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Loading digraphs or intpic or automata before GraphvizForGAP breaks due to Splash; rename Splash? #65
Description
... because the packages automata / digraphs / intpic all define a function Splash (unless Splash is already a bound variable in GAP), and GraphvizForGAP tries DeclareGlobalFunction("Splash") which errors out.
Also, while the Splash versions in automata and intpic use identical code, the one in digraphs seems to be different. So also these packages already have a hidden conflicts...
As @ruthhoffmann suggests this issues goes away if we make all these packages using GraphvizForGAP ;-) but that's a bit of a chicken-and-egg issue.
Another solution would be to rename Splash here (I am not that fond of the name anyway. How about DisplayGraphviz, Render, RenderGraphvi, ShowGraphviz, ...
Activity
[-]Loading `digraphs` or `intpic` or `automata` before `GraphvizForGAP` breaks[/-][+]Loading `digraphs` or `intpic` or `automata` before `GraphvizForGAP` breaks due to `Splash`; rename `Splash`?[/+]fingolfin commentedon Sep 28, 2026
Looking at the package manual, many of is function names already start with
Graphviz, so perhapsGraphvizShow,GraphvizDisplay,GraphvizRender, or evenGraphvizSplashcould work...?james-d-mitchell commentedon Sep 28, 2026
I'm also not super fond of
Splashbut it is the name that we've been using for years and years, which is one point in favour of keeping it. MaybeShowGraphvizis a better name (I don't likeDisplaybecause it's too similar toDisplayObj).ruthhoffmann commentedon Sep 28, 2026
Seeing that a few pkgs have used it, there seems to be a common cause (I suspect it is GraphViz lingo) so maybe
Splashis here to stay? :DAgree that
Displayis close toDisplayObj.I am in two minds about a
GraphVizXXXnaming. Although it would keep with the pkg's naming convention.ruthhoffmann commentedon Sep 28, 2026
Also linking automata issue #20 which has the same mentioned there.
james-d-mitchell commentedon Sep 28, 2026
One quick fix for this would just be to check if
Splashis a bound global and only bind it when it isn't already bound, but this of course doesn't really work if the definedSplashbehaves differently to the one in GraphvizForGAP.