New subject: [Pharo-users] Re: [Pharo-users]Porting from VW 8.3 to Pharo: pdftalkPackageChanges

Aug. 5, 2022

      This method

pdftalkPackageChanges

                ^(Valuemap new)

                                add: 'Values' -> self ValuesTransform;

                                add: 'PostScript' -> self PostScriptTransform;

                                add: 'PDFtalk Basics' -> self PDFtalkBasicsTransform;

                                add: 'PDFtalk Typing' -> self PDFtalkTypingTransform;

                                add: 'PDFtalk Basic Objects' -> self PDFtalkBasicObjectsTransform;

                                add: 'PDFtalk Streams' -> self PDFtalkStreamsTransform;

                                add: 'PDFtalk Data Structures' -> self PDFtalkDataStructuresTransform;

                                add: 'PDFtalk Parsing' -> self PDFtalkParsingTransform;

                                add: 'PDFtalk Colour' -> self PDFtalkColourTransform;

                                add: 'PostScript Fonts' -> self PostScriptFontsTransform;

                                add: 'PostScript CIDInit' -> self PostScriptCIDInitTransform;

                                add: 'PDFtalk Fonts Basics' -> self PDFtalkFontsBasicsTransform;

                                add: 'PDFtalk Fonts Type1' -> self PDFtalkFontsType1Transform;

                                add: 'PDFtalk Fonts OpenType' -> self PDFtalkFontsOpenTypeTransform;

                                add: 'PDFtalk Fonts' -> self PDFtalkFontsTransform;

                                add: 'PDFtalk Graphics' -> self PDFtalkGraphicsTransform;

                                add: 'PDFtalk Graphics Operations' -> self PDFtalkGraphicsOperationsTransform;

                                add: 'PDFtalk XObjects' -> self PDFtalkXObjectsTransform;

                                add: 'PDFtalk Images' -> self PDFtalkImagesTransform;

                                add: 'PDFtalk Files' -> self PDFtalkFilesTransform;

                                add: 'PDFtalk Document' -> self PDFtalkDocumentTransform;

                                add: 'PDFtalk Rendering' -> self PDFtalkRenderingTransform;

                                add: 'PDFtalk Shading' -> self PDFtalkShadingTransform;

                                add: 'PDFtalk Interactive Features' -> self PDFtalkInteractiveFeaturesTransform;

                                add: 'PDFtalk Deploying' -> self PDFtalkDeployingTransform;

                                add: 'Values Testing' -> self ValuesTestingTransform;

                                add: 'PDFtalk test resources' -> self PDFtalkTestResourcesTransform;

                                add: 'PostScript Testing' -> self PostScriptTestingTransform;

                                add: 'PostScript CIDInit Testing' -> self PostScriptCIDInitTestingTransform;

                                add: 'PDFtalk Fonts tests' -> self PDFtalkFontsTestsTransform;

                                add: 'PDFtalk tests' -> self PDFtalkTestsTransform;

                                add: 'PDFtalk Demonstrations' -> self PDFtalkDemonstrationsTransform;

                                yourself

effectively looks like the head transform structure for a project, in this case all the PDFtalk stuff, which includes Values and Postscript.

This is not exactly a bundle idea, is it?  Itâs project spread across potentially many bundles and packages.

Iâll start coding my transform with a similar method, and work down toward the details.  Takes a bit to get used to all the correct, yet dangling VW methods that are useless in VW, but which will become new code in the target image and there no longer appear to be dangling (with syntax highlighting aberrations).  Odd looking but completely by design.

Shaping

From: Shaping <shaping@uurda.org> 
Sent: Thursday, 4 August, 2022 19:18
To: 'Any question about pharo is welcome' <pharo-users@lists.pharo.org>
Subject: [Pharo-users] Re: [Pharo-users]Porting from VW 8.3 to Pharo: Pharo100 fileOutValues

I will look, although this kind of always available on demand thing is too disruptive for meâ¦

I know what you mean.  I try be disciplined about it.  I really like to be able to fix typos, because there are almost always typos.   But e-mail is okay.

