[with optional spkg] Make vtk an easy-to-install optional sage package

[was]

From Josh:

I have a vtk meta package in my spkgs directory.
It automatically attempts to detect the tcl/tk libs
and rebuild python if the tk bindings were not compiled on linux and
rebuilds python as a framework on OSX, it then builds VTK.

 http://sage.math.washington.edu/home/jkantor/spkgs/

[cwitty]

I tried your meta spkg on my laptop (Debian testing), and it failed even after I installed tcl8.4-dev and tk8.4-dev packages, with this error:

test_tcl.c:2:24: error: tcl8.3/tcl.h: No such file or directory
test_tcl.c:3:23: error: tcl8.3/tk.h: No such file or directory
In file included from test_tcl.c:8:
/usr/include/tcl8.4/tk.h:21:17: error: tcl.h: No such file or directory

As you can see, tcl8.4/tk.h includes tcl.h without specifying a path, so it doesn't find /usr/include/tcl8.4/tcl.h. Programs using tcl and tk need to be compiled with -I/usr/include/tcl8.4.

[was]

Josh,
 
Michael Abshoff and I spent some time looking over the vtk packaging
stuff you're doing.  I think you should put all the spkg's together
in one big directory:
 
     vtk_meta-1/
        cmake-2.4.7.spkg
        MayaVi-1.5.spkg
        python-2.5.1-framework.spkg
        PyVTK-0.4.74.spkg
        vtk-5.0.3.p1.spkg
 
The version number on the directory is very important.
 
Then put the spkg-install from your current vtk_meta in there.
You have to change your spkg-install slightly, so it works
with spkg's that are "local", i.e., it will be vasty simpler.
 
Then you can just do
 
    sage -pkg_nc vtk_meta-1    # nc for "no compression"
 
to make a file vtk_meta-1.spkg that anyone can easily build
anywhere by doing
 
    sage -i vtk_meta-1.spkg
 
OK?
 
If you don't do this, then there are a bunch of separate
optional packages, and though you might not know this a
*LOT* of people who install Sage immediately do "sage -optional"
and proceed, in pretty much random order, to install one
optional package after the other and play with it.  Having
a bunch that don't make sense by themselves, e.g., python-2.5.1-framework.spkg,
in optional would reak havoc and confuse a large number of people.
 
I'm sorry I suggested the more complicated setup that you
actually implemented.  I hope you can see how the above suggestion
will be much simpler for people to use.
 

[was]

UPDATE -- now it is made easier and simple, finally:

The package vtk_meta-1.spkg in my spkg's
directory should be ready now.

It requires tcl/tk dev libs to build on Linux
as well as open gl.

It takes between 15-40+ minutes to compile
depending on cpu and whether or not python
needs to be rebuilt.

Nothing extra required on OSX.
I'm curious if it works on leopard?

Also there is a pretty skeletal but functional
patch in my spkgs, vtk_plot.hg that adds
three functions that allow plotting 2d surfaces and 3d isosurfaces.

[mabshoff]

William put this into the experimental package directory a while ago. So close this now.