Is Lazarus still serious ?

[dryzone]

Been developing with Lazarus and free pascal for very long and been using linux for 27 years.
Wrote papers based on results obtained, several general purpose applications  with it and it was always rock solid and very happy with it.

Recently I had to look at older applications I developed with Lazarus and found the installation of Lazarus to have become a royal abomination just to get installed.

It seems that whoever cared about packaging and testing  a usable distribution for release  left.
Absolutely horrible.

1) The apt version is just downrightly an abomination. Fair, that is not only you fault, but also partly the distro packager. Its missing obvious units and what not. Installing every available apt lazarus* wildcart does not solve the problem so nothing in the apt repository constitutes a complete working Lazarus installation
Totally unusable abomination to what was the case a few years ago.
That apt abomination put aside.

2) Then installing directly from the Lazarus Website, you need to install three debs
azarus-project_4.0.0-0_amd64.deb    2025-05-04    156.8 MB    
320
fpc-src_3.2.2-210709_amd64.deb    2025-05-04    30.6 MB    
269
fpc-laz_3.2.2-210709_amd64.deb    2025-05-04    39.3 MB    
288
README.md

Did so and read the README.
Whatever I do after reading the "goREADME",  installation of lazarus project clashed with the source.
e.g. "lazarus-project conflicts with lazarus-src
  lazarus-src-2.2 provides lazarus-src and is present and installed."
Same the other way round.
You have one of two options removing a source installation component or removing a lazarus-project component. Trying both and trying to compile after installation gives the following trouble.

Then trying to compile a KNOWN WORKING program, I get
Fatal: (10022) Can't find unit interfaces
While interfaces are clearly  present
/usr/lib/lazarus/2.2.6/lcl/interfaces/cocoa/interfaces.pas
/usr/lib/lazarus/2.2.6/lcl/interfaces/customdrawn/interfaces.pas
/usr/lib/lazarus/2.2.6/lcl/interfaces/gtk2/interfaces.pas

I mean really ???

In adition it cannot find the graph unit.. Go figure how to develop an interface without these.

The only solution is to tediously do  the -Fu [sic] switch solution.

So I have to physically add every unti I want to use to the compiler e.g.
fpc -S2 -Sh -Fu/usr/lib/lazarus/2.2.6/lcl -Fu/usr/lib/lazarus/2.2.6/lcl/interfaces -Fu/usr/lib/lazarus/2.2.6/lcl/interfaces/gtk2 -Fu/usr/lib/lazarus/2.2.6/lcl/units/x86_64-linux -Fu/usr/lib/lazarus/2.2.6/lcl/units/x86_64-linux/gtk2 -Fi/usr/lib/lazarus/2.2.6/lcl/units/x86_64-linux   ......  and so on.
Forcryingoutloud!

I have given up adding units and the compile "Fu" is running of the page.

So why do you release crap like this ?

[ALLIGATOR]

Here is the solution: https://make-everything-ok.com

[marcov]

As you already said, integrating packages is a distro's job. We do the best I can, but the infrastructure on *nix is geared to a lot of per distro duplicate work for integrating packages.

If you have a problem with it, ditch Linux and use e.g. Windows.

[cdbc]

Hi
Here on PCLinuxOS, installed from our repo - fpc 3.2.2 & laz 4.0 + libqt5pas
Works like a dream out of the box!
Regards Benny

[dryzone]

Here is the solution: https://make-everything-ok.com

Here is the response

-Fu

[dryzone]

Hi
Here on PCLinuxOS, installed from our repo - fpc 3.2.2 & laz 4.0 + libqt5pas
Works like a dream out of the box!
Regards Benny

Good to know thanks. At least someone cared in that case.
I might just move to PCLinux in the future since it is SystemD-free, which solves a lot of problems.
I am currently using MX which places fake systemd files to make programs relying on systemD to work, without systemD even installed.
But, MX's quality control became pretty bad during the last two releases (the Lazarus apt package e.g. and many more non-working).

Thanks for the heads up,

[dryzone]

Hi
Here on PCLinuxOS, installed from our repo - fpc 3.2.2 & laz 4.0 + libqt5pas
Works like a dream out of the box!
Regards Benny

Ditching Linux just because lazarus is broken is really  the tail wagging the dog.
I prefer to address the culprit. Which in this case seems definitely to be Lazarus QC. 

From my post, I clearly show units are installed, compiler though cannot to find its own units.
What I did not include in the original post, was the paths lazarus uses. The units were in the path, yet lazarus cannot find it.