So that little example is a test that shows how the transformation is done.  It converts just package Values to a Pharo-compatible file-in.  My task is then to queue a bunch of ProjectChange instances like this one:

SmalltalkTransform.Pharo100>>

ValuesProject

                ^ProjectChange

                                name: #Values

                                source: (Array with: (Package name: #Values))

                                changes: (Valuemap with: 'Values' -> self ValuesTransform)

Exactly

but for my own packages.   No bundles are transformed (just their contained packages) because Pharo doesnât have bundles.

Is that right?

No, bundles are handled. For real examples, you need to look at the PDFtalk transforms.

Yes, Pharo does not have a concept of bundles (ordered aggregates of packages). Instead it relies on a naming convention for packages. That convention is honored in the fileout, so that packages will be partly grouped in Pharo according to the category prefix.

For each VW-package, one Pharo package is created. A bundle itself is also represented as Pharo package with one class About<bundlename> with class methods for the metadata of the bundle, including a method giving you the ordered list of component packages. So, all contents and metadata of packages and bundles are transformed for Pharo. No code or info gets lost.

Okay.

Is method

ValuesTransform

                ^PackageChange

                                ignoredNames: #(#{Smalltalk.GeneralBindingReference})

                                bridgeClasses: (Valuemap

                                                with: #{Timestamp} -> #DateAndTime

                                                with: #{Smalltalk.ColorValue} -> #Color)

                                localChanges: self valuesLocalTransform

                                extensions: (Array

                                                with: (SystemClassChange

                                                                className: #Color

                                                                instanceChanges: (Array with: (Add method: #asColorValue code: #_ph_asColorValue)))

                                                with: (SystemClassChange

                                                                className: #TextStream

                                                                instanceChanges: (Array with: (Add method: #nextPutAllText: code: #_ph_nextPutAllText:))))

written specifically for that package?  I would think it applies to all packages.  I see some expected mappings like Timestamp to DateAndTime.

Yes, this method returns a PackageChange Value describing the transformations needed to create the Pharo fileout for this specific package (inspect the return value for the fully expanded Value). Methods exist with the same name for other Smalltalks. Depending on the dialect (or version of a dialect), the transforms are different. Squeak and Pharo are quite similar, because they share a common history, but VA or Gemstone need quite different transforms.

So, in general, for each package, there is one such method/Value for each target Smalltalk/version. 

Okay.

I do not dare to extract commonalities before the machinery is really robust and stable. For now everything is neatly separate and self-contained (and probably it will stay that way, although there are lots of duplications).

The mapping of class names is the responsibility of the enclosing ProjectChange Value where you define the list of source bundles/packages to transform, the PackageChanges for all packages and the mapping of âglobalâ names. 

(The bridge classes above are no renames, but a subclass relationship (is-a) to avoid renamings. The new class Timestamp will be created as subclass of DateAndTime which has almost the same semantics. Therefore, I can still use Timestamp which will be basically a DateAndTime now.)

Okay.

There is still a technical challenge here. Currently, a ProjectChange need to include all prerequisites (Values is part of the PDFtalk project and will be transformed with it). A ProjectWriter, which coordinates the transform, keeps track of the mappings when they are created (either explicitly or through a namespace renaming â see implementers of #PDFtalkProject). 

I would like to have this more modular: the mappings from the Values transformation should be persistently saved, so that other transformation projects can just use them, instead of including the sources into one own project.

For this, I need to have renamings local to a package (where they first occur), not global on the project level.

Right.

For Values and Values Tests and Values Tools this works, because there are no mappings in the Values package.

What about conversion of VW arrays to Pharo literal arrays?  How is that done?

(I think you mean dynamic arrays like {1. âabcâ size. 42} in which evaluation happens (in contrast to literal things which can be resolved already by the compiler).

Yes, dynamic arrays.  

Not! Since a while, VW also has dynamic arrays, but not in VW 8.3 â the last publicly available version. 

Okay, I was wondering when that would happen.

I will not shut out those users, because âopen-sourceâ would be quite absurd, if it is only available for paying customers.

In 8.3, the compiler does not accept that syntax and therefore, there is no easy way to represent this in replacement code.

So, no. It is not possible until Cincom releases an public version which can handle that.

Okay.

I recall that one of the Smalltalks (I donât recall which) had Stream semantics differing from VWâs.  

