sile --version error: "Please install a bit library"

[carlocab]

I'm working on updating Homebrew's lua package to lua5.4.1: Homebrew/homebrew-core#65993

Homebrew CI runs a battery of tests, which includes running a test for each package that depends on lua. (This, of course, includes sile.)

The test for sile calls sile --version. Despite the successful build against lua5.4, running this causes the following error:

❯ sile --version
/usr/local/opt/lua/bin/lua: ...llar/sile/0.10.13_1/share/sile/lua-libraries/bitshim.lua:50: Please install a bit library
stack traceback:
        [C]: in function 'error'
        ...llar/sile/0.10.13_1/share/sile/lua-libraries/bitshim.lua:50: in main chunk
        [C]: in function 'require'
        ...ocal/Cellar/sile/0.10.13_1/share/sile/core/utilities.lua:1: in main chunk
        [C]: in function 'require'
        /usr/local/Cellar/sile/0.10.13_1/share/sile/core/sile.lua:33: in main chunk
        [C]: in function 'require'
        /usr/local/Cellar/sile/0.10.13_1/libexec/bin/sile:36: in main chunk
        [C]: in ?

I'd appreciate some help fixing this, as this is the last test failure that needs to be addressed for Homebrew lua to be upgraded.

Additionally, suggestions for more substantive tests of functionality would be appreciated.

Thank you!

[alerque]

Is Homebrew's Lua 5.4 compiled with or without the Lua 5.2 compatibility flag on or off? The 5.3 build had it enabled which gave it a bit32 module built into the VM. Hence the formula skimmed installing the bit32 LuaRock as called out in the dependency list. If you've compiled 5.4 without that flag then it doesn't have one built into the VM so you need to add a resource bundle to the SILE formula to get a bit32 module to shim it. SILE has already been updated to adapt (see #957), but you do need the latest library for it to count. Previous versions of the bit32 library were not aware of Lua 5.4 and would refuse to load on it. 5.3.5.1-1 was released specifically to address this issue. See also this hot mess.

Also just a heads up there was a LuaRocks bug related to this as well. This is why you are getting past the configure/make stages and crashing later rather than detecting the missing dependency earlier. LuaRocks has been patched for this, but it sounds like Homebrew isn't using it yet.

[carlocab]

The compatibility flag is off. I'll add it, as who knows what else it breaks (not to mention that Homebrew does not ship lua5.2). Thanks for the tip; it would've taken ages for me to figure it out (if I ever would have).

Do you mind keeping this issue open till I get CI to succeed with sile? I'd hate to spam your issue tracker with other related issues, should any come up. (Hopefully not)

[alerque]

No worries. I hope this saves you some of the deep goose chases I spent who knows how many hours chasing this and other gremlins down when 5.4 hit Arch Linux and everything went haywire.

[carlocab]

Didn't work. 😞

I tried grepping the lua5.4.1 source and there doesn't seem to be any reference to LUA_COMPAT_5_2 in it. It does define a macro based on LUA_COMPAT_5_3, though, in luaconf.h.

Have I misunderstood what I'm supposed to do?

[alerque]

I would suggest leaving Lua compiled with default options, adding a resource block to the SILE formula that installs the bit32 shim module, and making sure LuaRocks is the freshest release possible.

[carlocab]

I've left sile on 5.3 for now. Will try to fix it in a separate PR. The CI results should be good enough for the PR to be merged, I think.

Thanks so much for your help; I really needed it. You've been very generous with your time.

[alerque]

@carlocab Thanks for your work on HomeBrew. I just took a stab at updating the SILE Formula for 5.4, but since I'm not even on macOS it's a total stab in the dark. Here is my PR, you also have access to that remote if you see anything to poke.

[carlocab]

Oh,thanks very much. I'll have a look at it this afternoon.