Hello Joachim
In May I did a port of NeoCSV to Cuis Smalltalk.
I followed a process like this
1. download .mcz in its "original" version and unpack it to have the
st file only. Keep
the Core and the Tests st file in the target repository for reference.
2. Make a copy of the two files
3. Modify the st files with search/replace operations for obvious and
safe changes
4. Import and further modify on target platform
5. Run tests and resolve remaining issues
6. Publish on target platform's public repository
7. Document the process so that it can be redone from scratch much
faster by myself or somebody else in a semi-automatic way.
Remarks:
1) https://github.com/hhzl/Cuis-NeoCSV/blob/master/Neo-CSV-Core-orig.st
is 1011 LOC
https://github.com/hhzl/Cuis-NeoCSV/blob/master/Neo-CSV-Tests-orig.st
is 805 LOC
It took me two attempts to arrive at the goal
https://github.com/hhzl/Cuis-NeoCSV
In the first attempt nearly all tests failed. But this was because of
some minor differences which caused most of the problems. After having
them fixed the number of tests which passed raised quickly.
In the end it needed a combination of systematic changes and some
'compatibility layer' on Cuis which is necessary for the port. The
package used for that contains much more than needed, I did not take
the time yet to figure out which methods actually are needed. I think
only very few methods are needed.
I think the Neo-CSV package is very useful to do workspace based
applications for an explorative analysis of complex data. CSV data is
a representation of one of the most common file formats (Excel data).
And we need to be able to do this in various Smalltalk distributions.
The Neo-CSV package is well written and not all that complex. Porting
can be done in some hours. Sven was very helpful and added another
test for me to illustrate a particular use, actually my main use case.
Summary:
a) So the porting experience was good.
b) Porting the tests is a necessity to prove that the port has been done.
c) I think you can do the same thing quickly for VA Smalltalk if you
actually take the plunge.
Way forward:
It might be worthwile to consider to maintain a github repository with
steps 1,2 and 3 from above. FileOut format for ease of use. Using
another repo will distinguish the effort to be a modified _copy_ of
http://smalltalkhub.com/#!/~SvenVanCaekenberghe/Neo/
Actually Sven already has taken precautions to make the code
porting-friendly and he might want to further facilitate this.
I am considering a port to Amber Smalltalk, but interestingly though
Amber is said to be Pharo compatible there are some problems which I
have to resolve first.
HTH
Hannes
On 7/2/15, jtuc...@objektfabrik.de <jtuc...@objektfabrik.de> wrote:
> Sven,
>
> you are, of course, right!
> I should have checked in Pharo first. But since my version is old
> anyways, I would have to try with at least two versions in order to make
> sure if the bug is fixed or not. As long as keeping ports current is a
> lot of work due to (increasing) differences between Phar and most other
> dialects, this is hard work ;-) I should invest in it anyways, however,
> since I am using your code from Pharo and you didn't ask me to use it...
>
> So, to address this Array construction issue (as an example of others).
> This cannot be handled with Grease or the like, since what is in my way
> is the Smalltalk compiler (I am trying to concince Instantiations to
> support {} for literal Array construction, but until I'm successful...).
>
> Given somebody wrote RewriteRules to replace {} with "(Array new: x)
> addAll:", this should probably be used on non-Pharo-platforms as part of
> a port, so that the "original" code is still the Metacello version it
> was on Pharo.
>
> My plan for a port:
> 1. download .mcz in its "original" version and don't modify it
> 2. import and modify on target platform
> 3. test and publish on target platform's public repository
>
> What do you think would be a good process to porting when it involves
> such steps?
>
> The problem with Step 2 is: I am not sure if RewriteRules can work in
> code that's not compiled. (Well, I am mostly sure this won't work, just
> asking for confirmation) You cannot compile methods with Arrays
> constructed with curly braces on VAST.
>
> So another possible process would be:
> 1. use Pharo to modify downloaded code in order to make it importable on
> target platform
> 2. publish this code somewhere (not official Pharo repositories, maybe
> StHub)
> 3. Download the modified version and import into target dialect
> 4. Make final adjustments to make code and tests run
> 5. Publish to target platform's public repository
>
> Any thoughts or ideas? People interested in joining efforts?
