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Subject: Re: strokes.el --- `package-path'
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From: karlheg+xemacs@inetarena.com (Karl M. Hegbloom)
Date: 10 Aug 1997 01:42:42 -0700
In-Reply-To: David Bakhash's message of "Sat, 9 Aug 1997 20:56:09 -0400"
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>>>>> "David" == David Bakhash <cadet@MIT.EDU> writes:

    David> I'd appreciate it if a directory was made for strokes.el,
    David> where I'll try to segment the files like this:

 I've found that it's really very easy and ultra simple to add a new
package to the packages directory, when it's done right.  If you put
strokes into a tarball rooted like:

lisp/strokes/thefiles*
etc/strokes/whateverifany*
info/strokes.info.please

... so that people can untarr it in their packages directory, (mine's
in "/usr/local/lib/xemacs/packages"; that's where I'd stand when I
untar it.) and have everything land where it should.  You should have
a Makefile in lisp/strokes, with an `autoloads' rule, that looks
something like:

autoloads:
	$XEMACS -batch -q -l autoload -f batch-update-directory .

compile: autoloads
	$XEMACS -batch -f batch-byte-recompile-directory .

... so that the auto-autoloads file is rebuilt using your
;;;###autoload cookies, and gets byte-compiled[1].  Then, when XEmacs
is redumped, strokes will be there, ready to autoload.

 This puts control of a package in the author or maintainer's hands,
where it belongs; I think that is one intention of the packages
directory.

 It's working well with AucTex, once I patched the autoload cookies
back into it, and removed the ones in the old TeX mode.  I've also got
`elib' set up[2], and someone has done bbdb.  Obviously Gnus is
working too.  :-)


Footnotes: 
[1]  Will yous tell me if that's not quite right?  It's not tested.

[2]  Should I upload this to my web site?  It's not really mine, but is
     GPL, AFAICT so perhaps I shall...  Yes.  I will.  It will be in
     http://www.inetarena.com/~karlheg/Public/site-lisp shortly.

-- 
mailto:karlheg+sig@inetarena.com (Karl M. Hegbloom)
http://www.inetarena.com/~karlheg
Portland, OR  USA
Debian GNU 1.3  Linux 2.0.30+parport AMD K5 PR-133

