[vtk-developers] Packaging VTK 4.0 for linux (was Python pack ages: status, suggestions.)

[Blezek, Daniel J (CRD)]

Prabhu & David, 

  Part of the problem is that CMake hasn't been tweaked enough to make an RPM easy to install.
Python might be the toughest.  For the moment, it's very straightforward to make your environment
point to vtk inside the build tree, suggesting that a .tgz file would be good to do.  Putting a
VTKEnvironment.csh file inside that could be sourced would really help people out.  This is what I do
(for Tcl, Python, but not java{which is similar}):


switch ($PATH)
  case *VTK-Linux/bin*:
    breaksw
  default:
    setenv PATH ${HOME}/src/gevtk-linux/bin:${HOME}/src/VTK-Linux/bin:${PATH}
    breaksw
endsw

switch ($LD_LIBRARY_PATH)
  case *VTK-Linux/bin*:
    breaksw
  default:
    setenv LD_LIBRARY_PATH $(HOME}/src/VTK-Linux/bin:${LD_LIBRARY_PATH}
    breaksw
endsw

setenv VTK_DATA ${HOME}/src/VTKData
setenv VTK_DATA_ROOT ${HOME}/src/VTKData
setenv VTK_TCL ${HOME}/src/vtk/examplesTcl

setenv TCLLIBPATH ${HOME}/src/VTK/Wrapping/Tcl
setenv PYTHONPATH ${HOME}/src/VTK/Wrapping/Python:${HOME}/src/VTK-Linux/bin/



> There are also some issues with the way VTK currently
> installs things.  Here are some of them:
> 
>   (1) VTK creates a libpng.so and libzlib.so of its own.  This would
>   be troublesome when creating packages under linux since
>   libpng.so/libzlib.so is installed separately most of the time.  I
>   notice that the jpeg library is now rolled into the libvtkjpeg.so.
>   Could something like this be done for the other two?
> 
>   (2) All the libraries are currently installed in
>   CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX/lib/vtk.  AFAIK, this is non-standard.  The
>   libraries should go into CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX/lib/ no?  If not when
>   packaging one would have to add this directory to /etc/ld.so.conf
>   which is not so nice to do.
> 
>   (3) The python packages are little harder to install.  Since all
>   Python modules of the form libvtkFooPython.so and they link to each
>   other, we have to put these libraries inside a directory which is on
>   ld's search path.  If we do this the python packages wont be able to
>   see them.  One option is to make a link from
> 
>   CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX/lib/pythonX.Y/site-packages/vtk/lib*Python*.so
>   to the place where they actually are.  What do you think of this
>   approach?
> 
>   (4) How about the java packages - how do they install?? Any issues??
> 
> Thats all I can think of ATM.  Please let me know what you folks
> think.
> 
> prabhu
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