Gix-IDE v1.1.0dev1 (pre-release) is out

This is a pre-release for Gix-IDE that integrates the new "standalone" debugger engine and consolidates the various development (internal) branches. While the "standard" debugger is the one to be currently used, having a single and published version will help speed up the development process.

This pre-release also arrives with new binary packages: compiler and runtime files have been moved outside the installer itself and will be downloaded on-demand. While this means that an Internet connection is needed to install Gix-IDE with a compiler, it makes the installer a lot smaller and more easily upgradable. As a consequence, there are no more "no-compilers" packages, you just will just have to skip installing the compiler(s) when running the installer.

Moreover, the Windows binary packages have been signed with my code-signing certificate, for an added level of trust.

There is a brand-new package for Ubuntu 22.04, that should avoid the compatibility hacks that were needed for the previous package (aimed at 20.04). Debian-specific packages will follow as soon as possible.

Beware: this pre-release is to be considered of "beta quality": there are probably a few bugs - both in packaging and in the code itself - that have to be shaken down, and a few known issues (see below), but as development is gaining some traction, I really needed to streamline the process, and this (pre-)release is a step in that direction.

Another point of attention is the fact that the new packages are being built with GitHub Actions: the building and packaging process is entirely reproducible using the workflows supplied in this repository. This also means that - internally - development has been moved almost entirely from a SVN-based setup to Git/GitHub: some long-term work will still take place internally (at first), but updates on GitHub will be quicker and more frequent.

All of the above (building, packaging, etc.), starting from the next release, will also apply to GixSQL, for which I am doing some planning/research and hope to have a timeframe really soon.

The packages are signed with my GPG private key. The corresponding public key (m.ridoni@gmail.com, fingerprint 70E4 08CF B89B 5FA8 32E4 5292 EFDC 94BD 5260 B939) has been published on pgp.mit.edu and keyserver.ubuntu.com and is available at https://github.com/mridoni.gpg

Binary packages available

  • Windows x86
  • Windows x64
  • Linux x64 (Ubuntu 20.04LTS)
  • Linux x64 (Ubuntu 22.04LTS)

A summary of new features and fixes:

  • Integrated "standalone" debugger (still not completely functional)
  • Enabled rectangular selection in the editor
  • Added tooltips for COBOL variables in the editor with variable information (the content of a variable is also displayed when debugging)
  • ESQL blocks are now automatically skipped when debugging (the debugger stops on the first line of the block, then "jumps" after the END-EXEC clause when stepping
  • Added new icons (including for file types used by Gix-IDE)
  • Linux build and debugger fixes

Known bugs and issues

  • The standalone debugger is present but still not functional. The next step, of course, will be enabling it. If you really want to try, the debugger version can be selected under Settings -> Debug
  • When debugging on Windows, a "stray" console window appear, this is probably from some logging artifact

As usual, the release is available on GitHub

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