â¦ I just checked.  VWâs #upTo: method includes the object and leaves the index after it, and Pharoâs excludes the object and leaves the index at the object.   So that is some major breakage if we donât correct it.  Can it be done automatically?

Yes, these are the usual porting challenges and exactly the reason why this library exists :). Thank you for the question :).

Yes, the stream semantics need to be fixed. The idea is that a set of transforms for this issue can be reused by others.

Okay.
...
...
valuesLocalTransform
has lots of juicy bits.  But this doesnât look very simple.  We canât just replace an old method with a new one.  We also have to write the new one to tweak how the indices are used in #upTo:,  and make sure that new method gets filed-in as well into the Pharo target image.  Or, we have to do this kind of change manually.

Naa, itâs very easy, I think :).

A PackageChange specifies transforms for classes used in the package (#localChanges) and #extensions for system classes of the target. For a class, you can have a ClassChange describing the changes to instance or class methods. A MethodChange has 4 subclasses for:

-          Ignore â donât write this method to the target

-          Add â add this new method (not in the source system) to the target

-          Replace â replace the body of this method with other code

-          Rewrite â rewrite the method source using a rewrite rule.

Add and Replace need the target code.

Add then always involves a new name for a method in the target.  Replaces use an old name in the target with a new code body.

This is stored in another method with a derived name like #_ph_upTo: . The method name is not important, because only the body of the method is used. But the name should not be used in the source â it is just a holder for the replacement code. These methods live in the specific [<Smalltalk> Fileout <Package>] package.

Okay.

There are lots of working(!) examples for all of those in the PDFtalk transform project.

This bit

(SystemClassChange

                                                                className: #Color

                                                                instanceChanges: (Array with: (Add method: #asColorValue code: #_ph_asColorValue)))

is replacing #asColorValue with #_ph_asColorValue because some special Pharo-color conversion needs to happen.  But how does #_ph_asColorValue get defined?  Itâs neither in VW nor in Pharo 10.

You got bitten by the old version of [Pharo Fileout Values]. Please load [Pharo Fileout PDFtalk]. There, the methods exist.

Yes, I see it now.

Ok.  I donât have a virgin image.   I have a very non-virgin image, about 27 years of development Iâm trying to port to Pharo.  I donât yet have a specific interest in the PDFtalk, though I do see a need for PDF generation later, and will probably revisit that.  For now, I just want my own stuff to run in Pharo.

Virgin image just means that you donât need anything else. You can safely load it in you favorite special images :).

I would load PDFtalk, although technically you donât need to (all the extensions to PDFtalk would be unloadable, but that doesnât affect Values).

Okay.

is:

                Load {Values Project] bundle

                Load {PDFtalk Project} bundle

                Load {Smalltalk Transform Project} bundle

                Load [Pharo Fileout PDFtalk] package

                Save, done

Okay, so do I understand correctly that I need to include the PDFtalk stuff even if Iâm not interested in PDFtalk, because thatâs where a lot of the Smalltalk transformation machinery lives?  Or is the PDFtalk just being used as an example for how to do a massive transformation?  Or Both?

No, the transformation machinery is fully independent of PDFtalk. I just tried it. The dependencies are in the specific [Pharo Fileout PDFtalk] package, since I have already quite a few replacement methods which are extensions to PDFtalk classes.

Okay.

PDFtalk is the focus of the project and therefore all issues are solved first with this library in mind. Therefore, bundles and namespaces are handled, for example. When you study the more interesting transformations for PDFtalk, it would be a shame not to be able to browse the methods and classes involved.

So, PDFtalk is the real world reference example.

And Values is the simplest example.

                To transform Values do: âPharo100 fileOutValuesâ

The [Pharo Fileout PDFtalk] package includes the latest Values transformations.

I am thinking about a better modularizationâ¦

Also, the wiki is a bit out of control. It really needs some restructuring.

In the cites wiki page, there is a link to a blog where I record the changes. This might be informative.

2. Port the Values package. This is easy, since no namespaces are involved.

This first instruction after VW package setup says to port the contents of the Values package from VW to Pharo.  Do you mean manually?  Probably not.

No, no. This has been finished in March. 

