Re: patch - add an ocaml-interp binary package
Hello,
On Mon, Nov 03, 2003 at 07:49:31PM +0100, Sven Luther wrote:
> On Mon, Nov 03, 2003 at 10:43:28AM -0800, David Fox wrote:
> > The least important reason is size. We are creating lots of small
> > scripts, such as those you find in /etc/init.d, as part of our hardware
> > detection/configuration system. When we byte-compile these scripts,
> > they end up at about 400 to 500 k, which can add up.
>
> Mmm.
>
> > The more important reason is the ease with which people can modify these
> > scripts, particularly when you are trying to fix a mis-configured
> > system. For people who are not really interested in programming, but
> > are just trying to get something to work, editing and running a script
> > is quite a bit easier than finding and downloading the source (which
> > maybe you can't do at all if your network isn't working) editing it,
> > building it, installing it. Granted, for most people, editing a script
> > is something they simply will not do. For a few others, building from
> > source is just fine. But there are some people whose input is important
> > to us who fall between these two categories. They have lots of energy
> > and intelligence, but they come from a world of GUI's and don't have the
> > Unix background we sometimes take for granted. If you point them to a
> > script and tell them "try some different values here and here" they will
> > go at it until it works.
> >
> > For myself, it is partly an aesthetic thing. Whenever practical, when
> > efficiency is not an issue, I like to distribute software in the least
> > obfuscated way, and put as few barriers as possible between the code and
> > the (hapless?) reader.
>
> Ok, you sort of convinced me. I would like the opinion of the other
> ocaml maintainers before i do that, in case there is something i may
> miss that they do not.
>
> That said, i could make a ocaml-interpreter package, which would be
> provided, replaced and conflicted by the ocaml package. What do you
> think of that ?
>
Even though i am not a DD, i just want to raise my hand and say that is
a good idea ( i also develop some script in ocaml, and it should be a
good idea to have a rather small package that give access to ocaml ).
Kind regard
Sylvain LE GALL
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