NetSurf 3.4

Not sure if this has been announced anywhere, if it has been, I’ve missed it!!

NetSurf 3.4 was released on the 16th February.
As usual you can download it from the NetSurf website

According to their news page, this release brings increased performance and a new JavaScript engine. (Although it remains disabled by default.)

People may be best advised to be wary at the moment…

I installed 3.4 on my ARMX6 this morning. It seems OK.

However if I now try to use !PDFTest to view a PDF it fails with

This application requires at least version 1.13 of the SharedUnixLibrary module.

The version that came with NetSurf is 1.12.

I had done a backup of my pre-install modules, but when I check, the version there is 1.10.

I can’t find 1.13 or later elsewhere in !System, but may have missed it.

I did try to follow the link to the UnixLib provided on the NetSurf download page, but the server tells me I don’t have access permission. So what’s the problem and how do I get 1.13 or higher?

BTW how do you turn on the JavaScript to give it a try? Or does “disabled by default” means that the mere user can’t turn it on?

Jim

So what’s the problem and how do I get 1.13 or higher?

SharedUnixLibrary 1.14-1 is available here

how do you turn on the JavaScript to give it a try?

Open NetSurf configuration, then click on ‘Content’ then untick ‘Disable JavaScript’ and click on the ‘Set’ button.

People may be best advised to be wary at the moment…

Those with ARMX6 might be most vulnerable, as R-Comp seem to be shipping software that needs the VFP-enabled SUL in their disc images.

Unfortunately the low-profile, rushed release of those versions of GCC (done to placate people around these parts, IIRC) means many developers are probably unaware of the need to update to a newer SUL.

I did try to follow the link to the UnixLib provided on the NetSurf download page, but the server tells me I don’t have access permission. So what’s the problem and how do I get 1.13 or higher?

You’ll find 1.14 at http://www.riscos.info/downloads/gccsdk/latest/

Have you reported any of this to the NetSurf team, by the way? They can’t fix problems that they don’t know about…

This application requires at least version 1.13 of the SharedUnixLibrary module.

The version that came with NetSurf is 1.12.

Incidentally, how did you update !Boot and !System? Did you use the tools in Configure, or just do a filer copy? The tools in Configure should have refused to overwrite your 1.13 with the version from NetSurf’s download, as Installer checks module version numbers. If that failed to work, ROOL need to know.

Unfortunately the low-profile, rushed release of those versions of GCC (done to placate people around these parts, IIRC)

Two thoughts:

1. IIRC the release was a rapid rectification of the full release not having completed along with earlier elements in the GCC stable.
2. It’s useful that people doing development work are pushing things along, just needs a bit of communication of changes.

I did the module upgrade ‘by hand’. But I checked the version numbers. NS 3.4 came with SUL 1.12 and I’d previously had 1.10. (The other modules were the same versions.)

Things now work again having upgraded to SUL 1.14. So thanks to people for that. :-)

The puzzles are:

1) Why NC came with 1.12 rather than 1.13 or 1.14? I guess this was because MS was Ok with 1.12.

2) Why I got the problem with using 1.12 when 1.10 was OK?

Works OK now I have SUL 1.14, though. But a bit of a puzzle to get though.

Jim

But Netsurf is still only at version 2.9 for Mac OS.

But Netsurf is still only at version 2.9 for Mac OS.

There are recent Mac OS development builds available, if you fancy trying one? Available Here

The tools in Configure should have refused to overwrite your 1.13 with the version from NetSurf’s download, as Installer checks module version numbers. If that failed to work, ROOL need to know.

For what it’s worth, I used Configure and my SUL is still at 1.14. It looks like Installer is working correctly and that the manual copy caused Jim’s issue (although it doesn’t explain why 1.10 was working!)

The OS updates that R-Comp release for the ARMX6 also update !System modules.

Perhaps Jim had installed SharedUnixLibrary 1.10 originally, but an update from R-Comp had installed a later version?

I’m pretty sure the November/December update from R-Comp came bundled with a recent version of SharedUnixLibrary.

Jim Lesurf wrote:

I did the module upgrade ‘by hand’.

That will be the cause of the problem. If you use the SysMerge tool, it checks version numbers and doesn’t overwrite new with old.

Why NC came with 1.12 rather than 1.13 or 1.14? I guess this was because MS was Ok with 1.12.

I assume NC and MS both refer to NetSurf? If so, yes; Applications only need to ship and RMEnsure the versions that they require, which is not necessarily the latest version of any given module. The SysMerge tool is meant to take care of upgrading modules correctly.

Perhaps Jim had installed SharedUnixLibrary 1.10 originally, but an update from R-Comp had installed a later version?

Before copying across the version of SUL which came with NetSurf I’d copied the pre-existing version in !System to elsewhere to make sure I had it if I needed to undo the changes.

So I know I was using SUL 1.10 in !System up until I copied in the new version that came with NetSurf.

And until that point !PDFtest, etc worked without any complaint about needing SUL >=1.13.

That will be the cause of the problem. If you use the SysMerge tool, it checks version numbers and doesn’t overwrite new with old.

As explained above, I was using 1.10, and thus I assume a merge would have overwritten it with 1.12. Fortunately I’d done it by hand and kept a copy of the pre-existing version.

However since all the above I have now merged in the !System contents from R-Comp’s ARMX6 ‘SP4’. I think I had already done this ages ago, but wasn’r sure. So I guess it is possible that something else was causing the weird behaviour. Still don’t understand it, though. So this was just a case of checking something.

Fortunely, all now seems well, so I can move on, albeit puzzled by the details of what happened.

Jim