>
> And, now that we're on a new topic anyways, misusing this thread (mea
> culpa):
>
> I still wonder how we could make it easier to contribute back. Every
> time I find a bug in some code from Pharo, there are several things to
> consider:
> 1. Is there a newer version on Pharo that doesn't have this bug?
> a) yes: port newer version
> b) no: I'm in trouble - see below
>
> in case of 1b), there are two options now:
> 1. I fire up Pharo and fix the bug in the original code, then commit the
> changes to the official repository/ies, and then port the fixed version
> 2. I contact the ML or the author/maintainer of the code and give them a
> bug report and hopefully a fix, which may or may not be compatible with
> Pharo. Then I can either port the fixed version or just keep my fixed
> version (if the fix is the same, this is not a problem from the code
> perspective, but maybe from a version numbering standpoint).
>
> I am interested in ideas here and would like to hear from people
> interested in discussing these issues. Maybe ESUG would be a good
> opportunity to start discussing. Maybe we can start a new initiative for
> this problem area...
>
> Joachim
>
>
>
> Am 01.07.15 um 21:27 schrieb Sven Van Caekenberghe:
>> But before you ask for help on the Pharo ML you should run the NeoCSV code
>> on Pharo to validate that your assumption hold there. If not, it is a
>> porting error/problem.
>>
>> And unit tests are *VERY IMPORTANT* to maintain our sanity across versions
>> and/or platforms.
>>
>> Again, what you report as a potential problem isn't one, I think. Please
>> test on Pharo itself.
>>
>>> On 01 Jul 2015, at 21:07, jtuc...@objektfabrik.de wrote:
>>>
>>> I gave up on porting tests. VAST doesn't support creating Arrays with
>>> curly braces, and they are used all over the place in Pharo code. I wuld
>>> use them if I had them, so this is not an accuse or anything. It's just a
>>> huge load of work to keep tests up to date when porting newer versions,
>>> so I just ignore tests when porting. A sad truth.
>>>
>>> Joachim
>>>
>>> Am 01.07.15 um 16:14 schrieb H. Hirzel:
>>>> Joachim,
>>>>
>>>> which results do you get on VA Smalltalk for the tests?
>>>>
>>>> Do they all pass?
>>>>
>>>> --Hannes
>>>>
>>>> On 7/1/15, jtuc...@objektfabrik.de <jtuc...@objektfabrik.de> wrote:
>>>>> I am not complaining. It just makes porting harder.
>>>>>
>>>>> What made the thing especially strange was that I only had that
>>>>> problem
>>>>> with uploaded files because the Browser removes the trailing CrLf (or
>>>>> better, doesn't add another one in the multipart form data). So
>>>>> reading
>>>>> from a file all works like a charm, but not when you process the same,
>>>>> uploaded file on the server side...
>>>>>
>>>>> Joachim
>>>>>
>>>>> Am 01.07.15 um 15:12 schrieb Sven Van Caekenberghe:
>>>>>> Yes, on Pharo, #next (and #peek or #peekFor:) all return nil when
>>>>>> #atEnd.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> It is the way it is (I am personally for stricter semantics), but
>>>>>> that
>>>>>> fact is certainly used in code all allround the place.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> On 01 Jul 2015, at 15:06, jtuc...@objektfabrik.de wrote:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Hi Sven,
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> I didn't test on Pharo. But I remember seeing differences in the way
>>>>>>> Pharo and VAST react to reads beyond the end of a Stream.
>>>>>>> Not sure, but this could have been in NeoCSV context two or three
>>>>>>> years
>>>>>>> ago.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> So it is very likely I was bitten by platform differences.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Thanks for answering.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Joachim
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Am 01.07.15 um 14:05 schrieb Sven Van Caekenberghe:
>>>>>>>> Hi Joachim,
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> First, thanks for the feedback.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Second, since you are on a different platform, that might be a
>>>>>>>> factor.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Did you test your problem on Pharo itself ?
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Because there are already unit tests specifically for the case you
>>>>>>>> describe:
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> #testEmptyLastFieldUnquoted
>>>>>>>> #testEmptyLastFieldQuoted
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> These obviously pass for Pharo, do they pass for you ?
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Maybe your problem case is slightly different though ?
