Today is Make a Package ASDF-Installable Day!
I hereby proclaim December 11, 2007 to be
Make a Package ASDF-Installable Day!
ASDF-Install is a package management system that fetches packages from cliki.net and installs them on your local machine.
It has two essential features:
- A single command will download and install a package from the web.
- It will download dependencies automatically, if they too are ASDF-Installable.
In addition, it will verify PGP signatures of the files downloaded before installing. This provides some safety over what you are downloading.
But not all Common Lisp software uses this system. How can you tell if a package is ASDF-Installable? There are two requirements:
- It has a cliki.net page named after the package name.
- The cliki.net page has an ASDF-Install compatible link.
The graphic below shows these two things. Click on it to see a larger version.
Everyone knows of one or two packages that are not ASDF-Installable. And that can get annoying, especially when you want to release your package as ASDF-Installable.
What I propose is that on Tuesday, everyone finds one package that is not ASDF-Installable and makes it so.
Here are the steps:
- If it’s your package, go on to step 2. If it’s not your package, get permission from the authors.
- Email the author of the package and ask if you can help him/her make their package installable.
- Motivate them by explaining the benefits of ASDF-Install.
- This is important when working with other people’s creations. People have worked hard on their software, and they have the right to determine how it is distributed.
- Read and follow the instructions to create the necessary files.
- Create an ASDF package definition.
- Package everything up in a tar.gz archive.
- Generate a signature.
- Upload them to a web server.
- Create or edit the cliki page.
- And put in it an ASDF package directive.
It’s that easy!
Remember, keep the creator in the loop.
When you’ve finished, post a comment about it! Good luck!
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Filed under community |6 Responses to “Today is Make a Package ASDF-Installable Day!”
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libraries, thats what matters. thank you!
Yes. We definitely need to do more of this.
On a separate note, as a newbie I think that the ASDF package hierarchy is hard to navigate.
It would be useful if CLIKI somehow was able to tell you the download activity of a particular package so that I can make an uninformed choice based upon popularity rather than the aesthetic appeal of the package’s name
Note: There is a problem with ASDF-INSTALL
If we are going to use Cliki as the repository for lisp projects, and directing everyone to use ASDF-INSTALL I think the first question to be asked is if Cliki can handle it?
It would be quite a feat to make all packages installable via ASDF-INSTALL and then have Cliki go out under your feet.
This highlights the problem:
http://xach.livejournal.com/145603.html
Someone is responsible for maintaining that site, and that someone have not read their mail for two years!
Is that the solid platform you need for distributing lisp packages? Start by asking the CLiki owner if you can take over the ownership of the site. Zarch isn’t going to pay another year.
Otherwise I think the suggestion is interesting, but the core problem with Cliki have to be dealt with. First.
@Andreas I think what Xach meant was that he won’t pay late for another year. He’ll pay on time. I chose ASDF-Install because it is the de facto standard. If you know of something better, I’m all ears.
I didn’t get that impression from Xach at all! But it would be better for the future of ASDF-Install! I’ll ask him about it.
I don’t have another suggestion for another system, but I do suggest that the present system should be build on firmer grounds. It wouldn’t hurt to have a few backup mirrors to fallback on if CLiki is down for example.
OK, I asked Zach about it, and he meant what I thought he did. The reminder mails goes into the bitbucket and while there is someone taking care of things CLiki is not a very reliable storage solution for asdf-install. A new solution wouldn’t hurt, in other words.