Re: [Caml-list] Library installation procedure (for use with OPAM)?

[Anthony Tavener <anthony.tavener@gmail.com>]

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Thanks for the input, everyone! I see there's not quite one-true-way. This
was part of my confusion when I tried searches and looking at existing
packages. It helps to know that OCamlMakefile or ocamlbuild use ocamlfind,
but hide this detail. From my perspective when this is hidden it just looks
like there are even more packaging mechanisms.

I can understand Daniel's tact: choose one sensible method. This helps to
force an evolution rather than building up cruft. Certainly making a META
file along with descr/opam/url is somewhat redundant. Isn't it?

For now though, I'll do my install steps with ocamlfind using a META file.

It wasn't clear to me that ocamlfind is appropriate for installation, or
even how you would use it. Searching, I mostly get matches for using
ocamlfind to install existing packages, not make something installable. The
"install" subsection of ocamlfind really gives the impression of an
end-user tool, not for a library creator. References are made to the META
file but no description of this file.

Searching for the META file related to OCaml doesn't fare too well either.
Then I realized "man META" actually gives me exactly what I was looking
for. I didn't expect that, since I'd expect other systems could have a
configuration file called META.

Anyway, thanks! If there isn't an explanation of packaging libraries
somewhere, maybe I'll make a blog post: "How to share your library". It's
the kind of thing which might seem like nothing once you know it.

 -Tony


On Mon, Dec 9, 2013 at 2:04 PM, Daniel Bünzli
<daniel.buenzli@erratique.ch>wrote:

>
>
> Le lundi, 9 décembre 2013 à 21:22, Stéphane Glondu a écrit :
>
> > Yes, but the existing stuff too. And the packaging work is (should be)
> > mainly adding metadata and integrating with the other packages, which is
> > hardly automatable. What you are talking about is package building,
> > which can already be automated with the standard "./configure && make &&
> > sudo make install" interface.
>
> Why not but then provide me *convenient and easily understandable* tools
> that allow me to implement this interface in a reliable way. I don't want
> to replicate install logic in my twelve and growing packages, I used to do
> that but it's too costly in terms of maintenance. I now found a way of
> delegating the install logic to a tool in what I suppose is the main
> distribution channel for my packages (and that shouldn't be too hard for
> other distribution channels to use), I'm not going back unless something
> better and as convenient emerges.
>
> > > > http://xkcd.com/927/
> > > So what's your proposal then ?
> >
> > I am not proposing anything new. You are.
>
> Joke for joke. Besides I'm not proposing anything, I responded to the
> original poster's question on how I proceed to install libraries with OPAM.
>
> Best,
>
> Daniel
>
>
>
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