Heads-up: New parallel-installable webkitgtk API in rawhide

[Kalev Lember]

Hi all,

Latest webkitgtk build in rawhide now has two parallel installable API's:

webkit2gtk-4.0, gtk3 + libsoup 2 (webkit2gtk3-devel rpm)
webkit2gtk-4.1, gtk3 + libsoup 3 (webkit2gtk4.1-devel rpm)

This is to support libsoup 2 to libsoup 3 transition where two different
libsoup ABI versions can't be linked to the same process. It should be
fairly straightforward to switch over to new 4.1 API, but care must be
taken that mixed linkage doesn't happen (some library linking to libsoup
2 and some other linking to libsoup 3).

Also note that there is a plan to rename webkit2gtk3 rpm to
webkit2gtk4.0 to clean up the naming a bit
(https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2108905 review request).

We've already switched a bunch of things that are on Workstation install
media over to the new API. The 4.0 API is likely going away at some
point so it would be good if people could try to move their packages
over to 4.1. Michael Catanzaro can help with porting questions.

Here is where we stand right now.


Packages linking to webkit2gtk-4.0:

anjuta-3.34.0-12.fc36.src.rpm
apvlv-0.2.0-4.fc36.src.rpm
atril-1.26.0-2.fc36.src.rpm
badwolf-1.2.2-2.fc36.src.rpm
balsa-2.6.3-2.fc36.src.rpm
bookworm-1.1.3-0.7.20200414git.c7c3643.fc36.src.rpm
cairo-dock-plug-ins-3.4.1-41.20210730gitf24f769.fc37.3.src.rpm
claws-mail-4.1.0-4.fc37.src.rpm
elementary-capnet-assist-2.4.2-1.fc37.src.rpm
elementary-mail-6.4.0-1.fc36.src.rpm
elementary-photos-2.7.5-1.fc37.src.rpm
elementary-planner-3.0.7-1.fc37.src.rpm
emacs-28.1-2.fc37.src.rpm
ephemeral-7.1.0-3.fc36.src.rpm
evolution-rss-0.3.96-9.fc36.src.rpm
gambas3-3.17.2-1.fc37.src.rpm
gamehub-0.16.3.2-4.fc37.src.rpm
geany-plugins-1.38-3.fc36.src.rpm
geary-40.0-5.fc36.src.rpm
glade-3.38.2-7.fc37.src.rpm
gnome-builder-42.1-2.fc37.src.rpm
gnucash-4.11-1.fc37.src.rpm
libgepub-0.6.0-9.fc36.src.rpm
liferea-1.13.8-2.fc37.src.rpm
marker-0.0.2020.04.04-6.fc36.src.rpm
meteo-0.9.9.1-2.fc36.src.rpm
midori-9.0-9.fc36.src.rpm
notes-up-2.0.6-2.fc36.src.rpm
osmo-0.4.4-2.fc37.src.rpm
pdfpc-4.5.0-7.fc36.src.rpm
remmina-1.4.27-4.fc37.src.rpm
surf-2.0-13.fc36.src.rpm
vfrnav-20201231-29.fc37.src.rpm
wxGTK-3.1.7-1.fc37.src.rpm
wxGTK3-3.0.5.1-7.fc36.src.rpm
xiphos-4.2.1-13.fc37.src.rpm
xreader-3.4.1-1.fc37.src.rpm
yad-9.3-3.fc36.src.rpm


Packages linking to webkit2gtk-4.1:

bijiben-40.1-4.fc37.src.rpm
devhelp-43~alpha-2.fc37.src.rpm
epiphany-43~alpha-1.fc37.src.rpm
evolution-3.45.1-1.fc37.src.rpm
evolution-data-server-3.45.1-1.fc37.src.rpm
evolution-rspam-0.6.0-36.fc37.src.rpm
gnome-boxes-43~alpha-1.fc37.src.rpm
gnome-initial-setup-43~alpha.1-1.fc37.src.rpm
gnome-online-accounts-3.45.1-1.fc37.src.rpm
pidgin-chime-1.4.1-6.fc37.src.rpm
shotwell-0.31.5-1.fc37.src.rpm
yelp-42.1-3.fc37.src.rpm

