[racket-dev] new package system collections and conflicts

Just to be clear. I don't think that "tic-tac-toe" and "data/matrix"
are the important thing in this example. The important thing is that
the package name and the module don't share a prefix. Another good
example would be something like "graphs" and "data/fib-heap" or
something where it may to be easier to imagine the connection between
the purpose of the package and a particular module provided.

Jay

On Sun, Nov 30, 2014 at 12:16 PM, Jay McCarthy <jay.mccarthy at gmail.com> wrote:
> I do not think we should change the example. I do not want people to falsely
> believe that they can any expectation of the modules provided by a package
> from its name. In particular, your comment about this being "strange" is not
> supported by the package system's promises.
>
> Jay
>
>
> On Sunday, November 30, 2014, Matthew Flatt <mflatt at cs.utah.edu> wrote:
>>
>> We should change that example. It would indeed be strange for package
>> named "tic-tac-toe" would introduce a `data/matrix` module, and the
>> documentation really shouldn't suggest that it makes sense for a
>> package to introduce overlaps that are not reasonably expected from the
>> package name.
>>
>>
>> There are plenty of real examples where it's sensible for different
>> packages to introduce modules in overlapping collections, though.
>> Sometimes, it's because different packages implement different facets
>> of a conceptual whole, such as "math-lib", "math-doc", and "math-test"
>> all extending the "math" collection. Sometimes, it's more a mater of
>> history, such as "compatibility-lib" extending several different
>> collections. And then there are example that you might classify as
>> either of those or as a third kind, depending on how you look at it:
>> "draw-lib" adds `racket/draw`, and "gui-package-manager" adds
>> `pkg/gui`.
>>
>>
>> The "data" collection is among those that were intended to be extended
>> by multiple packages. Whether that's really a good idea remains to be
>> seen, but that's why "data" shows up as an example in the manual.
>> (Again, though, no one would expect a "tic-tac-toe" package to
>> introduce a new module in "data".)
>>
>>
>> At Sun, 30 Nov 2014 10:22:49 -0500, Neil Van Dyke wrote:
>> > Given the example from the documentation, of the `tic-tac-toe` package
>> > and "conflicts" (quoted at end of this email), instead, why isn't the
>> > norm to do:
>> >
>> >      (require tic-tac-toe)
>> >
>> > Or, when necessary:
>> >
>> >      (require tic-tac-toe/matrix)
>> >
>> > Why, when one installs a package named `tic-tac-toe`, would one be
>> > referencing modules of the package as `data/matrix`?
>> >
>> > I don't recall ever seeing a situation in which I wanted different
>> > third-party Racket packages to be stomping over each other's
>> > module-naming namespaces.
>> >
>> > For people who want to release lots of well-behaved reusable packages,
>> > using good practices, with minimal effort and head-scratching, things
>> > like this are a problem.
>> >
>> > > 2 Package Concepts
>> > >
>> > > A package is a set of modules in some number of collections. Modules
>> > > installed using the Racket package manager are required like any other
>> > > modules. For example, if the package tic-tac-toe contains the module
>> > > "matrix.rkt" in a "data" collection, then after tic-tac-toe is
>> > > installed,
>> > >
>> > >     (require data/matrix)
>> > [...]
>> > > 2.5 Package Conflicts
>> > >
>> > > Two packages are in conflict if they contain the same module. For
>> > > example, if the package tic-tac-toe contains the module file
>> > > "data/matrix.rkt" and the package factory-optimize contains the module
>> > > file "data/matrix.rkt", then tic-tac-toe and factory-optimize are in
>> > > conflict.
>> > >
>> > > A package may also be in conflict with Racket itself, if it contains a
>> > > module file that is part of the base Racket implementation. For
>> > > example, any package that contains "racket/list.rkt" is in conflict
>> > > with Racket.
>> > >
>> > > For the purposes of conflicts, a module is a file that ends in ".rkt",
>> > > ".ss", or ".scrbl".
>> >
>> > Neil V.
>> >
>> > _________________________
>> >   Racket Developers list:
>> >   http://lists.racket-lang.org/dev
>> _________________________
>>   Racket Developers list:
>>   http://lists.racket-lang.org/dev
>
>
>
> --
> Jay McCarthy
> http://jeapostrophe.github.io
>
>            "Wherefore, be not weary in well-doing,
>       for ye are laying the foundation of a great work.
> And out of small things proceedeth that which is great."
>                           - D&C 64:33



-- 
Jay McCarthy
http://jeapostrophe.github.io

           "Wherefore, be not weary in well-doing,
      for ye are laying the foundation of a great work.
And out of small things proceedeth that which is great."
                          - D&C 64:33