Re: xstr e netclient deb packages
On Thu, Feb 15, 2001 at 05:16:33PM +0100, Claudio Sacerdoti Coen wrote:
> On Thu, Feb 15, 2001 at 17:04:16 +0100, Sven LUTHER wrote:
> > sorry, i don't think that you cannot write easy makefiles without findlib.
>
> ????
Well, yes, i never use it, and all works fine ...
> As an example, without findlib you have to put something like that in
> the makefile:
>
> PXPLIBS = netstring.cma netmappings_iso.cmo netmappings_other.cmo \
> pxp_types.cma \
> pxp_lex_iso88591.cma pxp_lex_utf8.cma pxp_engine.cma \
> pxp_utf8.cmo
>
> Note that the order is not casual at all: the previous objects could
> not be permutated in any way due to OCaml rules. How can I find out
> the exact order? Well, either reading the README or trying the permutations
> until I succeds.
Well, i understand this is a nice feature, but hardly one you cannot live
without.
> With ocamlfind you simply say something as "use package PXP" (I don't
> rember the actual syntax now) and it expands it to the above list
> using the information in it's small database.
like the way gtk-config/glib-config does ?
> So I _believe_ that it allows to write Makefiles in an easier way.
Well yes, but making things harder in other places ...
> > As i see it, the findlib stuff is just something to make the useage of
> > non-integrated ocaml packages easier. In debian it should not be needed and
> > even maybe a problem, unless it is debian-aware, which i think it is not, but
> > then i didn't check.
>
> I think you are missing the point. findlib is not useful to install
> and uninstall packages, but to use them simplifing Makefiles.
Well, yes but to use it, you need to use it in installing/uninstalling
packages, which i don't think is compatible with the dbeian way right now. but
then i may be wrong.
> > > 1) it gives back informations on packages installed using findlib
> > ok, well, i can understand that this is a nice thing to have.
> >
> > But then, for debian packages, we have dependencies and build dependencies to
> > handle exactly that.
>
> No, debian dependencies are dependencies between packages and not
> dependencies between .cmo/.cma inside packages.
Ok, i understand that now.
> > > 2) it allows to install packages
> > nothing new there ...
>
> I agree. This is the uninteresting functionality of findlib.
> But if you don't pass informations to findlib, it won't be
> able to create its database.
Exactly what i said...
> > Anyway, who are the authors of findlib, and how 'official' is the structure it
> > uses to install packages ?
>
> I spoke many times with Gerd Stolpmann, the author of findlib and he
> seems very friendly ;-) What do you mean by official, anyway?
Well, what do the the ocaml implementors, Xavier, Pierre, ... think of it.
> The Coq team is not willing to consider Gerd tools at all ;-(
This bodes ill for it t obe accepted as standard, doesn't it ?
> [I have spent my last two monthes at INRIA Rocquencourt, so I
> have some precise ideas]
So you know who are the 'official' guys then. ...
> > A better way for it, would be to simply use the standard install tools to
> > install debian packages.
> >
> > And then we would make a debian package of findlib, with an additional tool
> > that will just register installed packages with findlib, like it is done for
> > info files and the menu packages.
>
> I agree
Yes, but ideally, we should not force the usage of it unless it is 'officialy'
accepted as a good thing.
> > i don't think this would be a difficult thing to do, but we may need to see if
> > findlib (whatever it is) can accept a -register or somethig option, or if we
> > can isolate the registering code and write our own tool for it.
>
> We can ask Gerd for this.
Yes, we can.
is it possible to have it to look for installed packages and add it to
dependencies automatically ?
or have a simple tool/shell script that will permit any package to update the
findlib database, without that findlib is needed in order to install it.
Like in the menu case.
you can install a whole debian system without ever having heard about the menu
package. Once you install the menu package, all of one you are able to access
most programs from your wm's menu.
> > This is more in concordance of the debian way of doing things, and could even
> > go into policy later on.
>
> OK
...
> > Someone who as time to look into it please volunteer and contact the upstream
> > authors about it, ccing this mailing list ?
>
> Zack?
Yes, he would be a good candidate as he told me he wanted to do the packaging.
Friendly,
Sven Luther
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