Re: MacOS X App Bundle

[Ben Abbott]

On Jun 24, 2012, at 9:06 PM, c. wrote:

> On 25 Jun 2012, at 01:00, address@hidden wrote:
> 
>> Message: 3
>> Date: Sun, 24 Jun 2012 14:29:19 -0700
>> From: Thomas Yengst <address@hidden>
>> To: address@hidden
>> Subject: Re: Octave-maintainers Digest, Vol 75, Issue 39
>> Message-ID: <address@hidden>
>> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
>> 
>> On Jun 24, 2012, at 10:00 AM, address@hidden wrote:
>> 
>>> Date: Sat, 23 Jun 2012 16:51:27 -0400
>>> From: Ben Abbott <address@hidden>
>>> To: "address@hidden mailing list" <address@hidden>
>>> Subject: MacOS X App Bundle
>>> Message-ID: <address@hidden>
>>> Content-Type: text/plain; CHARSET=US-ASCII
>>> 
>>> I've added a page to the wiki describing my approach to using MacPorts to 
>>> produce a bundle for MacOS X.
>>> 
>>>     
>>> http://www.octave.org/wiki/index.php?title=Create_a_MacOS_X_App_Bundle_Using_MacPorts
>>> 
>>> I've also placed a copy of my latest attempt in my DropBox.  The link is 
>>> below for anyone who would like to try it out (pls report back).  This 
>>> version is build from the developers sources (not from released sources).
>>> 
>>>     https://dl.dropbox.com/u/14845154/Octave-X86_64-3.7.0%2B.dmg
>>> 
>>> Ben
>> 
>> Ben - nice set of instructions. I didn't try them all, but the process was 
>> easy to follow and seems to navigate the subtleties of OS-X.
>> 
>> Macbook Pro 10.6.8 Core-2 Duo 2.5 GHz
>> 64-bit enabled
>> 4 GB RAM
>> MacPorts base version 2.1.1 downloaded and upgraded before trying Octave 
>> 3.7.0
>> No Fink
>> No Homebrew
>> Xcode 4.2
>> 
>> ran Octave 3.7.0 from within the DMG file (i.e., didn't copy to the hard 
>> drive) - no luck; all menus were grayed out. Hard to say what it was waiting 
>> for; as the Activity Monitor showed only 7 MB of RAM (5 threads) being used 
>> and 0.1% CPU.
>> 
>> Copied to a folder (2 GB worth) - same response. No octave shell opens.
>> I clobbered my .octaverc, but not change in behaviour
>> 
>> let me know what I can do help diagnose the problem.
>> 
>> Tom
> 
> Ben,
> 
> Very nice instructions! 
> Looking at them made me wonder: once we have a binary installer created by 
> macports as you described, 
> do we really need an app bundle greated with Platypus?
> Can't we just create an AppleScript script and save it as an exectable?
> The istructions to do this would be as follows:
> 
> - Open the "AppleScript Editor" application
> - write the following text in the editor window:
> 
> tell application "Terminal"
>  do script "/path/to/octave; exit"
> end tell
> 
> - Select "Save as ..." from the "File" menu
> - In the menu that appears, select "Application" from the "File format" menu, 
>  then navigate to the "Applications" folder and save your script there as 
> "Octave.app"
> 
> 
> To change the application icon 
> - Open "http://www.octave.org/wiki/images/9/96/Icon.png"; in a web browser, 
> right-click an select "copy image"
> - Select "Octave.app" in the Finder, then press command-i to bring up the 
> file info dialog
> - In the file info dialog select the icon and press command-v to paste the 
> Octave icon over it
> 
> We could even distribute a pre-built app as in the attachment, whta do you 
> think?
> Is it worth adding this alternative procedure to the wiki page?
> 
> c.
> 
> <Octave.app.zip>

I assume you mean to install the MacPorts DMG and then use an Apple Script to 
run Octave ?

That would be a nice feature to add to the wiki, but I don't think it is a 
replacement for the App bundle.  I'm hoping the Octave.app will behave like all 
other apps (just copy it and it will run).

Perhaps a new page can be added and given a title that avoids confusing what it 
describes with a full App bundle. Maybe something like "Apple Script Launcher"? 
 I think that would be a nice addition for individuals who already have Octave 
installed via a package manager.

Ben