Fix nightly build targets to build working executables for Linux and Windows from lw.comm-server and LaserWeb4

[janschiefer]

1. Remove the horrible "nightlylinux" and "nighlywindows" targets. Create "nightlylinux64", "nightlylinux32", "nightlywindows64", "nightlywindows32" targets

• The "cp" commands in the original targets had totally wrong paths and the build failed if the executables already existed.

• Add "mkdir" for output directory.

• Linux has ELF executables and not EXE. Also we build an .AppImage archive. Correct this in the build rules.

• Separate x64 and x86 targets. Current distributions don't include all required libraries/dependencies for architectures other than the current one when cross-compiling (for example libnode:i386 is missing in most 64-bit distributions). All these dependencies have to be cross-compiled manually. The build would fail for 90 % of the people with the old configuration.

2. Remove "dist" target. Use "distlinx64/86", "distwinx64/86" and "distmac" instead.

There is still the problem, that you need to checkout the branch "electron_bundler" in the scripts of lw.electron-server if you want to build a executable that automatically launches an browser window. This also overwrites your local git-copy of the master branch. Why is that so? If you type in the URL "laserweb:8000" manually, you do not need this.

The build was already (and is still) affected by this ( https://github.com/electron-userland/electron-builder/issues/2462 ) unfixed electron-builder bug. The build for Windows targets fails because of an bug in electron-builder icon-handling. I think this has to do with the mysterious "electron_bundler" branch. I have to look into this... (maybe the changes to icon handling from my previous commit also need to be done in "electron_bundler").

BTW: Dear god, please stop the "nodejs package manager dependency-insanity" and make npm and git work together in a reasonable way...

[cprezzi]

Hi Jan

Until now, the master branch was only used for development. All executables was made from electron_bundler branch. The changes in master was merged to electron_bundler when needed/stable.

The only reason for having the build scripts in the master branch was that we don't get problems when merging package.json to electron_builder.

I am able to compile the Windows x64 installer. This is the most used version and works as a standalone Program (no need for an installed browser). Thats the only reason to use electron, because it packs a chromium browser into the exe.

The exe has the frontend compiled into it and additionally publishes the webpage (webpacked) from the app folder to localhost:8000. These could be two different versions of the frontpage, because it was planned to publish a simplyfied frontend version via webaddress for mobile devices and tablets.

[janschiefer]

Ok.

However, I cannot understand why there is a separate branch just for building the redistributable packages and why this is not a feature of the main development branch. This means code duplication and decreased maintainability.

My changes allow compilation of the .AppImage including the standalone webpack browser module with auto-launching the application.

However building the Windows NSIS-Installer sesms to fail on non-Windows platform because of the mentioned bug ( https://github.com/electron-userland/electron-builder/issues/2462 ).

Maybe my changes should be merged in the electron_bundler branch.

I also already have an idea for a workaround for the bug mentioned earlier...

[cprezzi]

I'm open for changing the way it works, if we get it more convenient for other devs, but we must preserve all actual use-cases as:

• Windows standalone app with installer (incl. serving frontend over network)
• OSX standalone app with installer (incl. serving frontend over network)
• Linux AppImage installer (or alternative)
• running backend only on Rasperry Pi (manual start and as a service) used over network with frontend on PC (standalone app or website served from backend)
• any forgotten ;)

Because only a few of the use-cases need electron, it makes sense to have an electron branch only for these cases and another branch for all cases that don't need electron. At the moment, I see it like electron_builder beeing the branch for all versions that need electron and master for all other.

I don't see a big need for compiling the Windows version on other OSes. I prefer to compile it on Windows because this is the main target.

[janschiefer]

Yeah, absolutely right!