Wings is too hard for me to install

[yodrew]

I wanted to install Wings and try it. I found it way too complicated to install. I am a writer and designer, not a programmer. I have used Linux for years, installing hundreds of applications, some from source. This is one of the hardest I ever came across.

Now I use Debian (MX Linux). I tried to build from source. Instructions went on and on into obscurity, and missing dependencies that also must be built from source. I tried the Ubuntu version. No luck.

Sorry it didn't work out. I don't understand why it must be so difficult. I can't be the first person it kept out.

[Micheus]

Just to trying to help with this as my current system is Windows...

Wings3D is built for Ubuntu 16.04 as you can see in the documentation.

Maybe the instructions in this article can help: https://kreationnext.com/support/how-to-install-wings3d-on-debian-unstable-sid/

Sometime in the past I installed the Ubuntu package in another distro by using tool for that. I just don't remember which was.

[dgud]

About building from source.

Wings have one dependency, the OpenCL wrapper library.
There are few other programs that have fewer dependencies out there than that.

You also need the programming language support, but that is true in all programming languages,
if you program python you also need to install python.

You need Erlang/OTP v20 (or v21) with gui (wxWidgets) support and how you install that on your platform I don't know.

What wings doesn't do is download (and build) the deps (OpenCL wrapper) automatically,
there have not been a real need since we only have one dependency, it is rarely changed
so you only have to do it once.

The cl wrapper needs to have developer packages for OpenCL installed.

Basically since we are roughly two programmers working with wings on our spare time,
we don't have time rewrite the build system to improve it.
But any help is appreciated, if you want to update the build system or just update the
Readme about how to do build please send pull-requests.

[yodrew]

Thanks for your replies, Micheus and dgud.

Micheus, I appreciate the reminder. I must have done the apt install a few years ago when I first thought of using wings. I guess it worked because I was using Ubuntu. Now it doesn't with MX Linux.

Dgud, I understand. I am in a similar situation with my project. The lack of clarity in the instructions frustrated me, including instructions on the pages of the dependency software. If I slog through and do it somehow, yes, I could improve the ReadMe. Even what you just said helps understand the situation better.

Erlang is not up to date in the repos. Building from source quickly got complicated. CL's instructions seemed just to be for Windows. Searches for help spiraled out of control. Boy. Maybe the next attempt will yield results.

Regards,
Andrew

[dgud]

Erlang is not up to date in the repos.
I'm an erlang dev, which is why we often use newer versions of erlang as an requirement.

Building erlang (and everything else) on Ubuntu 16.04 from source (from memory not tested)

apt-get install libncurses5-dev autoconf libwxgtk-3.0-dev make gcc
mkdir $HOME/src
cd $HOME/src
git clone git@github.com:erlang/otp.git
cd otp && git checkout OTP-21.1
./otp_build setup -a --prefix=/opt/local/
sudo make install
export PATH=/opt/local/bin;$PATH

Add /opt/local/bin/ to your path and check that it works with
erl -run wx demo

Erlang OpenCL wrapper:
Install drivers, headers for development, that depends on your
graphics card and or distribution (Ubuntu have a opencl-headers and|or nvidia-opencl-dev package)

This have been tricky before where nvidia clashed with ubuntu's header and all kinds
of problems but I don't remember any problems with 16.04 for me.

Download rebar3 from https://github.com/erlang/rebar3/releases

cd $HOME/src
git clone git@github.com:tonyrog/cl.git
cd cl
rebar3 compile

Wings:

cd $HOME/src
git clone git@github.com:dgud/wings.git
cd wings
## Point out where deps can be found with
export ERL_LIBS=$HOME/src
make
erl -run wings_start 

[yodrew]

Dgud, thank you. But as I said, I am not using Ubuntu now. Do you think your instructions above woulh work with Debian-based MX Linux? It is an XFCE versión of Antix.

[dgud]

I don't know, and and don't know if it is complete on Ubuntu either, I have NOT tested
but it's a clue at least.
And if MX Linux is Debian based it increases the possibility.

[dgud]

Ok I have merged an update to master on github.

Requirements erlang (20.X with wxWidgets support), git and (optional rebar3)

>git clone git@github.com:dgud/wings.git
>cd wings
>make
>erl -pa ebin -run wings_start

Without rebar3 (and headers) OpenCL will not be built but wings should still run though
without some less functionality.

[xyproto]

If you are interested in the build instructions that worked for building the Wings3D package on Arch Linux, they are here:

https://git.archlinux.org/svntogit/community.git/tree/trunk/PKGBUILD?h=packages/wings3d

If you are willing to try Arch Linux or one of the derivatives, like Manjaro, installation of Wings3D is just one command away:

pacman -S wings3d

[dgud]

Use https://flathub.org/apps/details/com.wings3d.WINGS

[yodrew]

Cool, thanks!

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[app4soft]

Use https://flathub.org/apps/details/com.wings3d.WINGS

@dgud, may Flatpak be updated to Wings 3D 2.3 release?

[dgud]

Yes as soon as we figured out how, our json file for building flatpacks doesn't work anymore for some strange reason.

[xyproto]

If it can be built for Arch Linux again too, I would be happy to move it back as an official package and maintain it.

[dgud]

It should be available, now.

I think I have fixed the other bugs (turned out to be wayland), so building and running "should" work on arch linux now.

For example see these build steps for an ubuntu release:

• https://github.com/dgud/wings/blob/master/.github/workflows/ci.yml
  Where you can skip the dialyzer step (a static code analysis step).