SERGYI

I am still waiting while our employee converts "3DCoat 202x" UI scripts to "Python". In the meantime, I compared the performance of the "3DCoat 202x" on my old Mac Pro Intel Xeon E5 vs. Mac mini M1. Temporarily, I have removed the "AngelScript" library from the Xcode project and commented out all source code in the "3DCoat 202x" project that uses the "AngelScript". Then, I built two "3DCoat 202x" executables for macOS: the first for Intel architecture (x86_64) and the second for Apple architecture (arm64). "3DCoat 202x" without the "AngelScript" doesn't display most of its interface. But it shows enough to run AUTOPO on a scene from a file. Here are the results of AUTOPO on the same file: Mac Pro CPU Intel Xeon E5 3.7 GHz, RAM 32 GB 1866 MHz DDR3, Storage 480 GB SSD PCIe: 22 seconds on Intel executable; Mac mini CPU Apple M1, RAM 16 GB, Storage 245 GB SSD NVMe: 11 seconds on Intel (x86_64) executable, 10 seconds on Apple (arm64) executable. These results show that the Intel executable is 2 times faster on Apple M1 than on Intel Xeon E5. Also, they show that the Apple executable (arm64) gives about a 9% performance boost. So, the switch from Intel Xeon E5 to Apple M1 CPU dramatically increases the performance of the Intel executable. However, switching from the Intel executable to the Apple executable on Apple M1 gives only a tiny fraction of that initial boost. Of course, the Apple executable will not be more stable than the Intel executable because instability comes from data and how the algorithms process that data. The stability does not come from the architecture of executable instructions.

The biggest problem for today with Linux build is GKT3 functions gtk_clipboard_wait_for_text, gtk_clipboard_wait_is_image_available, and gtk_clipboard_wait_for_image. I found a workaround for the crash after calling them on my Ubuntu 20.04. But the modal startup dialog with the license dialog is still flickering on my machine. When I remove those functions, there is no flickering. I suspect those functions are why you see the viewport disappearing on your machines. I plan to see how those functions work in GTK3 under 22.04 this week. It may reveal something important about this matter.

I saw your video, but I forgot to mention some points that are interesting to others. First of all, please always test the last build. You say that the wheel works only in one direction. I fixed that problem in the very recent build. The constant related to the wheel's reverse direction was incorrect, and I encountered that problem myself. Secondly, you show in the video that some functions are not working as expected. I am unable to modify the behavior of functions that other programmers have developed. The "3DCoat" project is essentially a Windows-only project. The "3DCoat" project is a heap of source files and a Visual Studio project under Windows. I am correcting that Visual Studio project and organizing files to structure them so that it is possible to build the sources under Linux using Makefile and create a corresponding project in Xcode under macOS. Sometimes, I needed to re-add third-party libraries under Windows that some "3DCoat" developers added because they were added incorrectly, without considering the need to build "3DCoat" under macOS and Linux. I am trying to port as many functionalities of "3DCoat" onto macOS and Linux as possible without modifying the functionality itself because I have not developed it. So, for future reports, please focus on exact Linux-related problems, like "wheel works in one direction", but not "wheel zooms here but not there", because the last is beyond my control.

Less than one person. I am solving technical issues on all 3DCoat platforms and also floating license issues. I am constantly switching between platforms and that takes a lot of energy. Sometimes, I don't have the energy to make my bed in the evening.

I cannot implement notifications about updates like they are under Windows because the code that checks for updates crashes under macOS and Linux. It only works under Windows. I see that the code corrupts memory under macOS and Linux. Therefore, I need to implement an alternative to that code for macOS and Linux to make notifications. I probably would, but only after resolving the main issues.

Thanks for the feedback. Regarding the tablet, I will need someone to assist here. It was impossible to migrate that old tablet code (before migrating to GTK3) because it used old functions that were no longer available. Now, I am using the standard component GtkGesture/gtk_gesture_stylus_new(...) from GTK3, which provides tablet support according to the documents. It actually does for my Wacom Intuos 3. But I see that people are complaining about not working tablets. It would be easy if the tablet didn't work on my machine, but it does ))) I plan to gather some tablet examples floating around the Internet and compile them into several executables. I will need someone to test them out.

