= ChimeraX Developer Meeting =

Zach, Eric, Tom, Greg

June 23, 2022

= Agenda =

== General ==

== ChimeraX ==
=== Release Planning ===
1) Greg wants a 1.4.1 release on Linux for Wayland

2) How can the NIH 3D pipeline toolshed install 3D presets when bundle cache not yet initialized?

3) 1.5 roadmap

=== Bugs ===
1) Due asynchronous startup toolshed check, can't issue "toolshed" commands immediately after ChimeraX installation.

=== Build System ===
1) Supporting IDEs
  - may only need editable installs (will require workaround as namespace packages cannot be installed in this mode automatically)
  - editable installs should also let us call ChimeraX with Python for rapid iteration and the C launcher for detailed crash info
  - Zach mentioned PyCharm, LSP (Language Server Protocol), XCode
  - Greg mentioned Visual Studio 

2) API for getting C headers: get_include (see: numpy.get_include)
  - {{{native-packaging}}} moves bundle header and source files to {{{bundle/src/include/module}}} \
  - maybe just use header files?

3) API for getting library directories: get_libdir

4) macOS compiler call in Makefiles

=== Infrastructure ===
1) Beta releases on Toolshed

2) Decoupling core bundle version number from the ChimeraX release number

3) Prereq audit after 27 June 

4) arm64 port
  - Tom suggests zipping x86_64 ChimeraX and arm64 ChimeraX together
  - How best to backport M1 support from native-packaging to 1.4 release branch

5) Regular packages on the toolshed
  - Tom wonders if the functionality of python-gdcm is worth its weight
  - Zach thinks we should leverage our plugin architecture to let users install only the bundles they need

== Chimera ==
1) Back up the build machine to a solid state drive

--------------------------
= Discussion =

* 1.4.1 ChimeraX release for Wayland fix?
  - Looked at 16 bug reports for Wayland
  - 2/3 of report are WSL2 where ChimeraX does not work even with XWayland
  - Other 1/3 have XDG_* environment variables and don't need ChimeraX fix.
  - Decided not to make 1.4.1 release for Wayland.

* 3DPresets toolshed install for NIH 3D
  - When NIH 3D tries to toolshed install 3DPresets bundle, fails because toolshed cache not initialized.
  - Michal has been provided a work-around which directly accesses Toolshed as a pip repository.
  - Waiting to hear from Michal if that workaround works.
  - Longer term, for 1.5 release, Greg will make populating toolshed cache a Task
  - As a Task the toolshed install can detect that it is running and wait for it.

* Mac M1 port
  - Can add a Mac M1 techpreview build.
  - Zach suggests making universal Mac build a 1.5 milestone
  - Greg showed how to add a techpreview build, changes needed to build_tools git repository.

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= Action Items =
  - Present github continuous integration tutorial.  Zach
  - Remove pkg-config prereq if it is not being used for builds. Tom