Re: Ada package registry?

[Georg Bauhaus <bauhaus@futureapps.invalid>]

On 03.02.16 05:21, Shark8 wrote:
> On Tuesday, February 2, 2016 at 2:32:16 PM UTC-7, gautier...@hotmail.com wrote:
>>
>> So perhaps you are thinking about a specialized archive manager (for instance a special version of AZip, to stay with Ada stuff :-) ), which would grab packages or libraries from an Ada-centric repository, running on the programmer's computer?
>
> Closer but not quite.
> The way I envision it would be essentially three programs:
> (1) the 'server', which contains the library, stored in an IR;
> (2) the 'client', which pulls the info from the library and inserts it into the Ada environment,
> (3) the 'project-manager', which takes the library/module on the hosting computer, compiles it, and submits it to the 'server'.
>

(2a) the 'client', which also produces a library archive ready for pushing,
one that follows a simple "standard".

The setup is easier when there is a small, agreed-upon set of requirements,
I think, such as

- P, by default, can be built with

     pragma Restrictions (No_Implementation_*)

- [optional] P is a leaf, it can be built with

      pragma Restrictions (No_Dependence)

- there are test/example programs for P which can be built after P has been
    added to the normal Ada library

Note that the first item has "by default", which is an opportunity for
vendors to put incentives into non-default editions (think: edition for Win32,
edition for proprietary OS, ...).

If this scheme is simple, then, still, complexity may be seen as an opportunity
by sales personnel, since the technical staff is payed for handling that complexity
on behalf of the vendor's customers. No other vendor can handle the same instance
of complexity. Which will be different when it is an instance of simplicity.
Yet, the is a "by default" edition, mentioned earlier, for a freemium library,
maybe.

At all costs, avoid the complexity of Linux style package management whenever
there is a chance of it becoming Ubuntu style package management. ("How to force
a dense graph of half-maintained packages, even when 'Recommended' dependences
are turned off.") Unless, of course, you can sell Ubuntu, too.