In article <4CC...@st...>, Michael Droettboom <md...@st...> wrote: > On 10/22/2010 05:45 PM, Russell E. Owen wrote: > > I'm curious when the next release of matplotlib is due. > > > > My application is suffering badly from the issue that an incorrect font > > cache will cause matplotlib to fail (the application mysteriously exits > > partway through startup until the user deletes the font cache). > > > > That problem is allegedly fixed on the trunk and I'm trying to decide > > how best to deal with it. Depending on the timing of 1.0.1 I can decide > > whether it's worth putting in my own workaround, bundling a prerelease > > version of matplotlib or just waiting for the official release. > I'm not sure what the timeframe is on 1.0.1. > > What problem with the cache are you referring to? I'm aware of a > problem where if some fonts are moved or removed after the cache is > created matplotlib will crash (and this problem is fixed in the trunk), > but is that really a problem in everyday practice? I'm just curious -- > if there's another issue with the cache that I'm not aware of, I'd like > to fix it. The known problem what I am referring to. Fortunately. It has proven to be a very serious problem in practice. I bundle matplotlib into a Mac application and for a significant number of my users it crashes at startup due to problems with the matplotlib cache files. The fix is always the same: delete the cache. Some reasons this has happened - The user first runs the application from the distribution dmg file before copying to /Applications - The user installs it and runs it, but then moves or renames it for some reason...boom - The user had an older version of matplotlib installed but then deleted it for some reason. Fortunately the fix from the trunk will do the job. That said, it still seems risky to me that matplotlib insists on using a shared directory for its cache and matplotlibrc file: that there's no way to tell matplotlib to put that data somewhere else (e.g. inside the application bundle). With bundled applications it is quite likely the user may run multiple versions of matplotlib without even knowing it. If any of that data is version-dependent then this is a recipe for mysterious problems. -- Russell