
> by changing "-lboost_python" to "/sw/lib/libboost_python.a" at the  
> right place in src/Makefile.in.

That did it!  Thanks for being patient with me and repeating your  
good advice until I see it.  I now have a build of visual that  
supports transparency!

> A better fix would be to build libboost_python.dylib with  
> python2.5, but as I mentioned in one of my earlier messages, there  
> is currently no Fink package that does this. I'll make one soon if  
> I have some time left.

I have build libboost_python before on OS X.  Building all of Boost  
is a major undertaking, but the python part is relatively achievable.

Here's a sample session:

 >>> from visual import *
/sw/lib/python2.5/site-packages/visual/__init__.py:27:  
RuntimeWarning: Python C API version mismatch for module cvisual:  
This Python has API version 1013, module cvisual has version 1012.
   import cvisual
 >>> ball = sphere(color=(0,1,0), opacity=0.3)

(<unknown>:20183): libglade-WARNING **: unknown property  
`urgency_hint' for class `gtkmm__GtkWindow'

(<unknown>:20183): Gtk-WARNING **: gtkwidget.c:3143: widget  
`gtkmm__GtkToolButton' has no activatable signal "clicked" without  
arguments
 >>> cube = box(color=(0,0,1))

As you can see, it's not perfect, but it does put up a transparent  
green sphere with a blue cube inside it.  If X11 is not running or  
the DISPLAY environment variable is not set it crashes Python, and I  
haven't found a clean way to exit it yet, if running from the console  
(closing the window exits OK when I run "python [script]".  The first  
time I ran it, the sphere took a couple of minutes to show up, but it  
has been relatively immediate on subsequent runs.  Running this  
simple scene takes 25-30% of one of my CPUs (2GHz) when run from the  
console, but a much more complex example only uses 11% of a CPU when  
run as a script.

Still, it works, and I've tested most of the example programs.

Martin, thanks for all your help!  There is no motivator like success.

Now I can begin...

--Dethe

"Computers are beyond dumb, they're mind-numbingly stupid. They're  
hostile, rigid, capricious, and unforgiving. They're impossibly  
demanding and they never learn anything." -- John R. Levine