Re: Just some thoughts

Aschwin Marsman wrote:

> > I think we should indeed keep it simple.  For the version we mostly can
> > use "stable" and "latest".  What this exactly means is up to the
> > maintainer of the package.  For Vim I would use Vim 6.2 with patches
> > that are known not to cause trouble for the stable release.  But for
> > MS-Windows only the version 6.2 without patches is available.
> 
> So for UNIX-like systems stable & latest are the same for vim when 
> using the source.

Not exactly.  The stable version would lag behind a couple of weeks,
until it's clear that patches don't cause new problems (on average 1 out
of 10 patches needs another fix).

> For UNIX like systems also a binary package could be provided which
> doesn't always have the latest patches, because somebody has to build
> them and make them available.

Yes, and then the maintainer has to decide if the binary package is
behind far enough to use the source code instead.

> On Windows currently binary stable is vim 6.2 core, but for source
> stable could be vim with all patches. 

If there is a compiler that can be used.  You don't really expect "aap
--install vim" to install a C compiler as a side effect, right?

> Agreed, we would have an option delivery method with a certain default
> which can be overruled by the user. A comma separated list comes to mind.

To stick with Aap standards, a white-separated list is more appropriate.
I try to prevent adding more mechanisms to Aap when it's not really
needed.

> > > Let's try to quickly take some decisions before it gets to complicated.
> > 
> > For selecting the desired version:
> > 
> > 	aap --install pkgname VERSION=stable
> > 	aap --install pkgname VERSION=latest
> > 
> > Where "stable" is the default.  It's possible that both versions are the
> > same or that some packages offer more different versions.
> 
> OK. (Why do you prefer VERSION= i.s.o. --version=?)

This is the standard method to pass values to a recipe.  An argument
such as "--version" would need to be implemented in the Aap code.  And
"--version" already has a different meaning anyway (print the Aap
version and exit).

> > Is that simple enough?
> 
> TRANSFER=ftp,cvs,svn,bk,rsync,scp?

Is that simple !?!?

> > I think the real work is to figure out dependencies and make it work on
> > many different systems.  Before bothering the user with more choices.
> 
> That can be the thing that aap can do what other systems don't do so well,
> but it all depends on the availability of up-to-date recipes.

Yes, the idea is that the maintainer takes over most of the burdens that
the user would have for making choices and invoking the right commands.

-- 
Q: What is a patch 22?
A: A patch you need to include to make it possible to include patches.

 /// Bram Moolenaar -- [email protected] -- http://www.Moolenaar.net   \\\
///          Creator of Vim - Vi IMproved -- http://www.Vim.org          \\\
\\\              Project leader for A-A-P -- http://www.A-A-P.org        ///
 \\\  Help AIDS victims, buy here: http://ICCF-Holland.org/click1.html  ///


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