Re: Delivering Lisp applications [was: Re: [email protected]]

On Thu, Dec 04, 2003 at 06:25:42AM +0100, Robert STRANDH wrote:

> Good choice.  I currently do not seem able to find a solution to the
> following problem (using CMUCL) (even if I deliver source code):
> 
>   * The install script could create compiled code, but it is too slow
>     to load, 
> 
>   * That problem will go away if I generate a core file, but I can't
>     because the format of the core file sometimes changes with new
>     versions of CMUCL, so that the software breaks when the user
>     installs a new version of CMUCL, 

How about an install script that generates the core file, and makes an
additional hard link to the runtime (or just copies it), so that it
remains there for application use even if a new version is installed?

The attached Makefile sketches this out for SBCL.

For extra points, at startup the application could compare the
timestamps on the "normal" runtime and it's dedicated version: if the
runtime has been updated the application might offer to recompile itself
for the new runtime -- provided that the sources are still to be found,
of course.

Cheers,

 -- Nikodemus