Re: user-controlled load-path extension: load-dir

[Ted Zlatanov <tzz@lifelogs.com>]

On Tue, 08 Mar 2011 12:14:52 -0500 Chong Yidong <cyd@stupidchicken.com> wrote: 

CY> Ted Zlatanov <tzz@lifelogs.com> writes:
>> If you're against including the load-dir in the core and enabling it by
>> default, how about making it a GNU ELPA package so it's easily
>> installable?

CY> It's a bit too trivial to be a package.

CY> Just to be specific: are you simply asking for a function to iterates
CY> through the files in a directory loading them?  Or is it more
CY> complicated than that?

I'm asking for a defcustom, e.g. `load-dir', *in the Emacs core* which,
when set to a list of directories, will tell Emacs to load all the files
in the directory without recursion.  The default should be nil.  This
should not require .emacs modifications.

I suggested packaging it as an alternative in case it was not allowed in
the Emacs core.  I realize it seems trivial but it's really convenient
for managing snippets, ELisp files, and modularizing .emacs.

On Tue, 8 Mar 2011 10:30:14 -0800 Chad Brown <yandros@MIT.EDU> wrote: 

CB> It turns out that what Ted really wants is a way to load all the elisp
CB> files in a directory without listing them explicitly. The entire
CB> security, package, and downloader discussion (in which I suggested
CB> using el-get) was a side-effect of premature overgeneralization.

If this makes it into Emacs, the effect for Dimitri's el-get will be to
simplify the installer and make it Just Work, without modifying the
load-path.  In fact installing any ELisp .el file *manually* will be
simpler.  Helping el-get was the reason I started this thread, but I
have selfish reasons too: it would make my life much easier.

el-get may choose to use this facility directly as well (to manage
EmacsWiki recipes, for instance), but I don't know Dimitri's plans and
it already manages recipes in subdirectories.

Ted