Re: GNUstep.conf or source ?

[Richard Frith-Macdonald]

On 20 May 2008, at 19:22, Rubens_Septimus wrote:

> Hello,
>
> Something I'm trying to understand : I build several things
> (gnustep-startup, GWorkspace) and all seemed to get well done.
> After that, I tried to load GWorkspace. But openapp was not found  
> and it
> failed.
> I had to add the source GNUstep.sh in my .bashrc to be able to launch
> GWorkspace : after that, I can launch it from an Xterm with either  
> method :
>
> GWorkspace
> openapp /usr/GNUstep/System/Applications/GWorkspace.app
> /usr/GNUstep/System/Applications/GWorkspace.app/GWorkspace
>
> But, if I try to do it from a docked icon within WindowMaker, it  
> complains
> that the execution of the command failed with either method...
>
> So I wonder :
> 1°) Why I need to add the source GNUstep.sh in .bashrc to exec an  
> app while
> it is said around to be necessary only to build it, not to exec it.

At a guess ... because you have not installed GNUstep configured to  
use the native filesystem.
If you aren't using the native filesystem layout, then you somehow  
have to tell your shell and window manager how to find libraries and  
executables (because they aren't where the shell is expecting to find  
them) ... so you either deal with that yourself, or you can source  
GNUstep.sh to do it (among other things).  Most likely windowmaker  
doesn't know how to find the libraries because it was started up  
before you sourced GNUstep.sh.

> 2°) Why the /etc/GNUstep/GNUstep.conf configuration file seems to be
> useless.

I'm sure it's being used (otherwise your apps wouldn't work properly  
even when you source GNUstep.sh).
The GNUstep.conf file is used to tell GNUstep applications where to  
find their resources ... it's NOT used to tell your shell or window  
manager where to find libraries and executables (after all, your shell  
doesn't know anything about it).