managing multiple dir files

managing multiple dir files

[Tyler Smith]

Hi,

I'm using Emacs 22.1.1 built from sources, running Debian Lenny. I
have several different dir files, and they get concatenated together
when I try to browse the info tree. I don't know how this happens, but
it's handy as it gives me access to info files in a variety of
locations. However, I also get many duplicated entries. Is there a way
to clean this up?

My dir files are:

/home/tyler/dl_src/emacs22/emacs-22.1/info/dir
/home/tyler/dl_src/emacs22/ess-svn/doc/info/dir
/home/tyler/gnus/gnus-5.10.6-0.CVS.20050317.orig/texi/dir
/home/tyler/gnus/gnus-5.10.6-0.CVS.20050317/texi/dir
/usr/local/info/dir
/usr/local/share/info/dir
/usr/share/info/dir

There's a fair bit of overlap in the last three. Any tips on how to
manage a combination of hand-rolled and debian-installed info files
would be most appreciated.

Thanks,

Tyler

Re: managing multiple dir files

[Peter Dyballa]

Am 12.03.2008 um 17:42 schrieb Tyler Smith:

> There's a fair bit of overlap in the last three. Any tips on how to
> manage a combination of hand-rolled and debian-installed info files
> would be most appreciated.

The environment variable INFOPATH tells GNU Emacs where to look for  
info files.

If you want, you can edit the dir files and remove entries. The  
utility install-info is used to maintain the dir file.

--
Greetings

   Pete

The light at the end of the tunnel has been turned off due to budget  
cuts.

Re: managing multiple dir files

[Tyler Smith]

On 2008-03-13, Peter Dyballa <Peter_Dyballa@Web.DE> wrote:
>
> Am 12.03.2008 um 17:42 schrieb Tyler Smith:
>
>> There's a fair bit of overlap in the last three. Any tips on how to
>> manage a combination of hand-rolled and debian-installed info files
>> would be most appreciated.
>
> The environment variable INFOPATH tells GNU Emacs where to look for  
> info files.
>
> If you want, you can edit the dir files and remove entries. The  
> utility install-info is used to maintain the dir file.
>

Thanks Peter!

INFOPATH doesn't seem to be defined on my system though. And I don't
understand why Debian would install the info file for, for example,
sbcl, in both /usr/local/info/dir and /usr/share/info/dir. I can fix
that myself, of course, but is there something I can do so that I
won't have to manually tweak the dir files everytime I install
documentation from the repositories?

Cheers,

Tyler

Re: managing multiple dir files

[Peter Dyballa]

Am 13.03.2008 um 13:24 schrieb Tyler Smith:

> I can fix
> that myself, of course, but is there something I can do so that I
> won't have to manually tweak the dir files everytime I install
> documentation from the repositories?

Check and correct their configure files or the files with directives  
how to build the package. I am using Fink on my Mac, which uses  
debian utilities to handle software packages. In their accompanying  
INFO files (not: TeX-Info) configure and compile options are  
recorded. By "localising" such a file and changing the options I can  
create and install the local version of that package – until it gets  
updated. This means that I have to install from source – which, in  
case of GCC 4.3, can take a whole day, 24 little hours ...

See how the build process works. Then decide where the (TeX-)INFO  
files are to be installed, looking into debian documentation on  
system layout? Then check which packages install into the wrong  
directory (and consider to write a bug report on each). Now see  
whether you can create a local variant. When building it has  
succeeded, you can remove the original one and then install your  
local variant. Finally purge all unnecessary and now old packages to  
regain disk space.

In the end there is manual work necessary. For some (faulty)  
packages, as another possible approach, it *might* work to uninstall  
them temporarily, and then create a sym-link from the wrong and now  
empty info directory, or better: instead of it, that points to  
correct info dir. Then it can work, that this sym-link is *not*  
overwritten and all additions are directed to the proper installation  
place. The update of the dir file will happen automatically and  
correctly with install-info.

--
Greetings

   Pete

A mathematician is a device for turning coffee into theorems.
				– Erdős Pál

Re: managing multiple dir files

[Peter Dyballa]

Am 13.03.2008 um 15:52 schrieb Peter Dyballa:

> it *might* work to uninstall them temporarily, and then create a  
> sym-link


I forgot to mention why it *might* work: some installation procedures  
check whether info is a directory. If not, it is "converted" to a  
directory.

I think the programmers of such procedures should explicitly be  
mentioned on the web.

--
Greetings

   Pete

Bigamy is having one wife too many. Monogamy is the same.
				– Oscar Wilde

Re: managing multiple dir files

[Tyler Smith]

On 2008-03-13, Peter Dyballa <Peter_Dyballa@Web.DE> wrote some handy
tips for managing my info tree:


Thanks Pete! I've gone through my dir files and reorganized them to my
liking. I'll keep an eye on them now, and find out which packages get
double-listed. Then I'll try digging into them and modifying the build
instructions, or submitting bug reports if appropriate.

Cheers,

Tyler