I was thinking about Docker. But, asking Gemini, it seems Flatpack is better for desktop apps. What should I do: upgrade to Ubuntu 24.04 and build "3DCoat 202x" against GTK4 OR stay with Ubuntu 20.04 and incorporate Flatpack?

Thanks for your comment. Technically, I can build "3DCoat 202x" under the latest Ubuntu 24.04 against GTK4. I cannot install the old Ubuntu 20.04 and the new Ubuntu 24.04 alongside. If I upgrade, all subsequent builds of "3DCoat 202x" will be made under Ubuntu 24.04 against GTK4. Also, the version of GLIBC will increase. Should I do that? Please provide your opinion on this matter.

Based on a response from Gemini, Ubuntu 22.04 uses GTK3. Ubuntu 24.04 uses GTK4. What is your proposition? If I build "3DCoat 202x" under Ubuntu 22.04, it will still use GTK3. When I make it under Ubuntu 24.04, it will use GTK4 but will increase the version of standard libraries (particularly GLIBC). As a consequence, "3DCoat 202x" will not run under other distros because the required GLIBC version will be higher. Building "3DCoat 202x" under outdated Ubuntu 20.04 on purpose makes it compatible with a broader range of distros. Please make your counter-arguments here.

Outstanding comment. Based on such comments, any product should be developed. Regarding tablet support, here is my idea: email me at sergkryzh AT gmail DOT com. I will build some tiny test executables with experimental code on tablet support.

Please try the latest build from here: https://pilgway.com/~sergyi/links-Linux.html In my test, it works as expected under Ubuntu 20.04. Still, there are two noticeable glitches: flickering of the input license dialog and slow/incorrect response of the small buttons on the navigation panel. Regarding tablet support, I don't know what to suggest because my Wacom Intuos 3 works out of the box.

As I said, "3DCoat 202x" crashed after displaying a modal dialog. By excluding parts of the source code, I have found that GTK3 functions gtk_clipboard_wait_for_text, gtk_clipboard_wait_is_image_available, and gtk_clipboard_wait_for_image change OpenGL context in the main thread of the application. They should not do that, and they do not do that in GTK2. After working around this problem, I have built two versions of "3DCoat 202x". The first one is from the old branch for the year 2024: https://pilgway.com/~sergyi/3DCoat-2024/3DCoat-2024.27-01.tar.bz2 The second one is from the new branch for the year 2025: https://pilgway.com/~sergyi/3DCoat-2024/3DCoat-2024.32-1.tar.bz2 https://pilgway.com/~sergyi/links-Linux.html Please compare the two. Some changes have been made since the old branch, 2024. Some tools may be working in the 2024 version but not in 2025. Please report this case directly to my email. Known problems: (1) annoying flickering of the input license dialog with buttons "Login", "Free trial/demo", and "Load license" when moving the mouse; (2) the slow/incorrect response of the small buttons on the navigation panel: Adjust the contrast/intensity of lighting, Move/Zoom the camera, etc. I will fix the known problems (1) and (2). In the meantime, please compare the two builds and notify me about issues in "2024.32" since "2024.27". I can find the code that introduced a problem by reverting to commits.

"3DCoat 202x" for Linux has been rewritten from scratch for this year using GTK3. The code has been refactored, so any future GTK will be easily supported. Here is the latest build for Linux with some known issues under investigation: https://pilgway.com/~sergyi/links-Linux.html

I am aware of this. For an unknown reason, "3DCoat" loses the OpenGL context after displaying modal dialogs, particularly after displaying the startup "Enter license" dialog. When the code for modal dialogs is commented, then "3DCoat" works as expected.

Try this: sudo apt install adwaita-icon-theme-full