Re: [Q] Re: [PATCH] all my package fixes, mostly build-related

Ben> ok. i find packages extremely confusing. almost all documentation i've seen Ben> has been a total mess. i've spent some time trying to clean the docs up to be Ben> clear. this discussion seems to be typical of it. michael, i don't want to be Ben> overcritical of you but you need to spend more time thinking of how to make Ben> clear, concise, introductory documentation. Sorry, I'm not getting it. This discussion is about *atypical* cases, namely about running in-place. (As have most others been.) Things seem to work fine after "make install." I don't see how the introductory documentation can or should address this issue. Ben> The documentation in the .el files is unfortunately even worse, Ben> e.g.: Ben> (defun paths-construct-info-path (roots early-packages late-packages Ben> last-packages) Ben> "Construct the info path." Ben> ...) Ben> (defun paths-find-doc-directory (roots) Ben> "Find the documentation directory." Ben> ...) Ben> (defun paths-find-exec-directory (roots) Ben> "Find the binary directory." Ben> ...) Ben> (defun paths-construct-exec-path (roots exec-directory Ben> early-packages late-packages last-packages) Ben> "Find the binary path." Ben> ...) You need to be a lot more specific about what you think the problem is, and how it should be remedied. E.g., what kind of documentation do you envision for a this: (defun paths-construct-info-path (roots early-packages late-packages last-packages) "Construct the info path." ...) I could add: "Construct the info path. This is the path where XEmacs will look for info files. ROOTS is a list of XEmacs roots. EARLY-PACKAGES is a list of early package hierarchies. LATE-PACKAGES is a list of late package hierarchies. LAST-PACKAGES is a list of last package hierarchies." But this adds verbosity, not information. You say you're confused, but you don't state a question that you think isn't answered. Ben> some examples of problems in the docs: Ben> [1] introductory docs need to have clear cross-references to where to find more Ben> info. in this case, this might mean a pointer from README.packages to the node Ben> in xemacs/startup.texi; but no such pointers exist. I'll freely admit I wrote none of README.packages. Ben> [2] startup.texi talks generically about "roots" but its definition of "root" is Ben> over-general and very confusing. What exactly are you confused about? Ben> You need to put in examples -- for example, Ben> the fact that <root> = /usr/local [typically] appears nowhere in the document. I don't think there's a "typical value" for a root. Specifically, the problems people are having crop up when it's not /usr/local. Ben> By default, XEmacs expects an early package hierarchy in the Ben> subdirectory ＠file{.xemacs/xemacs-packages} of the user's home Ben> directory. Ben> but what goes there? do i put subdirectories xemacs-packages, mule-packages, Ben> and site-packages? No; I see there's a typo in the docs that make them confusing on that issue. (It says "An XEmacs package is laid out [...]" where it shoud say "An XEmacs package hierarchy is laid out [...]") I'll fix it. Ben> In my case, i have xemacs in-place in /src/xemacs/someworkspace/src/xemacs.exe, Ben> and my packages typically get installed into /src/xemacs/xemacs-packages, Ben> /src/xemacs/mule-packages, etc. Ben> i have to manually set a package-path like Ben> PACKAGE_PREFIX=\src\xemacs Ben> PACKAGE_PATH=~\.xemacs;;$(PACKAGE_PREFIX)\site-packages;$(PACKAGE_PREFIX)\mule-p Ben> ackages;$(PACKAGE_PREFIX)\xemacs-packages Ben> for native Windows, or Ben> configure Ben> ... --package-path=~/.xemacs::/src/xemacs/site-packages:/src/xemacs/xemacs-packa Ben> ges:/src/xemacs/mule-packages Ben> for Cygwin. No, you shouldn't have to do *anything* if you're running in-place. You asked for this feature. I implemented it. I told you that I'd implemented it. I'm severely annoyed that you then refused to defend it when I asked you to, and I intend to take it out again in the near future. -- Cheers =8-} Mike Friede, Völkerverständigung und überhaupt blabla