WxHaskell/Installation tips

Debian

1. For Debian Linux systems (as long as there's no .deb package):
   • Fetch the rpm package from http://wxhaskell.sourceforge.net/download.html
   • make sure you have wxWidgets installed (libraries and developer files)
   • if you haven't done this already, install the debian package "alien": apt-get install alien
   • use alien to install the rpm package: alien -i wxhaskell....rpm
   • use ghc-pkg to add the packages wxcore and wx to ghc's package configuration file:
     cd /usr/lib/ghc-6.2.1/wxhaskell-0.7
ghc-pkg -D wxhlibdir=/usr/lib/ghc-6.2.1/wxhaskell-0.7 -ai wxcore.pkg
ghc-pkg -D wxhlibdir=/usr/lib/ghc-6.2.1/wxhaskell-0.7 -ai wx.pkg

2. Another way for Debian systems:
   use the repository "deb http://haskell-unsafe.alioth.debian.org/archive/i386 unstable ."
3. A way that surely works:
   • Fetch the two deb packages on http://haskell-unsafe.alioth.debian.org/archive/i386/unstable/w/wxhaskell/
   • apt-get install libwxgtk2.5-dev
   • dpkg -i [name], where name is the name of the two packages, you should first install the normal package and then the dev-package
     • wxhlibdir=/usr/lib ghc-pkg -ai /usr/lib/wxcore.pkg
     • wxhlibdir=/usr/lib ghc-pkg -ai /usr/lib/wx.pkg

MacOS X

Getting wxHaskell 0.9.4 to work with wxWidgets 2.6 on Panther (10.3).

• install wxWidgets for mac, wxmac http://www.wxwidgets.com
  • use the --disable-shared option for configure (this isn't needed in all cases?)
    ./configure --disable-shared
• Make sure you have readline installed. The simplest way is to use fink or darwinports. http://wxhaskell.sourceforge.net/building-macosx.html
• grab and install wxHaskell
• (unique to macosx!)
  sudo ln -s /usr/local/wxhaskell/bin/macosx-app /usr/local/bin/
• See below if you have any trouble

Unknown:

• Does the darwinports version of wxWidgets work with wxHaskell? Would be nice if somebody made a portfile for it.

Errors

• Problems compiling wxHaskell (something like the below)
  /tmp/ghc29861.s:4379: Unknown pseudo-op:
.subsections_via_symbol
  Make sure you have at least Xcode 1.5 (gcc 3.3 build 1671). Xcode 1.1 (gcc build 1495) is not enough
• If you get linker errors like it not being able to find _TextziParserCombinatorsziParsecziChar_alphaNum_closure, try editing config/config.mk and setting HC=ghc -lHSparsec. This is likely not a mac-specific problem but related to the use of GHC 6.2 over 6.0.1. (not sure if this is still valid)
• When compiling your Haskell program:
  ld: /usr/lib/crt1.o illegal reference to symbol: __objcInit defined in indirectly referenced dynamic library /usr/lib/libobjc.A.dylib
• Adding -framework AppKit to the compiler switches for your Haskell program seems to help
• Certain buttons and widgets are not active

The last point is possibly a wxWidgets or a wxHaskell bug - basically, widgets in "boxed" environments do not react to user. Take out the box, and you're ok.

Windows

Installing wxHaskell is easy once you realize that the batch file (wxhaskell-register.bat) only works from folders with no spaces anywhere in the address, e.g. double clicking C:\Cygwin\wxhaskell-0.9.4\bin\wxhaskell-register.bat works but if you put the files under C:\Documents and Settings\wxhaskell-0.9.4\... or C:\Program Files\wxhaskell-0.9.4\... it might not work. Just move the installer folder wxhaskell-0.9.4 to somewhere with no spaces in the address and double-click wxhaskell-register.bat. I hope this helps someone.