Re: [RFC] Micro-Init files in GNU ELPA

[Ted Zlatanov <tzz@lifelogs.com>]

On Thu, 05 Dec 2013 10:16:25 +0530 Jambunathan K <kjambunathan@gmail.com> wrote: 

JK> Ted Zlatanov <tzz@lifelogs.com> writes:
>> I think all of these will cause problems
>> 
>> - deprecation of variables
>> - incompatibility of snippets
>> - dependencies
>> - loss of configurability and visibility
>> - bug and maintenance burden on the submitters
>> - documentation (or lack thereof)

JK> My suggestion acknowledges the existing behaviour and merely
JK> systematizes it.

JK> My suggestion is a practical suggestion that need to be tested on the
JK> field and dismissed with a theoretical object.

Your suggestion is completely impractical if it doesn't consider the
practical problems I listed.  Saying "like GNU ELPA but for
configuration snippets" is like saying "like a car but flying and for
giraffes."  Let's talk about how it will fly.

>> I personally would not use or enjoy such a system.

JK> That's precisely the point.  You don't have to.

JK> Installing packages from GNU ELPA is optional.  Most intermediate to
JK> expert Emacs users will not use such a system.

JK> But new users will.

I am intermediate-to-expert and I use and love the GNU ELPA.  I'd love
to see a new way to configure Emacs; I remember discussing Assistants on
emacs-devel a while back.  Assistants are interactive wizards,
implemented by Lars years ago in Gnus but I have yet to figure out how
to use them as a programmer.  Assistants are much closer to what I'd
like to see in Emacs for new users.

Packages and configuration snippets are completely different things.
If you want to argue that they can be treated the same way at the user
level, take the practical concerns I listed into consideration.  Those
are concerns with any package system you present to a user.

Ted