Re: auto-update of Info dir file?

[Eli Zaretskii <eliz@gnu.org>]

> From: "Drew Adams" <drew.adams@oracle.com>
> Date: Mon, 15 May 2006 08:28:50 -0700
> 
> For each directory in `Info-directory-list', for each top-level file in the
> directory (i.e. whose name doesn't end in "-N", N=1,2,3...): Check if there
> is a corresponding entry in the Info `dir' file (in
> `Info-dir-contents-directory'), and, if not, add one.

I think this will slow down Info startup to an intolerable degree.
For example, I have more than 70 such top-level Info files in my Info
directory, some of them compressed.

> Perhaps there is already part of the mechanism for doing this. When I look
> in some Info files now I see (START|END)-INFO-DIR-ENTRY, which makes me
> think there must already be a means of adding the entry. Perhaps all that's
> missing is to have `info' do that on the fly automatically for each
> top-level Info file in the directories of `Info-directory-list'.

When a package is installed, its "make install" target should
automatically run the install-info program, which updates the menu in
DIR.  So, for systems that are well set up, this problem does not
exist, and I don't see why we should punish users of such systems on
behalf of the other kind.

> I mention this because of a question in help-gnu-emacs today and a reply
> advising the user to add the entry to the `dir' file.

That user got half the world and their dog mixed up.  I wouldn't
recommend jumping to conclusions based on that case alone.

> If this were costly in performance, it might be done only on first use of
> `info' in a session.

It will be still painful, IMO.