Yesterday I added an experimental package dev-util/chromium-tools, that contains wrappers for depot_tools, a set of scripts required to fetch and work with Chromium sources.
If you are interested in working on Chromium (the open source web browser project), chromium-tools may be useful for you. Right after installing, gclient, gcl, and drover will be available in your PATH, and auto-updating of those tools will be handled transparently.
There is a git repository for the project, and patches are welcome!
November 29, 2010
November 9, 2010
www-client/chromium: gconf no longer required
If you're not using GNOME, but you like www-client/chromium, you no longer have to install gconf, which also brings a few other packages people don't want like gnome-base/orbit (it's a high-performance CORBA ORB, if you'd like to know).
Of course that happens with USE="-gnome", and you also need a bleeding edge version of chromium (>=chromium-9.0.570.0-r1, hard masked). Oh, and just in case you ask: dbus-glib is still needed.
I also landed the patch upstream, so now everyone can benefit from it. Enjoy!
Of course that happens with USE="-gnome", and you also need a bleeding edge version of chromium (>=chromium-9.0.570.0-r1, hard masked). Oh, and just in case you ask: dbus-glib is still needed.
I also landed the patch upstream, so now everyone can benefit from it. Enjoy!
November 3, 2010
www-client/chromium experimental support for system-v8
I am experimenting with building www-client/chromium with system-provided V8, the super-fast JavaScript engine. If you'd like to try it, emerge >=www-client/chromium-9.0.570.0 with system-v8 USE flag. By the way, this is not just about web browsers. We have patches for other packages too, for example to make mongodb use v8.
The system-v8 USE flag is masked. Here's how to unmask it (remember, it's experimental, may break, etc, etc):
mkdir -p /etc/portage/profile
echo "www-client/chromium -system-v8" >> /etc/portage/profile/package.use.mask
Please report any issues to Gentoo Bugzilla. Thanks!
The system-v8 USE flag is masked. Here's how to unmask it (remember, it's experimental, may break, etc, etc):
mkdir -p /etc/portage/profile
echo "www-client/chromium -system-v8" >> /etc/portage/profile/package.use.mask
Please report any issues to Gentoo Bugzilla. Thanks!
October 16, 2010
What your distro can do for you that upstream cannot
Some time ago a user on Gentoo Forums has pointed out that gecko-mediaplayer plugin does not load in www-client/chromium. It turns out there is a compatibility issue that leads to a browser hang, so upstream just blacklisted the plugin (based on file name). The browser has a hardcoded list of plugins that it will not load at all.
The good part is that the hang only occurs when gecko-mediaplayer is compiled with USE="gnome". With -gnome it doesn't hang the browser. But how can the upstream know? The file name is the same in both cases.
Well, in Gentoo the package manager does know which USE flags were used to compile any package. I decided to add a gecko-mediaplayer USE flag to www-client/chromium. When enabled (that's the default setting), it will make sure gecko-mediaplayer is compiled with -gnome (if installed), and remove it from the hardcoded blacklist.
Moreover, if you're a GNOME user or just happen to have gnome in USE, you can disable the flag just for one package by using /etc/portage/package.use. Or you can choose to compile gecko-mediaplayer with whatever USE flags you want, and disable support for it in www-client/chromium to avoid the blocking dependency.
USE="gecko-mediaplayer" is available for >=www-client/chromium-7.0.544.0-r1. It is hard masked for now, but sooner or later will become stable. Please help with testing, and enjoy your www-client/chromium!
The good part is that the hang only occurs when gecko-mediaplayer is compiled with USE="gnome". With -gnome it doesn't hang the browser. But how can the upstream know? The file name is the same in both cases.
Well, in Gentoo the package manager does know which USE flags were used to compile any package. I decided to add a gecko-mediaplayer USE flag to www-client/chromium. When enabled (that's the default setting), it will make sure gecko-mediaplayer is compiled with -gnome (if installed), and remove it from the hardcoded blacklist.
Moreover, if you're a GNOME user or just happen to have gnome in USE, you can disable the flag just for one package by using /etc/portage/package.use. Or you can choose to compile gecko-mediaplayer with whatever USE flags you want, and disable support for it in www-client/chromium to avoid the blocking dependency.
USE="gecko-mediaplayer" is available for >=www-client/chromium-7.0.544.0-r1. It is hard masked for now, but sooner or later will become stable. Please help with testing, and enjoy your www-client/chromium!
October 10, 2010
Try www-client/chromium-bin
If you'd rather not compile www-client/chromium (it takes some time, even on a powerful machine), give www-client/chromium-bin a try.
Now all versions in the tree are compiled on a Gentoo development machine, and synchronized with www-client/chromium releases. Special thanks go here to the Gentoo Infrastructure team for providing the machine for Chromium in Gentoo project.
The -bin version of the package is not stabilized yet, but I plan to start the process soon. Some testing before that happens would be appreciated. Please report all issues to the Gentoo Bugzilla.
Now all versions in the tree are compiled on a Gentoo development machine, and synchronized with www-client/chromium releases. Special thanks go here to the Gentoo Infrastructure team for providing the machine for Chromium in Gentoo project.
The -bin version of the package is not stabilized yet, but I plan to start the process soon. Some testing before that happens would be appreciated. Please report all issues to the Gentoo Bugzilla.
October 4, 2010
www-client/chromium-7.0.536.2 now with system-sqlite support!
The latest dev channel release of www-client/chromium (hard masked) has optional support for building with the system sqlite package instead of the bundled copy.
We all prefer the system copies of course, so please help testing this new feature. All you have to do is to enable system-sqlite USE flag and recompile chromium.
Please note you might hit some issues with browser features that use sqlite. They may disappear after starting with a clean profile (~/.config/chromium). Remember to back up the old profile, and please report any issues to the Gentoo Bugzilla.
Enjoy your latest www-client/chromium!
We all prefer the system copies of course, so please help testing this new feature. All you have to do is to enable system-sqlite USE flag and recompile chromium.
Please note you might hit some issues with browser features that use sqlite. They may disappear after starting with a clean profile (~/.config/chromium). Remember to back up the old profile, and please report any issues to the Gentoo Bugzilla.
Enjoy your latest www-client/chromium!
September 10, 2010
Is your distro fast enough for Chromium?
Recently we got the sad news that chromium-browser has been dropped from Debian Squezze. The problem is that the upstream moves very fast, and that includes WebKit, which makes backporting security patches very hard. Oh, and it's going to move even faster.
Well, Gentoo has hit some problems too, see bug #335750. Hopefully we will manage to stabilize the 6.x series, and prepare for the 7.x.
In case you'd like to help, see the project page. Will Gentoo be fast enough for Chromium?
Well, Gentoo has hit some problems too, see bug #335750. Hopefully we will manage to stabilize the 6.x series, and prepare for the 7.x.
In case you'd like to help, see the project page. Will Gentoo be fast enough for Chromium?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)