-Fu is really not a long term solution just to compile my programs, but that is all I have currently with the broken Lazarus.

[Curt Carpenter]

Did you try fpcupdeluxe?  I don't upgrade my fpc & lazarus on my Ubuntu box very often, but it's worked flawlessly the for me last few times, and I'd give it a solid "10/10."   

[dryzone]

Did you try fpcupdeluxe?  I don't upgrade my fpc & lazarus on my Ubuntu box very often, but it's worked flawlessly the for me last few times, and I'd give it a solid "10/10."   

Thank you very much for the response.
I am sure going to give it a try.
Seems like it was created for exactly the reason I am having trouble.
I will see if it works.

[CharlyTango]

Of course you're the greatest. You're the man. Is that enough recognition now?

Something's going wrong with you, you're upset.
Now you're looking for someone to blame, but even if the reason isn't you, that's no reason for bad behaviour.

And that's exactly why you get answers like this.
Go to the gym and work out -- and then politely ask for support. And please don't do it with strange, incomprehensible accusations, but with facts.

Because everyone here does this voluntarily and free of charge -- and nobody has to put up with this kind of behaviour

[dryzone]

Thank you for the compliments. Always Appreciated.
Free of charge does not mean you should be lazy or lacky or slack with QC.
Either you are serious about your work or stop doing it.
Free or not

[cdbc]

Hi ...again 

-Fu is really not a long term solution just to compile my programs, but that is all I have currently with the broken Lazarus.

Hmmm... When in a bind, I sometimes /lift/ the root restrictions put on lazarus by the linux-system, just in the _short_ period of time, it takes me to recompile lazarus and then restore them afterwards... Warning: Here Be Dragons!
My laz is placed in "/usr/lib64/lazarus/", that means:
- before recompile do as root, cd /usr/lib64/ -> chmod -R 777 lazarus -> exit
- recompile lazarus, install new components etc.
- after recompile do as root, cd /usr/lib64/ -> chmod -R 655 lazarus -> exit
- - - Do not keep lazarus as root for very long - - -
That might just help you carry on... 
Regards Benny

[Martin_fr]

@CharlyTango: Bit less aggressive please.
@Dryzone: While your reported issue is certainly important and its appreciated that you come forward (rather than just turning your back), your tone/style is lacking some too. Even, after the experience you had.

I hadn't answered before, because my part in the project is not including the Linux installer. So I don't know any helpful parts.

But, as you yourself pointed out (if I read you correct), the apt installers aren't done by us. And since we are providing under a permissive licence, we can't stop anyone else to redistribute our work. If those redistributions have problems we can't do much about that part. So considering that

1) The apt version is just downrightly an abomination. Fair, that is not only you fault, but also partly the distro packager. Its missing obvious units and what not. Installing every available

I don't see why "only partly", as I said, we can't stop others. And when written under a subject addressing the Fpc/Lazarus team, then that reads fairly aggressive (at least to me).

So at that CharlyTango is not entirely wrong.

As for the "3 packages". I don't know the background. But, I am fairly sure the subsequent issues you describe are most likely not caused by that. I.e. had we provided the exact same content in a single package, you would have gotten the same errors.

And which one is more convenient... Well depends, if you do a new install or an upgrade.

On the more important point: The errors you get, and that really should be solved by this thread.

As I said, Linux isn't the part that I am involved with. But from reading similar post of others => Likely an issue with an old install.

Either somewhere in the /usr/___ folders (different fpc or Lazarus version), or in you home folder ~/.lazarus which may contain left overs from an old version.

Sometime (not always) a clean rebuild (tools menu > configure build lazarus) helps. But I can't promise that.


The can't find unit error may be misleading. You get that, if an old version was found which isn't compatible.

I agree those things shouldn't go wrong...
Unfortunately I can't further advice on how that could best be solved. With a project this size no single person in the team can't be involved in all parts of it at once. And I have my (more than big enough) chunk already.

[dryzone]

Did you try fpcupdeluxe?  I don't upgrade my fpc & lazarus on my Ubuntu box very often, but it's worked flawlessly the for me last few times, and I'd give it a solid "10/10."   

It does not seem to do system wide installations and tries to install in /root/fpcup....
Can you remember if system-wide installation is possible which uses the same /usr/bin etc for execution.
I will go read up, but maybe you know ?

[JuhaManninen]

e.g. "lazarus-project conflicts with lazarus-src
  lazarus-src-2.2 provides lazarus-src and is present and installed."

Lazarus-src package is not from our project. I guess you are mixing distro packages with packages provided by Lazarus project. It is not a good idea.