4:15 p.m.
Hi fellow users,
since Ubuntu 18.04 was released I have started using gretl more often on
Linux again. However, I'm facing the annoying problem that quite often
the menus in the main gretl window become unresponsive in the middle of
a session. (What I mean is they don't open anymore if you click on them.)
This is likely _not_ a gretl bug but probably induced by the specifics
of the ubuntu deskop. However, Ubuntu is one of the most popular Linux
distros, and 18.04 is a long-term support (LTS) release. So I'm
wondering if this is a widespread problem.
(So far I know Artur is using Ubuntu, but not the default desktop
configuration, and he doesn't have those problems. I, on the other hand,
have installed Ubuntu with the standard and default options I believe.)
Please, quickly share your experience if you have used gretl on Ubuntu
18.04!
thanks,
sven
6:56 p.m.
Am 29.06.2018 um 18:15 schrieb Sven Schreiber:
quite often the menus in the main gretl window become unresponsive
...
This is likely _not_ a gretl bug but probably induced by the specifics
of the ubuntu deskop.
...
(So far I know Artur is using Ubuntu, but not the default desktop
configuration, and he doesn't have those problems.
OK, this is not a definitive proof, but I have now also switched to
another desktop variant (Cinnamon in my case, also because of suspend
issues). So far I haven't seen the menu problem with gretl anymore. If
this turns out to be a sustainable and lasting solution, maybe this
would be the recommendation for Ubuntu 18.04 users.
(Unless there are others out there without any problems, who just
haven't reported back yet.)
cheers,
sven
9:58 p.m.
Am 05.07.2018 um 20:56 schrieb Sven Schreiber:
Am 29.06.2018 um 18:15 schrieb Sven Schreiber:
> quite often the menus in the main gretl window become unresponsive
> ...
> This is likely _not_ a gretl bug but probably induced by the
> specifics of the ubuntu deskop.
>
OK sorry to populate this thread all by myself...
On the Cinnamon desktop (in Ubuntu 18.04) the menu problems definitely
do not appear. Instead on the standard Ubuntu desktop (which AFAIK is
_not_ Unity, but based on Gnome shell) I get the problem basically
immediately, as soon as I use a second gretl window or stuff like that.
Also with a more basic Gnome shell desktop without ubuntu tweaks it happens.
It's a pity because the Gnome shell really has some nice window manager
features.
And let me repeat: This makes gretl currently unusable on the default
install of what has been (or was) the most popular Linux distro. Plus
I'm not aware of any other affected program, so I'm not so sure anymore
it's not a gretl issue. But whatever the cause, isn't that a problem for
a program like gretl which basically considers Linux its home?
I mean right now the best platform for gretl from a
non-expert/non-developer point of view is Windows I guess...
Sigh,
sven
11:21 p.m.
On Thu, 13 Sep 2018, Sven Schreiber wrote:
Am 05.07.2018 um 20:56 schrieb Sven Schreiber:
> Am 29.06.2018 um 18:15 schrieb Sven Schreiber:
>> quite often the menus in the main gretl window become unresponsive
>> ...
>> This is likely _not_ a gretl bug but probably induced by the specifics of
>> the ubuntu deskop.
>>
OK sorry to populate this thread all by myself...
On the Cinnamon desktop (in Ubuntu 18.04) the menu problems definitely do not
appear. Instead on the standard Ubuntu desktop (which AFAIK is _not_ Unity,
but based on Gnome shell) I get the problem basically immediately, as soon as
I use a second gretl window or stuff like that. Also with a more basic Gnome
shell desktop without ubuntu tweaks it happens.
It's a pity because the Gnome shell really has some nice window manager
features.
And let me repeat: This makes gretl currently unusable on the default install
of what has been (or was) the most popular Linux distro. Plus I'm not aware
of any other affected program, so I'm not so sure anymore it's not a gretl
issue. But whatever the cause, isn't that a problem for a program like gretl
which basically considers Linux its home?
I mean right now the best platform for gretl from a non-expert/non-developer
point of view is Windows I guess...
There's no problem on Mac OS X, and no problem on Arch or Fedora
Linux (can't speak for other Linux distros, though I do know that
Jack doesn't have such a problem on Debian.)
Ubuntu, over the last several years, has been well known for f*cking
around with the user interface of third-party programs, in the
service of some notion of uniformity and without regard to whether
their interventions actually work for all affected programs. Unity
was the worst example but it seems to me that what you're observing
now is most likely a manifestation of the same tendency. So I'm
pretty sure this is Ubuntu-specific.
However, there's one point in the current gretl code that makes me
wonder. I put in place, some time ago, special code to protect gretl
against the depradations of Unity whenever Ubuntu is determined to
be the OS at runtime. I suppose it's conceivable, if Unity has now
gone into the dustbin of history, that the special code has become
harmful.
