[plt-scheme] PlaneT, plts and distributing software.

Ooops, I meant to send it to the list as well:

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Yoav Goldberg <yoav.goldberg at gmail.com>
Date: Oct 25, 2005 6:55 PM
Subject: Re: [plt-scheme] PlaneT, plts and distributing software.
To: Eli Barzilay <eli at barzilay.org>


> > [...] I think writing and distributing a small script that will
> > connect to PLaneT, download the package you want and install it as a
> > collect, would be extremely usefull [...]
> But it is installed as a collection.  The planet cache is used as
> another item on the list of directories to search (when the `planet'
> syntax is used to specify a module.)
... install it as a collection in a way typical users could find it,
and from then on require it with "lib".

> > While we're at it, I think it will also be extremly usefull to add
> > the <path-of-main-file>/collects to the
> > current-library-collection-paths[2] list, [...]
> How do you determine the "main-file"?  You're talking about the file
> that is used with "-f" -- what about multiple "-f"'s and direct use of
> "load"?
Choose a convention. "The first file specified with -f". Whatever.

> If you want to just require some module relative to the
> current one, then you should just use a relative name (which is always
> relative to the source file that does the require).
Let's say I use two collections, one of them references the other, and
I'm not sure they will be available on the end-user machine. I also
don't want to put files outside of "my" directory, esp. on Win32.

> > [...] if I can't control the server, I'm not going to use it.
> (That's a very 90's thing to say.)
Not really, in this case.
I'm not going to distribute software that relies on your server being
up in order to work, because I can't control it.

> > [1] Maybe there's documentation on the HelpDesk, I never use the
> > HelpDesk [...]  and it has a really tiny font for my eyes.
> Start DrScheme, change the font size, quit DrScheme.
But the font size in DrScheme is just fine.

> > [2] What I currently do is to "load" a file that does just that on
> > the top of my "main file", but I think that system support for it
> > will be nicer. (The method I use prevents my main module from being
> > "required" from somewhere else as a module).
> Relative paths should work fine any way of requiring the file.
See above.



Yoav