Re: Emacs per-package startup files

[Yves Arrouye <arrouye@marin.fdn.fr>]

Erick Branderhorst writes:
 > 
 > > If the files there really depend on each other, then it may be nice
 > > to require that each xxxx.el file contains
 > > 
 > > 	(provide 'site-start-xxx)
 > > 
 > > (as the *last* line so nothing is provided in case of error), and other
 > > files will just use
 > > 
 > > 	(require 'site-start-xxx)
 > > 
 > > as needed.
 > 
 > Nice of course but now it happens that package A require stuff from B to be
 > loaded, but this code for A is always executed before the stuff from B is
 > executed and so A fails unless, the load process is run again and checks are
 > made whether something needs to be loaded or if it has been loaded in an
 > earlier run.

That's wrong. If A requires stuff from B we'll have something like:

  ; package a

  (require 'site-start-b)

  ; do things here...

  (provide 'site-start-a)

and

  ; package b

  ; do things here...

  (provide 'site-start-b)


Now whatever the order packages are loaded, it works. If we load a, we
get

   - a starts interpreting
   - a requires b
     -> b starts interpreting
     -> b ends providing site-start-b, so a's require is fullfilled
   - a continues interpreting
   - a ends providing site-start-a

and if b was already loaded b is not loaded again.

The only problem would be with circular dependencies, but then nothing
can help you in such cases...


Yves.

P.S.: Erick, I read the list. No need to send emails twice.