ilmbase, openexr need update (MP v. 2.3.0, current v. 3.1.7)

[barracuda156]

These two ports have not been updated for quite some time. Current version of both now is 3.1.7.

[fmw42 (Fred Weinhaus)]

I agree. I need OpenEXR 3.x to get the newer DWAA and DWAB compression. Please update this port.

[mascguy (Christopher Nielsen)]

I've done some initial POC work on this. But it's more involved than just a simple update to all of these ports: For example, it appears (?) that upstream has potentially combined the openexr and ilmbase components. There are also build changes, including migration to CMake.

There may also be breaking API changes, but not yet 100% clear on that. And some dependent ports may not build with the latest release, but again, it's not yet clear.

None of this is insurmountable. But given all of the changes, it might be easier to create new segregated versions. That way existing ports will continue to work as-is, and we can migrate them to the new version as time allows.

But I'd really like to hear from Marcus, as perhaps he's already done much of the legwork on this. Ditto for his thoughts on the potential approach.

[JGoldstone (Joseph Goldstone)]

I'm on the OpenEXR Technical Steering Committee, and we would really like to help in any way we can; MacPorts has been discussed at more than a few of our biweekly meetings. We'd tried a few times to raise Marcus but never heard anything back. Yes, there has been substantial cleanup with performance improvements the VFX studios have found significant; there have also been a ton of security issues addressed.

There is a biweekly TSC Zoom meeting on alternate Thursdays with the next meeting being tomorrow (Thu 6 Oct); the Zoom URL is ​https://zoom.us/j/96214953481. We extended an invitation to Marcus to join us and discuss what's needed to move forward; if any of you would show up then, we'd be happy to answer any questions and help chart a way forward. As we are discussing how to formalize definitions of ABI stability, your thoughts would be very welcome.

[added 28 Oct 2022] The rationale for the splitting off of Imath and its Python bindings, and absorption of Iex and IlmThread into OpenEXR itself, can be found here: ​https://github.com/AcademySoftwareFoundation/Imath/blob/main/docs/PortingGuide2-3.md.

And the next OpenEXR TSC meeting is on Thursday 3 November; the Zoom URL above is unchanged. Anyone is welcome as a drop-in but if we know you are coming we can refresh ourselves on the state of the OpenEXR port and allocate a goodly chunk of time for you.

[JGoldstone (Joseph Goldstone)]

FYI, in the OpenEXR installation instructions, the OpenEXR TSC has now deprecated installation via MacPorts because it is so out of date.

Discounting release candidate tags, and 2.x back port releases after we moved on to 3.x, the MacPorts port of OpenEXR is at least 25 versions behind the current release. Our installation instructions for macOS now explicitly recommend Homebrew; see ​https://github.com/AcademySoftwareFoundation/openexr/pull/1382/files.

The invitation is still open for you to show up at our biweekly TSC meetings and suggest how we might make the situation better.

[mascguy (Christopher Nielsen)]

Replying to JGoldstone:

Discounting release candidate tags, and 2.x back port releases after we moved on to 3.x, the MacPorts port of OpenEXR is at least 25 versions behind the current release. Our installation instructions for macOS now explicitly recommend Homebrew; see ​https://github.com/AcademySoftwareFoundation/openexr/pull/1382/files.

Back in October 2022, I was working on adding a new port - openexr3 - which is segregated from openexr. That will allow v2.x and v3.x to coexist, avoiding the issues associated with any potential incompatibilities, etc. (I had to temporarily step away from MacPorts due to personal and professional obligations, but hopefully those are now behind me.)

So with any luck, I'll be able to tackle this over the next few weeks.