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Sven
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> On 01 Jul 2015, at 13:40, jtuc...@objektfabrik.de wrote:
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Hi,
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> I've tried porting SvenVanCaekenberghe.20 and see the same problems
>>>>>>>>> in
>>>>>>>>> this version. IN addition to the fix already mentioned, I also had
>>>>>>>>> to
>>>>>>>>> change readSeparator:
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> readSeparator
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> ^self atEnd ifFalse: [self peekFor: separator]
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> As far as I can tell by now, this fixes the problem at hand. Any
>>>>>>>>> ideas
>>>>>>>>> if this is a safe fix?
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Joachim
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Am 01.07.15 um 12:35 schrieb jtuc...@objektfabrik.de:
>>>>>>>>>> Hi there,
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> I am on VA Smalltalk and therefor using an older version of
>>>>>>>>>> NeoCSV
>>>>>>>>>> (SvenVanCaekenberghe.14). I found a bug in this old version that
>>>>>>>>>> is
>>>>>>>>>> somewhat special.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> It seems NeoCSV cannot handle the situation where the very last
>>>>>>>>>> field
>>>>>>>>>> is just empty AND if there is no trailing CRLF at the end of the
>>>>>>>>>> file.
>>>>>>>>>> Somethinng like this:
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> SecondLastColumnValue;;<EOF>
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> In that case, readField fails because it tries to do a
>>>>>>>>>> readQuotedField
>>>>>>>>>> or readUnquotedField, both of which try to read beyond EOF.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> So I changed readField to this:
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> readField
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> ^self atEnd "In case the very last field of a file is empty,
>>>>>>>>>> like
>>>>>>>>>> '45;56;;'"
>>>>>>>>>> ifTrue: ['']
>>>>>>>>>> ifFalse: [self peekQuote ifTrue: [self readQuotedField]
>>>>>>>>>> ifFalse: [self readUnquotedField]]
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> and all seems fine so far.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> Side note: My original file has a trailing CrLf but if I upload it
>>>>>>>>>> via
>>>>>>>>>> a browser to a Seaside Server, the Browser cuts off the trailing
>>>>>>>>>> CrLf
>>>>>>>>>> (I can see this in the Browser's Network debugging tools - both in
>>>>>>>>>> IE
>>>>>>>>>> and FF) - so it seems NeoCSV has to be ready for this situation.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> Joachim
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> --
>>>>>>>>> -----------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>>>>>>> Objektfabrik Joachim Tuchel
>>>>>>>>> mailto:jtuc...@objektfabrik.de
>>>>>>>>> Fliederweg 1 http://www.objektfabrik.de
>>>>>>>>> D-71640 Ludwigsburg
>>>>>>>>> http://joachimtuchel.wordpress.com
>>>>>>>>> Telefon: +49 7141 56 10 86 0 Fax: +49 7141 56 10 86 1
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> --
>>>>>>> -----------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>>>>> Objektfabrik Joachim Tuchel mailto:jtuc...@objektfabrik.de
>>>>>>> Fliederweg 1 http://www.objektfabrik.de
>>>>>>> D-71640 Ludwigsburg
>>>>>>> http://joachimtuchel.wordpress.com
>>>>>>> Telefon: +49 7141 56 10 86 0 Fax: +49 7141 56 10 86 1
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>> --
>>>>> -----------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>>> Objektfabrik Joachim Tuchel mailto:jtuc...@objektfabrik.de
>>>>> Fliederweg 1 http://www.objektfabrik.de
>>>>> D-71640 Ludwigsburg
>>>>> http://joachimtuchel.wordpress.com
>>>>> Telefon: +49 7141 56 10 86 0 Fax: +49 7141 56 10 86 1
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> -----------------------------------------------------------------------
>>> Objektfabrik Joachim Tuchel mailto:jtuc...@objektfabrik.de
>>> Fliederweg 1 http://www.objektfabrik.de
>>> D-71640 Ludwigsburg http://joachimtuchel.wordpress.com
>>> Telefon: +49 7141 56 10 86 0 Fax: +49 7141 56 10 86 1
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>
>
> --
> -----------------------------------------------------------------------
> Objektfabrik Joachim Tuchel mailto:jtuc...@objektfabrik.de
> Fliederweg 1 http://www.objektfabrik.de
> D-71640 Ludwigsburg http://joachimtuchel.wordpress.com
> Telefon: +49 7141 56 10 86 0 Fax: +49 7141 56 10 86 1
>
>
>