For each dialect, I have a GitHub repository where I release important versions:  <https://github.com/PortingPDFtalk/PharoPDFtalk> https://github.com/PortingPDFtalk/PharoPDFtalk. You can find the working port as first release â <https://github.com/PortingPDFtalk/PharoPDFtalk/releases/tag/1.3.0.0> Working versionâ. There you can download the ported Values fileout with the exact description with which versions of what it was created.

This should be a good starting example.

Why do I need any new code installed in Pharo before I begin the transformation, if Iâm transforming code from VW to pharo?  Iâm not understanding the basic constraints of the problem, even when the detailed steps are clear. 

No, no. You donât need anything on the Pharo side. The fileouts on GitHub are the end products of a transformation for people who donât use VisualWorks, but want to use Values in Pharo. Or help with PDFtalk by fixing some issues, so that I can write the transformations.

Iâve done these steps so far:

1. Went to  <https://github.com/PortingPDFtalk/PharoPDFtalk> https://github.com/PortingPDFtalk/PharoPDFtalk.

Mistake :).
You donât want to look at the unfinished product of the current version of thincomplete transformations for PDFtalk.

Do you mean âfinishedâ here? Isnât that file-in the finished result?

I thought the above links was the currently finished result (as good as it can be until the rest of the bugs are goine and tests all run).

Yes, that was confusing.  Thatâs why I had the early impression that Values was somehow apart of the transformation machinery.

See https://wiki.pdftalk.de/doku.php?id=stateoftheport#pharo-10-0: 

Instead, you want to look at the unfinished product of the transformations of your projects :).

2. Saved down PDFtalk.Pharo100.st into <my Pharo 10 image directory>/pharo-local/Smalltalk-Transformation. (I figured that was a good place to save it.  If anyone disagrees, or has a better or more conventional idea about where files should be saved, please say so.  I setup a Pharo Git repo and played with it briefly for the first time yesterday.  Iâve used Pharo off an on for 16 years, but this is the first time Iâm making a serious effort to manage source, and not throw away what Iâm working on.)

3.  Filed-in PDFtalk.Pharo100.st.  This went on for about 7 minutes or so.  I have a hundreds if not over a thousand classes showing in Epicea.   Is there anyway to get Epicea to give me a count of changes with a time-range filter?   

4.  Deleted (forgot) yesterdayâs, old Main practice-repo from both the image and the drive, and made a new one.  I need to add to Main all the packages I just filed-in, but I donât see an efficient way to do that.  I would like to use the Add Package button, but this gives a filtered list of available packages.  I can filter subgroups, and then individually select each of the checkboxes to the left of each package (there is no Ctrl-A [select all] option here, which seems to be a strange omission given the potentially large number of packages involved).  I see lots of prefixes for the classes just loaded.  I could easily miss something if I filter/select/add one prefix-group at a time.  Is there an easier way?  Over in Epicea I donât see a way to push the loaded items listed to a specific repo.   The first thought I have is to select all filed-in code artifacts by datetime span.  I did that and saved it as an .ombu file (I have no idea what that is).  I donât see a way to import that .ombu file into repo Mainâs âWorking copyâ window.   It must be easy, but I donât see it.  Please suggest the best way. 

Iâd like to know as well â I am not quite familiar with the source management concepts in Pharo.

I asked in Discord.  I donât understand why stuff like this is missing.  The only conclusion I can draw is that no one does huge file-ins (but you do).

It is planned to generate Tonel output in the future, but for now I feel safer with the traditional fileout where I can have doIts. I am not sure how Tonel 

reacts to crippled sources, which are normal during the development of the transformations.

Shaping

From: christian.haider <christian.haider@smalltalked-visuals.com <mailto:christian.haider@smalltalked-visuals.com> > 
Sent: Wednesday, 22 June, 2022 05:42
To: pharo-users@lists.pharo.org <mailto:pharo-users@lists.pharo.org> 
Subject: [Pharo-users] [PDFtalk] second fileOut for Squeak and Pharo

With help from the community some issues were fixed which improved the test statistics nicely. 
Check it out: https://wiki.pdftalk.de/doku.php?id=portingblog#second_pdftalk_fileout_for_s... 

Thanks to everybody involved! 

Happy hacking, 
Christian

Re: [Pharo-users] Re: [Pharo-users]Porting from VW 8.3 to Pharo: pdftalkPackageChanges

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