[m-users.] I'm back and I need help!

[Mark Brown]

Hi all,

On Sun, Dec 14, 2025 at 12:19 AM Volker Wysk <post at volker-wysk.de> wrote:
> I've tried the Docker image, four months ago. I found it very confusing at
> first. Please note that you will have your entire development environment
> inside the container, when you choose to do it this way.
>
> You can copy your compiled program out of the container and use it outside,
> if you have linked it statically.
>
> I had tried to set things up, such that only the compiler is inside and the
> source code and the generated files are outside. This can be done with a
> bind mount inside-outside of the container. But that didn't work
> satisfactorily.

For work I use docker with a bind mount, so the development
environment (git, vim, custom scripts, etc) is outside the container.
I usually have a terminal open that is attached to the container, from
where I can run builds and regression tests. You can also run things
in a container via the docker command-line, so you can do that in
custom scripts if needed.

>
> About Fabrice's suggestion to bootstrap the compile by using the docker
> image, I'm not so confident that this will work easily. You need to
> understand Docker images for that.
>
> You can bootstrap the compiler the way it's intended by the developers. That
> isn't that hard.

Yes, I also do it this way and I find it to be the easiest install. It
doesn't take all that long on modern hardware. The main advantage of
docker is that I get the same development environment as other people
on that team.

Cheers,
Mark

P.S. Most of the messages in this thread haven't reached me, though I
can see them in the archives.

>
> Hope this helps,
> Volker
>
> Am Samstag, dem 13.12.2025 um 13:53 +0100 schrieb Fabrice Nicol:
> > If you are comfortable with using Docker there is also a working ROTD
> > image dating back from about a month. It is normally updated daily to
> > current ROTD.
> > https://github.com/fabnicol/ubuntu4mercury
> >
> > You can use this image to possibly bootstrap a build from recent source
> > code, should you meet problems doing so directly (this has been recently
> > tested).
> >
> > Fabrice Nicol
> > NB: For about a month the GitHub Actions process has been failing owing to
> > memory overload. I will have to streamline the build a little for it
> > continue working.
> >
> >
> > Le sam. 13 déc. 2025, 13:42, David Overton <david at overtons.id.au> a
> > écrit :
> > > Welcome back Ralph. I also have recently (well last year) returned to
> > > Mercury after a couple of decades away.
> > > Prince builds are using an ROTD from last February, this one in
> > > particular:
> > > https://github.com/Mercury-Language/mercury-srcdist/releases/tag/rotd-2024-02-27
> > > So installing that ROTD from source may be a good place to start.
> > >
> > > David
> > >
> > >
> > > On Sat, 13 Dec 2025 at 17:34, Paul Bone <paul at bone.id.au> wrote:
> > > >
> > > > Yes, the right thing to do would be install from source.
> > > >
> > > > As you noticed, those packages & instructions are for .deb based
> > > > systems, and that's not Arch, it's Debian and Ubuntu.
> > > >
> > > > Good to see you again, good luck!
> > > >
> > > > On Sat, 13 Dec 2025, at 3:47 PM, Ralph Becket wrote:
> > > > > Hi everybody,
> > > > >
> > > > > After nearly a couple of decades using C# in industry, it looks like
> > > > > I'm coming back to Mercury!
> > > > >
> > > > > I'm trying to install Mercury under WSL on my home Windows box and
> > > > > I'm getting nowhere.  (Please forgive me if I come across a touch
> > > > > Forest Gump: even back in the day I only had half a clue about Linux
> > > > > admin.)  If anyone can offer advice, I'd be most grateful.  I've
> > > > > installed Arch Linux under WSL and I'm trying to install Mercury
> > > > > using the instructions at  Mercury packages for .deb based systems
> > > > >
> > > > > Now Arch, it seems, uses something called 'pacman' to install
> > > > > things, whereas the instructions refer to 'apt'.  Okay, so
> > > > >
> > > > >  * I install 'apt', edit /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mercury.list to
> > > > > include
> > > > >
> > > > > deb http://dl.mercurylang.org/deb/ DISTRO main
> > > > >  deb-src http://dl.mercurylang.org/deb/ DISTRO main
> > > > >
> > > > >  * I run the weird GPG thing that the document tells me to do
> > > > >
> > > > >  * I run 'apt update' and then...
> > > > > [root at Herbert tmp]# apt update
> > > > > Ign:1 http://dl.mercurylang.org/deb DISTRO InRelease
> > > > > Err:2 http://dl.mercurylang.org/deb DISTRO Release
> > > > >   404  Not Found [IP: 45.56.89.38 80]
> > > > > Error: The repository 'http://dl.mercurylang.org/deb DISTRO Release'
> > > > > does not have a Release file.
> > > > > Notice: Updating from such a repository can't be done securely, and
> > > > > is therefore disabled by default.
> > > > > Notice: See apt-secure(8) manpage for repository creation and user
> > > > > configuration details.
> > > > > Notice: Missing Signed-By in the sources.list(5) entry for
> > > > > 'http://dl.mercurylang.org/deb'
> > > > >
> > > > > At this point I'm so far down the rabbit hole of Things I Don't Care
> > > > > About While Recovering From The Flu that I'm here to call for help.
> > > > >
> > > > > Is the right thing to do now to try installing from the sources
> > > > > instead?
> > > > >
> > > > > Anyway, looking forward to re-connecting with everyone again!
> > > > >
> > > > > Cheers,
> > > > > Ralph
> > > > > _______________________________________________
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> > > > >
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