Re: Automated package dependencies

R> seems like we need to get the lisp these kind of loopy R> dependancies use into a common package ( xemacs-base ? ) so we R> can have the packages that require them all point to one R> package instead of each other in really bizzare ways Stephen> You can have that "common package", today. It's called "GNU Emacs". Stephen> It even includes our biggest REQUIRE'able, Gnus. ;-) Stephen> Seriously, I think you'll find that the transitive closure of these Stephen> loopy dependencies is a pretty big chunk of our packages. ok looks like i need to explain myself better i ment why dont we move that loopily required lisp into one package ?? then it would stop the foo requires bar and bar requires foo complications R> think shared lisp library. Stephen> All Lisp libraries are shared in that sense. Stephen> Remember that most Lisp libraries are all declaration/definition; not Stephen> very much code is executed at load time. (That's inaccurate, in fact Stephen> things like defun are often defined in Lisp, but it's close enough.) Stephen> For the problems we're dealing with in REQUIRES, we never want Stephen> compiled Lisp, either. Macros and defsubsts are open-coded in Lisp, Stephen> then their callers are compiled. So in the build process, we just Stephen> need to get lots and lots of Lisp definitions loaded, but only the Stephen> macros and the defsubsts. (And in fact the defsubsts don't _need_ to Stephen> be loaded at compile time, because they provide a regular defun so Stephen> that a defsubst is funcall'able. But that defeats the purpose of a Stephen> defsubst. We do want them available if at all possible.) Stephen> Circularities are not an issue at compile time. Stephen> The issues of "what packages do we _need_ at run time" are important, Stephen> but they should be handled by a different mechanism from REQUIRES. Stephen> How about SUGGESTS? Stephen> -- Stephen> Institute of Policy and Planning Sciences http://turnbull.sk.tsukuba.ac.jp Stephen> University of Tsukuba Tennodai 1-1-1 Tsukuba 305-8573 JAPAN Stephen> Ask not how you can "do" free software business; Stephen> ask what your business can "do for" free software. -- XEmacs Advocate | Do not try the patience of Wizards, Gentoo Devotee | for they are subtle and quick to anger. Perl Hacker | - Elric (Technomage) , Babylon 5. Apache God | <mailto:rendhalver at xemacs.org> <GnuPG KeyID: AE51D190>