move to pyinstaller from nuitka for linux compatibility

summarize FOCUS_BLOCKS readme

Author: tensorturtle

FOCUS_BLOCKS.md

@@ -1,33 +1,34 @@
 # Introduction to Focus Blocks
 
-## Who is Focus Blocks for?
+## Who is it for?  
+Focus Blocks is designed for self-motivated individuals who find repetitive daily routines too monotonous.  
 
-Focus Blocks is for highly self-motivated people. It is for people who find the idea of having a daily-level repetition too boring.
+## How to Use Focus Blocks  
+1. **Plan Monthly:** At the start of the month, decide the total number of Focus Blocks and allocate them across 4-7 areas (e.g., work, exercise).  
+2. **Choose Daily:** Each morning, decide which areas to work on based on remaining blocks.  
+3. **Track Progress:** Check off blocks throughout the day as you complete them.  
+4. **Reflect Nightly:** Review and adjust block allocations if needed to match actual progress.  
 
-## How to use Focus Blocks
+## Key Concepts  
 
-1. At the start of the month, decide the total number of blocks and the number of blocks you want to allocate to each area.
-2. Each morning, choose to work on areas that have blocks remaining.
-3. Throughout the day, check off blocks as you finish working on them.
-4. At night, review. If necessary, modify the day's allocation of blocks to reflect what actually ended up happening.
+- **Block:** A 2–2.5 hour session of focused work. Aim for 2–5 blocks per day depending on your schedule.  
+- **Area:** A specific focus for the month, such as projects, hobbies, or fitness.  
+- **Buffer:** Extra blocks reserved for unforeseen circumstances, ensuring flexibility.  
 
-## Important Concepts
+## Tips for Success  
 
-+ **Block**: A block is a 2-2.5 hour period of focused work. Aim to schedule 2 to 5 blocks per day depending on your circumstances.
-+ **Area**: Somewhat specific areas that you want to work on during the month. Typically 4-7 areas including exercise.
-+ **Buffer**: When assigning blocks at the beginning of the month, it is highly recommended to reserve Buffer blocks. Buffer blocks are meant to be used when, due to unforeseen circumstances, you failed to spend a given block as allocated.
+1. **Integrate with Planning:**  
+   - **Long-Term Goals:** Use annual or multi-year visions to guide monthly block allocations.  
+   - **Daily Structure:** Wrap Focus Blocks with morning routines, breaks, and evening routines.  
 
-## Tips for using Focus Blocks in your life
+2. **Work vs. Rest Days:** Classify each day as either a "Work Day" or "Play Day." Rest days should be fully restorative, while workdays are structured around Focus Blocks. 
 
-Focus Blocks works best in conjunction with a longer-term and a shorter-term planning system.
-+ Longer-term: Your monthly block allocation should be informed by a year or multi-year vision / goal.
-+ Shorter-term: Focus Blocks only define what task you will do during the focused work hours of your day. You should have a daily routine that wraps Focus Blocks with a morning routine, break activities, and evening routine.
+## Benefits of Focus Blocks  
 
-Focus Blocks makes the assumption that a given day is classified either as "Work Day" or "Play Day". This reflect my opinion that on rest days, you should really rest, and work days should be strictly structured the whole day. Therefore the total number of blocks in a month is simply `blocks_per_day` * `working_days_per_month`.
+- **Sense of Achievement:** Completing a block is rewarding, as it’s based on effort rather than task completion.  
+- **Flexibility with Agency:** Work on less enjoyable tasks without feeling pressured. Choose when to tackle them, knowing they must be addressed eventually.  
+- **Task Decoupling:** Removes the pressure of finishing long-term tasks within one session by focusing on effort rather than visible results.  
 
-**The full story:** In the past (2020-2023), I have used Google Sheets to implement this functionality but it didn't offer the interactivity, simplicity, beauty, and customizability that I desired. Plus, writing Python for fun is fun. `fob` the CLI program was released on November 14, 2024.
+## Background  
 
-## Benefits / Magic of Focus Blocks
-
-+ Compared to regular to-do lists or Kanban boards, Focus Blocks gives you a more regular sense of achievement, because you can still check off a block as complete as long as you did you best, instead of accomplishing a given task (nevermind how tasks aren't really complete)
-+ Focus Blocks makes the "illusion of free will" work **for** you, not against you. Typically, you will enjoy working on some areas more than others. With a less flexible system, you will feel pressured and negative about having to work the less enjoyable thing and probably will put it off. Focus Blocks gives you agency in 'choosing' to work on the less enjoyable thing, because you have to get it done anyhow. Plus, by decoupling blocks from to-do lists, you will feel less pressure on tasks that justifiably take more than a couple hours to achieve visible results.
+From 2020–2023, I used Google Sheets to track Focus Blocks but wanted something more interactive and customizable. On November 14, 2024, I released `fob`, a CLI program that brings Focus Blocks to life.  

