Lazarus Release Candidate 3 of 4.0

[mattias]

The Lazarus team is glad to announce the third release candidate of Lazarus 4.0.

This release was built with FPC 3.2.2.

Here is the list of changes for Lazarus and Free Pascal:
http://wiki.lazarus.freepascal.org/Lazarus_4.0_release_notes
http://wiki.lazarus.freepascal.org/User_Changes_3.2.2

Here is the list of fixes for Lazarus 4.x:
https://gitlab.com/freepascal.org/lazarus/lazarus/-/commits/fixes_4/

The release is available for download on SourceForge:
http://sourceforge.net/projects/lazarus/files/

Choose your CPU, OS, distro and then the "Lazarus 4.0RC3" directory.

Checksums for the SourceForge files:
https://www.lazarus-ide.org/index.php?page=checksums#4_0RC3

Minimum requirements:

Windows:
  2k, 32 or 64bit, Qt, Qt5, Qt6 (64bit only)

FreeBSD/Linux:
  gtk 2.24 for gtk2, qt4.5 for qt, qt5.6 for qt5, Qt6.2 for qt6, 32 or 64bit.

Mac OS X:
  Cocoa (64bit) 10.12, Carbon (32bit) 10.5 to 10.14, Qt and Qt5 (32 or 64bit), Qt6 (64bit only).

The gitlab page:
https://gitlab.com/freepascal.org/lazarus/lazarus/-/tree/lazarus_4_0RC3

For people who are blocked by SF, the Lazarus releases from SourceForge
are mirrored at:
https://download.lazarus-ide.org/
ftp://ftp.freepascal.org/pub/lazarus/releases/

== Why should everybody (including you) test the release candidate? ==

In the past weeks the Lazarus team has stabilized the 4.0 fixes branch. The resulting 4.0RC3 is now stable enough to be used by any one for test purposes.

While we have tested those ourselves, there may still be problems that only occur with very specific configurations or one project in a million.

Yes, it may be that you are the only person with a project, that will not work in the new IDE. So if you do not test, we can not fix it.

Please do not wait for the final release, in order to test. It may be too late. Once the release is out we will have to be more selective about which fixes can be merged for further 4.x releases. So it may be, that we can not merge the fix you require. And then you will miss out on all the new features.

== How to test ==

Download and install the 4.0 RC3.
- On Windows you can install as a 2ndary install, that will not affect your current install:

http://wiki.lazarus.freepascal.org/Multiple_Lazarus#Installation_of_multiple_Lazarus
- On other platforms, if you install to a new location you need to use --primary-config-path

In either case you should make backups. (including your primary config)

Open your project in your current Lazarus, and use "Publish Project" from the project menu. This creates a clean copy of your project.

You can then open that copy in the 4.0RC3. Please test:
- If you can edit forms in the designer
   - rename components / change properties in Object inspector / Add new events
   - Add components to form / Move components on form
   - Frames, if you use them
- If you can navigate the source code (e.g. jump to implementation)
- Auto completion in source code
- Compile, debug and run
- Anything else you use in your daily work

[Martin_fr]

If you report issues (especially regressions) here, then make sure that you get a response from a team member, that says the person will fix it (not just can reproduce).

If you don't get such a response, make sure to report it on the issue tracker, and in case of a regression mention "4.0 Regression" in the subject.

Thank you.

[chinaliu]

thanks.

[cdbc]

Hi
Does trunk follow the fixes in RC 3 or are they different branches?
Regards Benny

[Thaddy]

They are different branches. Trunk is always ahead, a moving target, and contains or may contain code that can not realistically be released in a new stable version.
For example everything that is added to trunk in the last weeks or so will not be back-ported to 4.00
An RC means the code is frozen except for major defects, not major new features.

[cdbc]

Hi
Okidoki, Thanks Thaddy.
Regards Benny

[Martin_fr]

Hi
Does trunk follow the fixes in RC 3 or are they different branches?
Regards Benny

"Lazarus 4.0RC3", well actually "fixes-4" follows selected fixes of "trunk"

"trunk" => the branch "main" in the Lazarus git repository. The latest development in progress.

"fixes-4" => a branch in the Lazarus git which is considered stable, and gets only fixes (copied from "main"). From this branch the 4.0, 4.2 and further 4.x releases will be made.

"Lazarus 4.0RC3" a specific point on the "fixes-4" branch.

[cdbc]

Hi
Thanks Martin, for the elaborate answer.
Regards Benny

[jonyrh]

Great news, thank you very much! 

[baldzhang]

Don't want to by noisy, please have a look of this two:

https://forum.lazarus.freepascal.org/index.php/topic,69820.msg550366.html#msg550366

[alank]

I've installed Lazarus 4.0RC3 on a Fedora-KDE-41 virtual machine, using the .rpm files provided on SourceForge. I also installed the Development Tools group package, qt5pas-devel and qt6pas-devel with all their associated dependencies.

On my first run of Lazarus, I installed a couple packages (lazdaemon and weblaz), and then tried to compile the IDE for qt5 and qt6 (Tools > Configure Build lazarus... etc.) Both attempts at building the IDE for qt5 and qt6 fail with a similar message:

Code: [Select]

Build IDE: Exit code 2, Errors: 2
Error: /usr/bin/mkdir: cannot create directory '../units/x86_64-linux/qt5': Permission denied
make[1]: *** [Makefile:4389: ../units/x86_64-linux/qt5] Error 1
*** [Makefile(3130,0) Error: linker: ide] Error 2


[cdbc]

Hi
@alank: You've installed lazarus in a write-protected area, thus it cannot 'MkDir', as it says in errrormsg.
Regards Benny

[alank]

Hi
@alank: You've installed lazarus in a write-protected area, thus it cannot 'MkDir', as it says in errrormsg.
Regards Benny

Benny,

With .rpm and .deb packages, the user does not decide where to install the various files in the package. In previous releases of Lazarus, I've been able to install the packaged version and then rebuild Lazarus using the Qt5 and Qt6 widget sets with no such error message, hence the regression.

Cheers,
  Alan

[Martin_fr]

I am not doing much on Linux, and nothing with QT, so I can't test, nor really help with the item. (nor confirm, or test)

But, generally about "where the install goes": The installation should be done into the write protected area (using sudo).

When rebuilding, the IDE should create the ppu and other files (including the replacement new lazarus executable) in the home folder, somewhere inside ~/.lazarus (not sure where exactly within that). startlazarus will then take care of starting that new lazarus executable.

The error does not indicate where the relative path for the new folder is. Due to "permission denied" I would guess that it wrongly is in the write protected /usr or similar. But it might still be that something did not work in ~/.lazarus.

Anyway someone with Linux/QT knowledge will need to look at this.

If no one replies here on the forum, in the coming days, then please use the bug tracker.

[TRon]

When rebuilding, the IDE should create the ppu and other files (including the replacement new lazarus executable) in the home folder, somewhere inside ~/.lazarus (not sure where exactly within that). startlazarus will then take care of starting that new lazarus executable.

With emphasis on should. In practice it doesn't. Bugreport is still open on that one if not mistaken.

Anyway someone with Linux/QT knowledge will need to look at this.

Install Lazarus in user-space *period* and I will repeat it over and over and over again. Anyone using .deb packages, a package manager or installation script stuffing things in system directories is simply in search for troubles. Using these tools is suppose to be for developers and developers should simply know better

Yes, in an ideal world things just work and then something or someone comes along and doesn't give a shite about all that (a system update for example that updates your existing FPC and/or Lazarus installation) and tears will flow.

PS: that is not withstanding that people should report these issue in order to be able to address them.