Re: Updating the GNU ELPA package of AucTeX

[Stefan Monnier <monnier@iro.umontreal.ca>]

> I've hoped that with the new Git ELPA, we could just checkout the
> savannah auctex repository as submodule, and then add some hacks to the
> makefiles to produce tarballs suitable for ELPA.  Won't work, no?

No, because:

   I'd very much prefer not having to run code from
   the package itself.

so I can't just run your makefile rule(s).

> Ah, btw, I think I've hunted down all past contributors that hadn't
> signed a CA already.  So now I think there's no file left that has to be
> excluded.

Great news, thank you.

>> So, the real problems are:
>> * Preview subdir:
>> I see two clean and easy ways to deal with:
>> - Split it (again) from AucTeX.
> I'd prefer to keep it in auctex.

Good.

>> - "mv preview/* ./; rmdir preview"
> I could live with that.  But why is a subdirectory a problem in the
> first place?

Because of the extra complexity in the build procedure.  Remember: it's
very simplistic.

>> * The .texi files:
>> The problem is not specific to auctex, so I'll have to come up with
>> a solution anyway, probably building the .info files during
>> construction of the ELPA package.
> If the build process would just run make, they'd be built.

As mentioned, running "make" is not an option.  But even I did run "make",
it wouldn't work: texinfo is not installed on that machine.

>> * The .dtx files:
>> Here, building the .sty during construction of the ELPA package is
>> not really an option.
> No LaTeX installed on the machine, or what's the matter?

Same as "make": automatically running TeX code from random contributors
is too risky for my taste.  But of course, TeX is not installed on the
machine either.


        Stefan