I could try masking that code in git. If I do so, could you try
building gretl from from git on Ubuntu and see if the change helps?
Allin
2:29 a.m.
On Thu, 13 Sep 2018, Allin Cottrell wrote:
On Thu, 13 Sep 2018, Sven Schreiber wrote:
> Am 05.07.2018 um 20:56 schrieb Sven Schreiber:
>> Am 29.06.2018 um 18:15 schrieb Sven Schreiber:
>>> quite often the menus in the main gretl window become unresponsive
>
> OK sorry to populate this thread all by myself...
> On the Cinnamon desktop (in Ubuntu 18.04) the menu problems definitely do
> not appear. Instead on the standard Ubuntu desktop (which AFAIK is _not_
> Unity, but based on Gnome shell) I get the problem basically immediately,
> as soon as I use a second gretl window or stuff like that.
Just a second gretl window, or a second gretl instance?
There's no problem on Mac OS X, and no problem on Arch or Fedora
[...]
I prefer to use the Xfce desktop with both Arch and Fedora, but I
added a new user on Fedora 28 (very gnome-y distro by default) and
started a Gnome 3 session. Again, no problem with gretl menus.
I gather there's something called appmenu-gtk3-module in the Debian
world, that can apparently be installed on Ubuntu 18.04. I don't
know if it's there by default. Is it installed on your system? (So
far as I can tell it may be an instance of dodgy intervention in the
operation of third-party programs, though I don't know that for
sure.)
Allin
6:19 a.m.
Am 14.09.2018 um 04:29 schrieb Allin Cottrell:
On Thu, 13 Sep 2018, Allin Cottrell wrote:
> On Thu, 13 Sep 2018, Sven Schreiber wrote:
>> On the Cinnamon desktop (in Ubuntu 18.04) the menu problems
>> definitely do not appear. Instead on the standard Ubuntu desktop
>> (which AFAIK is _not_ Unity, but based on Gnome shell) I get the
>> problem basically immediately, as soon as I use a second gretl
>> window or stuff like that.
Just a second gretl window, or a second gretl instance?
A second window, for example the script editor.
I gather there's something called appmenu-gtk3-module in the Debian
world, that can apparently be installed on Ubuntu 18.04. I don't know
if it's there by default. Is it installed on your system? (So far as I
can tell it may be an instance of dodgy intervention in the operation
of third-party programs, though I don't know that for sure.)
No it's not installed yet. From its description "The AppMenu GTK+ module
watches for these types of menus [=old-style] and exports the
appropriate GMenuModel implementation."
I'll try if installing this changes something and will report back.
thanks,
sven
7:24 a.m.
Am 14.09.2018 um 08:19 schrieb Sven Schreiber:
Am 14.09.2018 um 04:29 schrieb Allin Cottrell:
>
> I gather there's something called appmenu-gtk3-module in the Debian
> world, that can apparently be installed on Ubuntu 18.04. I don't know
> if it's there by default. Is it installed on your system? (So far as
> I can tell it may be an instance of dodgy intervention in the
> operation of third-party programs, though I don't know that for sure.)
No it's not installed yet. From its description "The AppMenu GTK+
module watches for these types of menus [=old-style] and exports the
appropriate GMenuModel implementation."
I'll try if installing this changes something and will report back.
Aha, this actually might be the solution! Gretl menus still react, both
on the default Ubuntu desktop and in a more generic GDM/"Gnome under
Xorg" session. I will stick to this setup and see what happens. If this
is a stable remedy then it could be communicated more prominently.
(And BTW, all this was with a compiled-from-git version from last month.
Perhaps eventually we should check whether the standard version shipped
with Ubuntu has the same problems.)
thanks for your patience,
sven
8:32 a.m.
Am 14.09.2018 um 09:24 schrieb Sven Schreiber:
(And BTW, all this was with a compiled-from-git version from last
month. Perhaps eventually we should check whether the standard version
shipped with Ubuntu has the same problems.)
I tested this on a virtual machine running 18.04 and installing the
standard gretl package (based on 2017d), and in a quick test I didn't
see any problems. So fortunately the problem is less severe than I
thought at first.
cheers,
sven
6:15 a.m.
Am 14.09.2018 um 01:21 schrieb Allin Cottrell:
There's no problem on Mac OS X, and no problem on Arch or Fedora Linux
(can't speak for other Linux distros, though I do know that Jack
doesn't have such a problem on Debian.)
I could perhaps also try on a new Mint version (with some Gnome shell)
eventually.
I could try masking that code in git. If I do so, could you try
building gretl from from git on Ubuntu and see if the change helps?
