Hello,
Thank you for bringing this into attention. There are two things here:
1. Helping you build LibreOffice: As Ilmari said, we (me and him) can
help you with possible problems in your build. If needed, I can provide
screen sharing session to find the possible problems and fix them.
2. Simplifying the LibreOffice build: This is an ongoing effort. For
example:
2-1 Simplifying the build instructions: The below Wiki page is my effort
to make build instructions easier to use, by separating the platforms,
and summarizing the instructions. It is not yet finalized, but it is
usable:
Build LibreOffice from source code
https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/User:Hossein/Build
2-2 Simplifying the build process: This is also an ongoing effort. Using
cmake or meson can help simplifying the build, but it is a very complex
task. The author of meson (Jussi Pakkanen) has tried to do experimental
builds of LibreOffice, and he could achieve partial success. But, for a
complete build more work is needed.
Building a part of LibreOffice on Windows using only Meson and WrapDB
https://nibblestew.blogspot.com/2022/01/building-part-of-libreoffice-on-windows.html
Compiling LibreOffice with Meson even further
https://nibblestew.blogspot.com/2022/02/compiling-libreoffice-with-meson-even.html
2-3 Automating instructions
Some of the tasks needed for the build are currently manual, but they
can be automated. For example, installing individual Visual Studio
components can be done using a script. I have opened a Bugzilla ticket
for this purpose:
tdf#156708 - Automate installing and checking for individual components
of Visual Studio on Windows
https://bugs.documentfoundation.org/show_bug.cgi?id=156708
You can read more here:
Use command-line parameters to install, update, and manage Visual Studio
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/visualstudio/install/use-command-line-parameters-to-install-visual-studio?view=vs-2022
How to automate (from command-line) the installation of a Visual Studio
Build Tools build environment, for C++, .NET, C#, etc
https://stackoverflow.com/q/62551793
2-4 Dropping some of the huge dependencies
There was disagreements in this area, but it is actually possible to
drop some of the huge dependencies to simplify the build process. It is
also a big task. This is an example patch from me:
Drop boost dependency for writerfilter
https://gerrit.libreoffice.org/c/core/+/139279
2-5 Making the actual build faster
I have just merged a patch that makes it possible to use ccache on
Windows:
tdf#155446 Fix problem with ccache on Windows
https://gerrit.libreoffice.org/c/core/+/152277
On the other hand, there is still room for more improvement, by making
it possible to use PCH (pre-compiled headers) and ccache at the same
time, on Windows.
If you have time and you are willing to help, the above are some of the
things to take a look at.
Regards,
Hossein
On 09.08.2023 20:31, Ilmari Lauhakangas wrote:
On 9.8.2023 19.32, David Booth wrote:
SUMMARY:
I think it would help if it were easier to get started on contributing
to LibreOffice development. I tried, but gave up after 4+ hours. I
don't know where is the best place to make this suggestion.
BACKGROUND:
A few months ago I ran into a problem using LibreOffice. Since I have
experience with software development -- I'm a software architect with
multiple degrees in Computer Science -- I wanted to help improve it.
I followed instructions as I could find them, but found them them
unclear. After spending 4+ hours I was unable to reach the point of
being able to get started and had to stop, due to other priorities.
Perhaps if I get another burst of volunteer energy I could try again
someday. And if I do, maybe a good first task would be to improve the
instructions for contributing to LibreOffice development. In the
meantime I thought I should at least share my experience, in case
someone else might be inspired to improve the instructions.
Hello,
it's true that depending on the platform (*cough* Windows) the build
setup can be tedious. This is not set in stone, however, and devs are
working on improvements.
You can send me a private email and we can schedule a mentoring chat
where we go through the first steps. It is normal these days for all
new contributors.
Regards,
Ilmari Lauhakangas
Development Marketing at The Document Foundation
--
Hossein Nourikhah, Ph.D., Developer Community Architect
Tel: +49 30 5557992-65 | Email: hossein@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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