[racket-dev] try the GRacket2 branch

Maybe I screwed something up but I can't tell if I'm running gr2 or not.
I built the gr2 branch and ran drscheme but so far it looks exactly the
same as gr1 (which I am positive is actually gr1).

Is there an easy way to tell if I'm running gr2? Or should gr2 look
identical to gr1?

On 10/28/2010 12:25 AM, Matthew Flatt wrote:
> The git repository now includes a "gr2" branch for the new
> implementation of `racket/gui', which we've been informally calling
> "GRacket2".
>
> The new `racket/gui' is intended to be mostly compatible with the
> current library, but there are some significant incompatibilities.
> Those differences are described below in a copy of the "Porting from
> v5.0.x to vX.Y" notes that are linked from the "Release Notes" page of
> the documentation.
>
> "GRacket2" is a misnomer in the sense that you can use the new
> `racket/gui' with just `racket'. Furthermore, the drawing layer is
> mostly unbundled from the GUI layer into a separate `racket/draw'
> library, so you can manipulate images without a GUI (e.g., without an
> X11 connection). The documentation doesn't yet reflect the GUI--Draw
> split, Slideshow's pict library doesn't yet use `racket/draw', etc.,
> but I hope to get to that next.
>
> More immediately, it's time for you to try out the "gr2" branch for
> everyday work. I've switched to GRacket2 for SirMail, Slideshow, and
> DrRacket --- even during lecture. All library functionality is in
> place, but I'm sure that gaps and problems will show up as we put the
> library to work (and I know that some of the tests still fail). I
> expect to see many bug reports; once the bug reports slow down, I'll
> take that as a sign that GRacket2 can move to master branch.
>
> ----------------------------------------
>
> GRacket, Racket, Drawing, and GUIs
> ----------------------------------
>
> Version X.Y includes two major changes to the Racket drawing and GUI
> API:
>
>  * The drawing portion of the GUI toolbox is now available as a
>    separate layer: `racket/draw'. This layer can be used independent
>    of the `racket/gui/base' library, although `racket/gui' re-exports
>    `racket/draw'.
>
>    (The `racket/draw' library is built on top of the widely used Cairo
>    drawing library and Pango text-rendering library.)
>
>  * The GRacket executable is no longer strictly necessary for running
>    GUI programs; the `racket/gui/base' library can be used from
>    Racket.
>
>    The GRacket executable still offers some additional GUI-specific
>    functiontality however. Most notably, GRacket is a GUI application
>    under Windows (as opposed to a console application, which is
>    launched slightly differently by the OS), GRacket is a bundle under
>    Mac OS X (so the dock icon is the Racket logo, for example), and
>    GRacket manages single-instance mode for Windows and X.
>
> The drawing and GUI libraries have also changed in further small ways.
>
>
> Bitmaps
> -------
>
> Drawing to a bitmap may not produce the same results as drawing to a
> canvas. Use the `make-screen-bitmap' function (from `racket/gui') or
> the `make-bitmap' method of `canvas%' to obtain a bitmap that uses the
> same drawing algorithms as a canvas.
>
> A color bitmap can have an alpha channel, instead of just a mask
> bitmap. When drawing a bitmap, alpha channels are used more
> consistently and automatically than mask bitmaps. More significantly,
> drawing into a bitmap with an alpha channel preserves the drawn
> alphas; for example, drawing a line in the middle of an empty bitmap
> produces an image with non-zero alpha only at the drawn line.
>
> Only bitmaps created with the new `make-gl-bitmap' function support
> OpenGL drawing.
>
> Use the new `make-bitmap', `read-bitmap', `make-monochrome-bitmap',
> `make-screen-bitmap', and `make-gl-bitmap' functions to create
> bitmaps, instead of using `make-object' with `bitmap%'. The new
> constructors are less overloaded and provide more modern defaults
> (such as alpha channels by default).
>
> Image formats can be read into a `bitmap%' from from input ports,
> instead of requiring a file path. A newly created bitmap has an empty
> content (i.e., white with zero alpha), instead of unspecified content.
>
>
> Canvases
> --------
>
> Drawing to a canvas always draws into a bitmap that is kept offscreen
> and periodically flushed onto the screen. The new `suspend-flush' and
> `resume-flush' methods of `canvas%' provide some control over the
> timing of the flushes, which in many cases avoids the need for
> (additional) double buffering of canvas content.
>
> OpenGL drawing in a canvas requires supplying 'gl as a style when
> creating the `canvas%' instance. OpenGL and normal dc<%> drawing no
> longer mix reliably in a canvas.
>
>
> Drawing-Context Transformations
> -------------------------------
>
> A `dc<%>' instance supports rotation (via `set-rotation'), negative
> scaling factors for flipping, and a general transformation matrix (via
> `set-initial-matrix'). A transformation matrix has the form `(vector
> xx xy yx yy x0 y0)', where a point (x1, y1) is transformed to a point
> (x2, y2) with x2 = xx*x1 + yx*y1 + x0 and y2 = xy*x1 + yy*y1 + y0,
> which is the usual convention.
>
> New methods `translate', `scale', `rotate', and `transform' simplify
> adding a further translation, scaling, rotation, or arbitrary matrix
> transformation on top of the current transformation. The new
> `get-translation' and `set-translation' methods help to capture and
> restore transformation settings.
>
> The old translation and scaling transformations apply after the
> initial matrix. The new rotation transformation applies after the
> other transformations. This layering is redundant, since all
> transformations can be expressed in a single matrix, but it is
> backward-compatibile. Methods like `get-translation',
> `set-translation', `scale', etc. help hide the reundancy.
>
>
> Others Drawing-Context Changes
> ------------------------------
>
> The alpha value of a `dc<%>' (as set by `set-alpha') is used for all
> drawing operations, including drawing a bitmap.
>
> The `draw-bitmap' and `draw-bitmap-section' methods now smooth bitmaps
> while scaling, so the `draw-bitmap-section-smooth' method of
> `bitmap-dc%' simply calls `draw-bitmap-section'.
>
> A `region%' can be created as independent of any `dc<%>', in which
> cases it uses the drawing context's current transformation at the time
> that it is installed as a clipping region.
>
> The old 'xor mode for pens and brushes is no longer available (since
> it is not supported by Cairo).
>
>
> Editor Changes
> --------------
>
> The `draw-caret' argument to a `snip%' or `editor<%>' `draw' or
> `refresh' method can be a pair, which indicates that the caret is
> owned by an enclosing display and the selection spans the snip or
> editor. In that case, the snip or editor should refrain from drawing a
> background for the selected region, and it should draw the foreground
> in the color specified by `get-highlight-text-color', if any.
>
>
> Removed Functions
> -----------------
>
> The `write-resource, `get-reource', and `send-event' functions have
> been removed from `racket/gui/base'. If there is any demand for the
> removed functionality, it will be implemented in a new library.
>
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