-- 
Kalev

[Fabio Valentini]

On Wed, Jul 20, 2022 at 11:02 AM Kalev Lember <kalevlember(a)gmail.com&gt; wrote:
>  Hi all,
>
>  Latest webkitgtk build in rawhide now has two parallel installable API's:
>
>  webkit2gtk-4.0, gtk3 + libsoup 2 (webkit2gtk3-devel rpm)
>  webkit2gtk-4.1, gtk3 + libsoup 3 (webkit2gtk4.1-devel rpm)
>
>  This is to support libsoup 2 to libsoup 3 transition where two different
>  libsoup ABI versions can't be linked to the same process. It should be
>  fairly straightforward to switch over to new 4.1 API, but care must be
>  taken that mixed linkage doesn't happen (some library linking to libsoup
>  2 and some other linking to libsoup 3).
>
>  Also note that there is a plan to rename webkit2gtk3 rpm to
>  webkit2gtk4.0 to clean up the naming a bit
>  (https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2108905 review request).
>
>  We've already switched a bunch of things that are on Workstation install
>  media over to the new API. The 4.0 API is likely going away at some
>  point so it would be good if people could try to move their packages
>  over to 4.1. Michael Catanzaro can help with porting questions. 
(snip)

>  Here is where we stand right now.
>
>  Packages linking to webkit2gtk-4.0:
>
>  elementary-capnet-assist-2.4.2-1.fc37.src.rpm
>  elementary-mail-6.4.0-1.fc36.src.rpm
>  elementary-photos-2.7.5-1.fc37.src.rpm 
I think porting elementary-capnet-assist and elementary-photos might
be relatively straightforward, as the things they do with embedded web
content is simple. I'll open tickets with the upstream projects, but
given that these two packages continue to work with webkit2gtk-4.0,
that's not a high priority right now.

However, for elementary-mail, switching to webkit2gtk-4.1 is a
requirement to make it work again, given that e-d-s now links against
libsoup-3, and elementary-mail currently only builds against
webkit2gtk-4.0, which depends on libsoup-2.4. Am I understanding this
correctly?

Fabio

[Kalev Lember]

On Wed, Jul 20, 2022 at 12:03 PM Fabio Valentini <decathorpe(a)gmail.com&gt;
wrote:

>  On Wed, Jul 20, 2022 at 11:02 AM Kalev Lember
> <kalevlember(a)gmail.com&gt;
>  wrote:
>  > Here is where we stand right now.
>  >
>  > Packages linking to webkit2gtk-4.0:
>  >
>  > elementary-capnet-assist-2.4.2-1.fc37.src.rpm
>  > elementary-mail-6.4.0-1.fc36.src.rpm
>  > elementary-photos-2.7.5-1.fc37.src.rpm
>
>  I think porting elementary-capnet-assist and elementary-photos might
>  be relatively straightforward, as the things they do with embedded web
>  content is simple. I'll open tickets with the upstream projects, but
>  given that these two packages continue to work with webkit2gtk-4.0,
>  that's not a high priority right now.
>  
Agreed, no rush here as long as things continue working. I don't know what
Michael's timeframe is for removing webkit2gtk-4.0, but I would expect it
to be at least a year from now to give time for things to transition over.

Thanks for being proactive here!



>  However, for elementary-mail, switching to webkit2gtk-4.1 is a
>  requirement to make it work again, given that e-d-s now links against
>  libsoup-3, and elementary-mail currently only builds against
>  webkit2gtk-4.0, which depends on libsoup-2.4. Am I understanding this
>  correctly?
>  
Yes, that's entirely correct. <https://pagure.io/fedora-infrastructure>

-- 
Kalev

[Fabio Valentini]

