pre-built quartz variant packages

[Joshua Root]

On 17/1/2024 05:42, Valerio Messina via macports-dev wrote:
> Using the pre-built gtk3 from macport (and osxcross), saved me the 
> library built time just for test of my apps, and the requirement to 
> access macOS on every run.
> Then I discovered to start the app I had to install Xquartz on the real 
> hw, and this is not a thing normal user is used to do, or is able to or 
> want to do.
> 
> Seems to me that native Quartz variant of gtk3 work like or better than 
> Xquartz (default) variant. At least better than gtk on Win.
> 
> Really hope you can please provide the gtk3 pre-built Quartz variant

I agree that the UX surrounding the quartz/x11 choice is bad. 
Unfortunately it's harder to fix than you might hope, and gtk3 itself 
may be the easiest part of the puzzle. A number of other ports like 
glib2 and cairo are also involved, and have to support other dependents 
that may be using gtk2 or something else entirely. Many intermediate 
dependencies build differently depending on whether they are built 
against quartz or x11 variants of their dependencies, so there's a whole 
chain that has to be managed. Some ports fail to build against quartz 
dependencies.

The proposed solution to all of the above is to split everything that 
both has dependents and is affected by the quartz/x11 choice into two 
subports. Unfortunately nobody has yet implemented this.

Relevant tickets:

<https://trac.macports.org/ticket/27990>
<https://trac.macports.org/ticket/42558>
<https://trac.macports.org/ticket/60511>
<https://trac.macports.org/ticket/63680>

- Josh