More packages updated on SqueakMap for Squeak 4.4

I have made 4.4 releases for these packages:

  OSProcess
  CommandShell
  TwosComplement
  SystemTracing
  TimeZoneDatabase

I also updated the VMMaker 'head' release to claim compatability with
Squeak 4.4. I do not intend to make a VMMaker release for Squeak 4.4,
because I would expect users to either be using the latest versions updated
from various repositories, or alternatively to be using some known version
of the sources obtained from squeakvm.org.

One annoyance encountered in these updates is that SqueakMap releases
apparently must be associated with one and only one image version. I think
this may be a change from the way SqueakMap used to work. In the case of
TwosComplement, I had to publish a complete new release for the identical
package version just make it appear 4.4 compatible, and in the case of
the various 'head' releases it means associating the bleeding edge version
with some specific version of the image, which presumably will become wrong
as the head version is advanced. Something tells me I'm misunderstanding
how this is supposed to work.

Dave

> I have made 4.4 releases for these packages:
>
>   OSProcess
>   CommandShell
>   TwosComplement
>   SystemTracing
>   TimeZoneDatabase

Great thanks Dave.  I will follow your lead soon and I hope others
will too so that Squeak's app-store will have something in it for 4.4.

> I also updated the VMMaker 'head' release to claim compatability with
> Squeak 4.4. I do not intend to make a VMMaker release for Squeak 4.4,
> because I would expect users to either be using the latest versions updated
> from various repositories, or alternatively to be using some known version
> of the sources obtained from squeakvm.org.

But this invites the bit-rot problem.  Something will change with
VMMaker to keep up with 4.5 that will break it with 4.4.  The time to
easily know and document what versions will forever work with 4.4 is
now.  Won't you please make a '4.4' release of VMMaker with hard-coded
version numbers?

I made doing this easier than eating pie.  Just select the "update
with loaded versions" menu item at the bottom of the menu for the
'4.3' release.  Then save it as a '4.4' release.  (see
http://wiki.squeak.org/squeak/6180 for a screenshot).

> One annoyance encountered in these updates is that SqueakMap releases
> apparently must be associated with one and only one image version. I think
> this may be a change from the way SqueakMap used to work. In the case of
> TwosComplement, I had to publish a complete new release for the identical
> package version just make it appear 4.4 compatible, and in the case of
> the various 'head' releases it means associating the bleeding edge version
> with some specific version of the image, which presumably will become wrong
> as the head version is advanced. Something tells me I'm misunderstanding
> how this is supposed to work.

Bit-rot is again the reason for the way things are done here.  If
someone never updates the SM designation of a particular release to a
new version of Squeak, at least it remains known what Squeak version
it _does_ work with.

I know it would be nice if the UI supported tagging one script for
multiple Squeak releases, but this makes it *too easy* to have broken
software in there.  By the tools helping to create the script based on
what is loaded in the image (and tests run), then the whole process of
verification and publishing is brought together.  If we allowed
publishing to other Squeak versions so "easily" they would not be
tested in those and therefore surely broken.

Re: the head releases:  I think they show up regardless which versions
they're designated for.  We maybe could have a "trunk" version of
Squeak for head releases so they don't ever have to be changed.  Then
again, there may be some authors that don't want the 'head' version of
their app to yet to be for trunk..

On Mon, Dec 03, 2012 at 05:26:53PM -0600, Chris Muller wrote:
I'll take a look at it when I get some free time. VMMaker is a bit complicated
in that it pulls code in from a lot of repositories, and also has a direct
dependency on the platforms sources maintained elsewhere. That means that
a non-head version of VMMaker is going to go stale with respect to the
platforms sources regardless of what is happening in the base image. So
no promises but I'll see if I can make sense of it.

BTW, I understand your point, but I can personally guarantee that
something will *not* change with VMMaker to keep up with 4.5 that will
break it with 4.4. I put a good deal of effort into ensuring that this
is the case :)

>
> I made doing this easier than eating pie.  Just select the "update
> with loaded versions" menu item at the bottom of the menu for the
> '4.3' release.  Then save it as a '4.4' release.  (see
> http://wiki.squeak.org/squeak/6180 for a screenshot).

Cool, I'll try this next time, sorry I did not notice it. But I'm the guy
who gets confused looking for the "Any" key, so some of this stuff gets
right by me ;)

Thanks,
Dave