Hi David,
On 1 Aug., 23:55, David Joyner <wdjoy...@gmail.com> wrote:
> 1. Be very very careful about modifying existing Python or Cython
> files in the Sage devel tree.
Is it really allowed for an SPKG to modify things in the Sage devel
tree? This highly surprises me. I thought that an SPKG is a package,
and the word "package" suggests that it is packed, has an envelop, and
everything happens inside the envelop.
> This will (AFAIK) affect every clone
> built after your spkg is applied and may make it difficult or
> impossible to create patches for the file(s) you changed.
Yes, I think this would be a desaster, and thus tempering with devel/
sage shouldn't be allowed.
> 2. Be very very careful about modifying other existing spkgs. The spkg
> you touched my need to be reinstalled. However, without reading the
> install log, the person installing your spkg will not know what other
> spkg's were affected. (Example: The experimental 4ti2 overwrites
> Nathann Cohen's GLPK spkg with a much older GLPK.
I remember being *explicitly* told that an spkg is not supposed to
install another spkg. And this is also stated in the developer guide,
if I remember correctly: If your package FOO depends on another
(optional) package BAR being installed, then FOO's install script
should test whether BAR is there. If it isn't, then the installation
of FOO should stop with an error, and the error message should of
course suggest that the user should install BAR first.
Again, the safety reasons are obvious, and I think I also remember
being told that licence problems might occur. For example, my
cohomology package depends on the SmallGroups library, but it would be
illegal for my (GPLv2+) package to automatically install the
SmallGroups library, since this is not GPLv2+ compatible. But it is ok
if the user installs the SmallGroups him/herself.
I think that the problems David mentions should definitely be
addressed in the developer guide (and I think partially they *are*
addressed).
Cheers,
Simon
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