Compiling with PackageCompiler.jl breaks if you rely on Makie integration

[steffenhaug]

Currently, compiling an application with PackageCompiler.jl breaks if you rely on Makie integration.

Building a non-incremental sysimage fails without a very helpful error message:

⡆ [00m:18s] PackageCompiler: compiling nonincremental system image
[91416] signal (11.2): Segmentation fault: 11
in expression starting at /Users/st/.julia/packages/Colors/E2qak/src/conversions.jl:681
unknown function (ip: 0x0)
Allocations: 43500533 (Pool: 43457212; Big: 43321); GC: 61
✖ [00m:18s] PackageCompiler: compiling nonincremental system image
ERROR: failed process: Process([...]) [0]

This might be a problem with Colors.jl, but I haven't been able to reproduce it outside of QML. For instance, the Lorenz-attractor demo in the Makie docs compiles with zero messing around.

Regardless: Building an application with an incremental sysimage is possible. The resulting application, however, fails at the @require ... step loading the integration code:

┌ Warning: Error requiring `GLMakie` from `QML`
│   exception =
│    LoadError: ArgumentError: Package QML does not have CxxWrap in its dependencies:
│    - You may have a partially installed environment. Try `Pkg.instantiate()`
│      to ensure all packages in the environment are installed.
│    - Or, if you have QML checked out for development and have
│      added CxxWrap as a dependency but haven't updated your primary
│      environment's manifest file, try `Pkg.resolve()`.
│    - Otherwise you may need to report an issue with QML

The error itself is probably technically unrelated to the use of @require, but I think conditionally loading t he integration code at rutime is pretty silly anyways, since I bet it breaks precompilation. I have succesfully managed to compile my application using an incremental sysimage by adding GLMakie and Makie as dependencies to QML, pinned at Makie version 0.17.3, and modifying QML to include the integration code unconditionally, but obviously this isn't something we would want to do.

I can see in the roadmap that making sure PackageComiler works and splitting out the Makie intgration code are both on there. I think making QtMakie a separate package would go a long way in fixing both issues, as we then aren't relying on this dodgy way of loading the integration code.

If you want, I can try my hand at making such a package. I think the best place to start is to just rip the code as is into a package that is compat with Makie 0.17.3, and from there I'll have a go at supporting a modern Makie version.

[barche]

Correct, the way forward is indeed to split off the Makie code in a separate package. For a newer Makie, you can check issue #173, it links to a PR that should make supporting the latest Makie easier. I would certainly welcome help with this :)