Sure, that would be possible. The only risk would be that temporarily
gretl could in principle get problems on Ubuntu with a non-default
desktop I guess (hello Artur). But I could test fairly quickly.
thanks,
sven
6:24 a.m.
On Fri, 14 Sep 2018, Sven Schreiber wrote:
Am 14.09.2018 um 01:21 schrieb Allin Cottrell:
>
> There's no problem on Mac OS X, and no problem on Arch or Fedora Linux
> (can't speak for other Linux distros, though I do know that Jack doesn't
> have such a problem on Debian.)
I could perhaps also try on a new Mint version (with some Gnome shell)
eventually.
I use mint on my laptops. No problem there.
-------------------------------------------------------
Riccardo (Jack) Lucchetti
Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche e Sociali (DiSES)
Università Politecnica delle Marche
(formerly known as Università di Ancona)
r.lucchetti(a)univpm.it
http://www2.econ.univpm.it/servizi/hpp/lucchetti
-------------------------------------------------------
6:25 a.m.
Am 14.09.2018 um 08:24 schrieb Riccardo (Jack) Lucchetti:
On Fri, 14 Sep 2018, Sven Schreiber wrote:
> Am 14.09.2018 um 01:21 schrieb Allin Cottrell:
>>
>> There's no problem on Mac OS X, and no problem on Arch or Fedora
>> Linux (can't speak for other Linux distros, though I do know that
>> Jack doesn't have such a problem on Debian.)
>
> I could perhaps also try on a new Mint version (with some Gnome
> shell) eventually.
I use mint on my laptops. No problem there.
Yeah, but do you use a Gnome Shell-y desktop? I don't have problems with
Ubuntu + Cinnamon, and Artur uses ubuntu + budgie AFAIK.
thanks,
sven
6:47 a.m.
On Fri, 14 Sep 2018, Sven Schreiber wrote:
Am 14.09.2018 um 08:24 schrieb Riccardo (Jack) Lucchetti:
> On Fri, 14 Sep 2018, Sven Schreiber wrote:
>
>> Am 14.09.2018 um 01:21 schrieb Allin Cottrell:
>>>
>>> There's no problem on Mac OS X, and no problem on Arch or Fedora Linux
>>> (can't speak for other Linux distros, though I do know that Jack
doesn't
>>> have such a problem on Debian.)
>>
>> I could perhaps also try on a new Mint version (with some Gnome shell)
>> eventually.
>
> I use mint on my laptops. No problem there.
Yeah, but do you use a Gnome Shell-y desktop? I don't have problems with
Ubuntu + Cinnamon, and Artur uses ubuntu + budgie AFAIK.
thanks,
No problems either with cinnamon or mate, let alone xfce. Can't say about
the rest.
-------------------------------------------------------
Riccardo (Jack) Lucchetti
Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche e Sociali (DiSES)
Università Politecnica delle Marche
(formerly known as Università di Ancona)
r.lucchetti(a)univpm.it
http://www2.econ.univpm.it/servizi/hpp/lucchetti
-------------------------------------------------------
7:15 a.m.
Am 14.09.2018 um 08:47 schrieb Riccardo (Jack) Lucchetti:
On Fri, 14 Sep 2018, Sven Schreiber wrote:
> Am 14.09.2018 um 08:24 schrieb Riccardo (Jack) Lucchetti:
>>
>> I use mint on my laptops. No problem there.
>
> Yeah, but do you use a Gnome Shell-y desktop? I don't have problems
> with Ubuntu + Cinnamon, and Artur uses ubuntu + budgie AFAIK.
> thanks,
No problems either with cinnamon or mate, let alone xfce. Can't say
about the rest.
OK, maybe that was a stupid question, since Mint doesn't seem to have a
gnome-shell variant (?).
-s
6:36 a.m.
Sorry, for eventual double-postings -- I am currently switching the mail
address:
Hi,
Am 14.09.2018 um 08:15 schrieb Sven Schreiber:
Am 14.09.2018 um 01:21 schrieb Allin Cottrell:
>
> There's no problem on Mac OS X, and no problem on Arch or Fedora
> Linux (can't speak for other Linux distros, though I do know that
> Jack doesn't have such a problem on Debian.)
I could perhaps also try on a new Mint version (with some Gnome shell)
eventually.
Just to add some further information: I don't have any problems
under
Ubuntu-Budgie, Xubuntu (xfce) and Lubuntu (lxde) using the latest
respective Ubuntu version.
>
>
> I could try masking that code in git. If I do so, could you try
> building gretl from from git on Ubuntu and see if the change helps?
Sure, that would be possible. The only risk would be that temporarily
gretl could in principle get problems on Ubuntu with a non-default
desktop I guess (hello Artur). But I could test fairly quickly.
As I am currently working on a project, I could also test fairly quickly.
Best,
Artur
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13 comments
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Sven Schreiber