From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Path: main.gmane.org!not-for-mail From: Anil Trivedi Newsgroups: gmane.emacs.help Subject: Re: Software/HD ecology Date: Thu, 12 Dec 2002 21:39:51 GMT Organization: Prodigy Internet http://www.prodigy.com Sender: help-gnu-emacs-bounces+gnu-help-gnu-emacs=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Message-ID: <121220021442266101%anil@null.invalid> References: <041220020952400758%ajanta@no.spam> <56cfb0e3.0212041458.5eab182a@posting.google.com> <061220020416350201%ajanta@no.spam> <071220021155280606%ajanta@no.spam> <5ld6obj8il.fsf@rum.cs.yale.edu> <101220021125583826%ajanta@no.spam> <111220021253524057%ajanta@no.spam> <84of7s703d.fsf@lucy.cs.uni-dortmund.de> NNTP-Posting-Host: main.gmane.org Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit X-Trace: main.gmane.org 1039726044 27704 80.91.224.249 (12 Dec 2002 20:47:24 GMT) X-Complaints-To: usenet@main.gmane.org NNTP-Posting-Date: Thu, 12 Dec 2002 20:47:24 +0000 (UTC) Return-path: Original-Received: from monty-python.gnu.org ([199.232.76.173]) by main.gmane.org with esmtp (Exim 3.35 #1 (Debian)) id 18MaEt-0007Ca-00 for ; Thu, 12 Dec 2002 21:47:23 +0100 Original-Received: from localhost ([127.0.0.1] helo=monty-python.gnu.org) by monty-python.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.10.13) id 18MaD0-0005Kx-04 for gnu-help-gnu-emacs@m.gmane.org; Thu, 12 Dec 2002 15:45:26 -0500 Original-Path: shelby.stanford.edu!newsfeed.stanford.edu!cyclone.bc.net!newsfeed.telusplanet.net!rip!news.webusenet.com!prodigy.com!newsmst01.news.prodigy.com!prodigy.com!postmaster.news.prodigy.com!newssrv26.news.prodigy.com.POSTED!not-for-mail Original-Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.apps,comp.sys.mac.advocacy,comp.text.tex,gnu.emacs.help Mail-Copies-To: nobody User-Agent: Thoth/1.5.10 (Carbon/OS X) Original-Lines: 29 Original-NNTP-Posting-Host: 67.37.190.240 Original-X-Complaints-To: abuse@prodigy.net Original-X-Trace: newssrv26.news.prodigy.com 1039729191 ST000 67.37.190.240 (Thu, 12 Dec 2002 15:39:51 CST) Original-NNTP-Posting-Date: Thu, 12 Dec 2002 15:39:51 CST X-UserInfo1: TSU[@IONTRUABPX[\JIH^TD@\JT@QDDMEPWXODMMHXMTWA]EPUW[AKK[J\]^HVKHG^EWZHBLO^[\NH_AZFWGN^\DHNVMX_DHHX[FSQKBOTS@@BP^]C@RHS_AGDDC[AJM_T[GZNRNZAY]GNCPBDYKOLK^_CZFWPGHZIXW@C[AFKBBQS@E@DAZ]VDFUNTQQ]FN Original-Xref: shelby.stanford.edu comp.sys.mac.apps:348743 gnu.emacs.help:108060 Original-To: help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org X-BeenThere: help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1b5 Precedence: list List-Id: Users list for the GNU Emacs text editor List-Help: List-Post: List-Subscribe: , List-Archive: List-Unsubscribe: , Errors-To: help-gnu-emacs-bounces+gnu-help-gnu-emacs=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Xref: main.gmane.org gmane.emacs.help:4591 X-Report-Spam: http://spam.gmane.org/gmane.emacs.help:4591 Phillip Lord wrote: > Anil> 2. Once the program compiles, and works fine, the user should > Anil> be able to delete all files that were needed in compiling but will not > Anil> be needed in running it, or in uninstalling it. > > I think Kai's example showed the problem with this... > Personally I find an emacs without the .el files half baked... > The core problem is that the Emacs is a lisp interpreter... There is no problem here. If it is desirable to keep .el files in Emacs, let us by all means keep them. Make them unremovable and have the program issue a stern lecture and warning to anyone who tries to override the protection! That is however no reason to no provide tools to delete unneeded files, in emacs or in hundreds of other programs. Let me add the following philosophical plug that I have been pushing today: Unix was conceptualized for small systems and programs, where a user needed and knew every file, where it came from, what it does. Either he wrote it himself or copied it from a friend. Those times are gone. We have hundreds of thousands of files, know nothing about them, and routinely install packages that bring thousands of files. The culture and the tools have not evolved to deal with this reality and perhaps need to. Anil Trivedi