Re: "graphics/xfig" complains about old/missing app-defaults?

[Robert Elz <kre%munnari.OZ.AU@localhost>]

    Date:        Wed, 19 Jun 2019 22:46:46 -0500 (CDT)
    From:        "John D. Baker" <jdbaker%consolidated.net@localhost>
    Message-ID:  <Pine.NEB.4.64.1906192211000.8469%spike.technoskunk.fur@localhost>

  | It's new to me as this is the first time 'xfig' ever didn't find its
  | default config on any machine I used.

I've seen this issue (at least) as far back as NetBSD 4 - probably earlier.
That's why I have been through periods when pkgsrc x was the way to go, and
others where using the base X11 is much simpler and just as good if not better.

  | I'll need to go and check some other machines.  The old pkgsrc x11 wedge
  | stuff used to remind the installer to put:
  |
  |   XAPPLRESDIR=/usr/pkg/lib/X11/app-defaults

Yes, it did, but that was never really the right way, it really needs
to be set to the list of directories that might contain the resource
files, not just one (except that most of them aren't really needed, all
many people need is the one for xfig).

Doing it that way also presumes that you have logged in in a somewhat
normal way, and not done "ssh -X fighost xfig figfile.fig" which doesn't
read profile files.

It also presumes that you haven't run something which has cleaned the
environment of junk (to its perspecive).

  | Your description would indicate that 'xfig' is an exception.

Only in that it doesn't include compiled in backup resources for when
the resource file cannot be found.   The "correct" method is for all
xtoolkit based apps to read their default resources from the file, so
those can be easily altered to suit the local system.   But almost no-one
ever does that, the compiled in backup and the file are the same, so
no-one notices if the file isn't found.   xfig is different... (not unique
though).

  | Also, the "xfig" package installs the "Fig" resource file to
  |
  |   /usr/pkg/share/X11/app-defaults
  |
  | while packages like "tightvncviewer", "xlock" and "xscreensaver" store
  | their resource files to "/usr/pkg/lib/X11/app-defaults".  Perhaps there
  | is a consistency issue here?

Yes, that one might indicate a bug that ought to be fixed.

When I look I see that when I last installed xfig (March, last year) it
also installed the resources file into /usr/pkg/share/X11/app-defaults
as I apparenltly made a link into /usr/pkg/lib/X11/app-defaults so it
would be found by my union mount.

  | (A quick check seems to indicate my next-most-recent use of 'xfig'
  | was in August of 2017.

I used to use it all the time - almost daily for many years - when I was
teaching all the diagrams in my lecture presentations, etc, were made with
xfig (similarly diagrams for exam papers, etc).

More recently I have been using it for other purposes.   xfig has its
"issues" but there is nothing else quite the same that I know of.
(I'd actually like to find a 3D equivalent program, perhaps with a
better model of objects, but I haven't seen anything - in the open
source world anyway - that's anything like what I'd use).

kre