Relocatable app

[apjanke]

Currently, the app only runs if it is installed in the default /Applications/Octave.app location. It would be nice if it were relocatable, so you could rename it or move it to other directories, and it would still run.

Low priority.

[apjanke]

Turns out this is rather hard. It would require making all of the formulae we use fully relocatable at run time. Some of the big ones, like gcc and qt, are not even relocatable at installation/bottle-pouring time.

This is probably not going to happen. WONTFIX.

[apjanke]

I'm re-opening this because of http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/help-octave/2018-06/msg00117.html; Ben Abbott thinks it may be feasible.

Going to keep this open to indicate it's something we're really interested in.

Other references on the Homebrew front:

• Give libraries @rpath-relative install names Homebrew/brew#4371
• https://github.com/essandess/matryoshka-name-tool/blob/master/matryoshka_name_tool.py

[apjanke]

Some relevant bugs, [from jwe on help-octave]:

Also, there are some old bug reports and patches that may be helpful or at least relevant:

https://savannah.gnu.org/patch/?8308
https://savannah.gnu.org/bugs/?41574
https://savannah.gnu.org/patch/?8314

We need a Mac expert to review and
test.

[mimenard]

Hello, just a quit comment because I'm interested by this feature. I usually move some big development applications in an external drive in order to prevent to fill my ssd. I hope someone would find a solution to make it possible.
Is the problem related to usage of hardcoded path instead of relative somewhere?

[apjanke]

Is the problem related to usage of hardcoded path instead of relative somewhere?

Exactly. Primarily in the linkage of dynamic libraries in the various packages that make up Octave.app. And since Octave.app has a lot of component packages, it's a nontrivial fix.

You miiiiiiight be able to get this to work as is by putting Octave.app on your external drive and then symlinking /Applications/Octave.app to it and running through the symlink; give that a try!

[apjanke]

After a couple more years experience, this looks hopeless to me. Closing as Wontfix.

[thrynae]

This is very unfortunate. I was about to open a thread to ask for this. I have the exact same issue (small SSD, plenty of space on removable/network media, and I can guarantee to only run Octave if the folder is mounted). I haven't tried a symlink yet, but the lack of a 'yes!! it works!!' comment from mimenard doesn't bode well.

[apjanke]

Sorry. I feel you, but I think this is kind of "baked in" to the basic infrastructure of how Octave.app is built. (It's basically a macOS app bundle wrapper on top of a Homebrew installation to a nonstandard "prefix" location.) Maybe a solvable problem, but likely not something I have the time and skill to tackle myself.

If it's any consolation, the Octave.app 8.4.0 build cuts the app size in half or so, as of the alpha3 build.