Re: Improve access to documentation in Info format

[Suhail Singh <suhailsingh247@gmail.com>]

Björn Bidar <bjorn.bidar@thaodan.de> writes:

> If we want to improve info in general, Emacs package.el repositories are
> not the best option.
> It should be easy to package the missing manuals for the major package
> formats and possibly provide packages for other distribution which don't
> include the manuals. The last option would be to provide download
> options for the info files.

While you provide other options, it's not clear why ELPA repositories
aren't a good fit.  ELPA repositories are platform-agnostic and would
provide access to Info manuals wherever Emacs runs.  Additionally, Emacs
provides one of the better Info readers, and implicit in the fact that
we are discussing this on emacs-devel is the assumption that the
intended users are Emacs users.

Improving the existing package definitions in the "major package
formats", though helpful, is orthogonal in my opinion.  Providing access
to Info manuals via ELPA repositories in no way prevents these efforts.
However, emacs-devel may not be the best place to discuss such efforts.

> Fixing the license of the manuals would also go a long way of including
> these manuals. Trying to use the resources of the FSF to reach out and
> try to rectify such long standing issues would help very much.
> Such things are not possible for individual contributors I'd say.

Do you have examples of manuals whose existing license constraints would
hinder their inclusion in NonGNU ELPA?

>> Are there reasons why NonGNU ELPA wouldn't be a good place to host such
>> Info manuals?
>>
>>> b. Write software to find the desired manual, fetch it, and install it
>>> on your computer.
>>
>> If the Info manuals were hosted on NonGNU ELPA, then package.el already
>> provides this.
>>
>
> Emacs specific.

Emacs specific is okay.

-- 
Suhail