On Wed, Jul 20, 2022 at 12:09 PM Kalev Lember <kalevlember(a)gmail.com&gt; wrote:
>  On Wed, Jul 20, 2022 at 12:03 PM Fabio Valentini <decathorpe(a)gmail.com&gt; wrote:
> >
> > On Wed, Jul 20, 2022 at 11:02 AM Kalev Lember <kalevlember(a)gmail.com&gt; wrote:
> > > Here is where we stand right now.
> > >
> > > Packages linking to webkit2gtk-4.0:
> > >
> > > elementary-capnet-assist-2.4.2-1.fc37.src.rpm
> > > elementary-mail-6.4.0-1.fc36.src.rpm
> > > elementary-photos-2.7.5-1.fc37.src.rpm
> >
> > I think porting elementary-capnet-assist and elementary-photos might
> > be relatively straightforward, as the things they do with embedded web
> > content is simple. I'll open tickets with the upstream projects, but
> > given that these two packages continue to work with webkit2gtk-4.0,
> > that's not a high priority right now.
>
>
>  Agreed, no rush here as long as things continue working. I don't know what
> Michael's timeframe is for removing webkit2gtk-4.0, but I would expect it to be at
> least a year from now to give time for things to transition over.
>
>  Thanks for being proactive here!
>
>
> >
> > However, for elementary-mail, switching to webkit2gtk-4.1 is a
> > requirement to make it work again, given that e-d-s now links against
> > libsoup-3, and elementary-mail currently only builds against
> > webkit2gtk-4.0, which depends on libsoup-2.4. Am I understanding this
> > correctly?
>
>
>  Yes, that's entirely correct. 
Thanks for confirming! I filed issues with the upstream projects:

https://github.com/elementary/mail/issues/793
https://github.com/elementary/photos/issues/718
https://github.com/elementary/capnet-assist/issues/84

Fabio

[Michael Catanzaro]

On Wed, Jul 20 2022 at 12:08:36 PM +0200, Kalev Lember 
<kalevlember(a)gmail.com&gt; wrote:
>  Agreed, no rush here as long as things continue working. I don't
> know 
>  what Michael's timeframe is for removing webkit2gtk-4.0, but I would 
>  expect it to be at least a year from now to give time for things to 
>  transition over. 
My current plan is to retire webkit2gtk3/webkit2gtk4.0 at the same time 
that we remove libsoup 2: February next year, right after F38 is 
branched. This way, we can release F39 in November next year with 
libsoup 3 only.

This is a compromise between giving applications a fair amount of time 
to port, but also ensuring we do not keep an obsolete security-critical 
network library around any longer than we need to.

Note the only difference between webkit2gtk3/webkit2gtk4.0 and 
webkit2gtk4.1 is the version number and the libsoup version that it 
links against. Once you've handled libsoup migration, the WebKitGTK 
migration is just a matter of bumping the version number.

Michael

[Michael Catanzaro]

On Wed, Jul 20 2022 at 07:49:27 AM -0500, Michael Catanzaro 
<mcatanzaro(a)gnome.org&gt; wrote:
>  My current plan is to retire webkit2gtk3/webkit2gtk4.0 at the same 
>  time that we remove libsoup 2: February next year, right after F38 is 
>  branched. This way, we can release F39 in November next year with 
>  libsoup 3 only. 
Forgot to include my reference:

https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/[e-mail].o...

[Fabio Valentini]

On Wed, Jul 20, 2022 at 2:50 PM Michael Catanzaro <mcatanzaro(a)gnome.org&gt; wrote:
>  On Wed, Jul 20 2022 at 12:08:36 PM +0200, Kalev Lember
>  <kalevlember(a)gmail.com&gt; wrote:
>  > Agreed, no rush here as long as things continue working. I don't know
>  > what Michael's timeframe is for removing webkit2gtk-4.0, but I would
>  > expect it to be at least a year from now to give time for things to
>  > transition over.
>
>  My current plan is to retire webkit2gtk3/webkit2gtk4.0 at the same time
>  that we remove libsoup 2: February next year, right after F38 is
>  branched. This way, we can release F39 in November next year with
>  libsoup 3 only.
>
>  This is a compromise between giving applications a fair amount of time
>  to port, but also ensuring we do not keep an obsolete security-critical
>  network library around any longer than we need to.
>
>  Note the only difference between webkit2gtk3/webkit2gtk4.0 and
>  webkit2gtk4.1 is the version number and the libsoup version that it
>  links against. Once you've handled libsoup migration, the WebKitGTK
>  migration is just a matter of bumping the version number. 
That's good to know, thank you for this context!
I'm sure elementary OS devs will be glad that at least *one* of all
these transitions should be simple 😅

Fabio