Pete Ware <ware(a)cis.ohio-state.edu> wrote:
Include the package version.
Why include the version? The version information is already stored
elsewhere, and there should never be a case when multiple versions are
installed simultaneously (well, it could happen today, but it shouldn't
be happening). When installing a new version of a package, the old
package should be deleted.
The visual package installer tries to delete the old version, if
one exists, but it currently only deletes the lisp subdirectory (as
there's no manifest file to tell it what else to delete).
Also, why not just capture the output
from tar and save that -- less error prone.
Yes, this is nice, but doesn't work for manual package
installations. I thought about doing this for the visual package
installer, but I didn't know where to store the information. You also
need to take into account system vs user package installation locations
(something which isn't done today), when installing packages (and
manifest lists).
It's a simple matter to modify the package-get routines to
automatically keep track of a MANIFEST file (even on PCs), and use it to
delete old packages. However, as already stated, this doesn't work for
manual package installations.
Hmm. What if we used a MANIFEST file, if one exists in the package
distribution, but automatically create one if one isn't included? I'll
whack something together and post it for comments.
--
Darryl Okahata
darrylo(a)sr.hp.com
DISCLAIMER: this message is the author's personal opinion and does not
constitute the support, opinion, or policy of Hewlett-Packard, or of the
little green men that have been following him all day.