README.md

@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ uv run fob
 
 # Release
 
-From the root of this repository, run `dev_install.sh`. It uses nuitka to compile the python code into a single file executable, and then installs it to the system.
+From the root of this repository, run `dev_install.sh`. It uses pyinstaller to create a standalone binary and places it in `~/.local/bin` for access from anywhere on the system.
 
 Create a new Github Release with a new tag and upload the executable (path should be shown by `dev_install.sh`) to the Github Release.
 
@@ -61,10 +61,6 @@ export FOB_DB_PATH="~/Dropbox/my-fob.db"
 
 [`TinyDB`](https://github.com/msiemens/tinydb) is used to persist the data as a human-readable JSON file.
 
-Since we're not using a SQL database, we are responsible for upholding the integrity and consistency of the data before writing it to the database. We implement that by first receiving all the data from the user, validating it, and then 'commiting' (writing) to the database in one go.
+Since we're not using a SQL database, we are responsible for upholding the integrity and consistency of the data before writing it to the database. We implement that by first receiving all the data from the user, validating it, and then 'committing' (writing) to the database in one go.
 
-Run the program with debug option `fob -x` or `fob --debug` to see how the database gets updated. Also, the so-called database is actually just a human-readable JSON file, so you can open that to inspect / edit it if you're developing `fob`. Use `fob info` to see where the database is located.
-
-## Compiling to C
-
-We use [`nuitka`](https://nuitka.net/) to compile to C in order to create self-contained binaries for each platform. See [`dev_install.sh`](/dev_install.sh) for how  it's used.
+Run the program with debug option `fob -x` or `fob --debug` to see how the database gets updated. Also, the so-called database is actually just a human-readable JSON file, so you can open that to inspect / edit it if you're developing `fob`. Use `fob info` to see where the database is located.

dev_install.sh

@@ -1,37 +1,44 @@
 #!/bin/bash
 
-# Detect the OS
-OS="$(uname)"
+OS=$(uname)
 
-if [ "$OS" = "Darwin" ]; then
-    # If the OS is macOS, proceed with the installation
-    echo "Detected macOS. Running Nuitka to create a standalone executable."
+# Linux or Mac
+if [ "$OS" = "Linux" ] || [ "$OS" = "Darwin" ]; then
+    echo "Detected $OS. Running PyInstaller to create a standalone executable."
+else
+    echo "The installation script is not implemented for $OS."
+    exit 1
+fi
 
-    # Install nuitka if not already installed
-    if ! [ -x "$(command -v uv)" ]; then
-        echo "uv not found. Please install uv before running this script."
-        exit 1
-    fi
+if ! [ -x "$(command -v uv)" ]; then
+    echo "uv not found. Please install uv before running this script."
+    exit 1
+fi
 
-    # Run nuitka to create a standalone executable
-    uv run python -m nuitka --standalone --onefile src/fob/__init__.py --output-filename=fob
+# Activate the virtual environment
+uv venv
+source .venv/bin/activate
 
-    DEST_PATH="$HOME/.local/bin"
+# Install pyinstaller within the new virtual environment
+uv add pyinstaller
 
-    # Delete previous version
-    rm "$DEST_PATH/fob"
+# Call the tool
+pyinstaller --onefile --name fob src/fob/__init__.py
 
-    # Copy the executable to somewhere on your PATH
-    echo "Copying the executable to $DEST_PATH..."
-    mkdir -p "$DEST_PATH"
-    cp fob "$DEST_PATH"
+# Copy the executable to somewhere on your PATH
+DEST_PATH="$HOME/.local/bin"
 
-    # Clean up
-    echo "Cleaning up..."
-    rm -r __init__.dist __init__.build __init__.onefile-build fob
+# Delete previous version
+rm "$DEST_PATH/fob"
 
-    echo "Installation complete. The 'fob' command is now available. If not, please check that $DEST_PATH is in your PATH environment variable."
-else
-    # Print a message for unsupported OS
-    echo "The installation script is not implemented for $OS."
-fi
+# Copy the executable to somewhere on your PATH
+echo "Copying the executable to $DEST_PATH..."
+
+mkdir -p "$DEST_PATH"
+cp dist/fob "$DEST_PATH"
+
+# Clean up
+echo "Cleaning up..."
+rm -r dist build fob.spec
+
+echo "Installation complete. The 'fob' command is now available. If not, please check that $DEST_PATH is in your PATH environment variable."

pyproject.toml

@@ -6,10 +6,11 @@ description = "Focus Blocks: Simple and elegant daily time management tool."
 readme = "README.md"
 authors = [{ name = "tensorturtle", email = "[email protected]" }]
 requires-python = ">=3.12"
-dependencies = ["rich>=13.9.4", "tinydb>=4.8.2"]
+dependencies = [
+    "pyinstaller>=6.11.1",
+    "rich>=13.9.4",
+    "tinydb>=4.8.2",
+]
 
 [project.scripts]
-fob = "fob:main"
-
-[tool.uv]
-dev-dependencies = ["nuitka>=2.4.11"]
+fob = "fob:main"