From owner-freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG Mon Nov 24 08:24:40 2014 Return-Path: Delivered-To: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Received: from mx1.freebsd.org (mx1.freebsd.org [8.8.178.115]) (using TLSv1.2 with cipher AECDH-AES256-SHA (256/256 bits)) (No client certificate requested) by hub.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTPS id AF9EDFF3; Mon, 24 Nov 2014 08:24:40 +0000 (UTC) Received: from wp376.webpack.hosteurope.de (wp376.webpack.hosteurope.de [IPv6:2a01:488:42::50ed:8591]) (using TLSv1 with cipher AES256-SHA (256/256 bits)) (Client did not present a certificate) by mx1.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTPS id 6F67DEE6; Mon, 24 Nov 2014 08:24:40 +0000 (UTC) Received: from xdsl-78-35-77-132.netcologne.de ([78.35.77.132] helo=[192.168.2.65]); authenticated by wp376.webpack.hosteurope.de running ExIM with esmtpsa (TLS1.0:DHE_RSA_AES_128_CBC_SHA1:16) id 1Xsown-000376-LK; Mon, 24 Nov 2014 09:24:37 +0100 Message-ID: <1416817477.31598.5.camel@mccarthy> Subject: Re: value of maintaining emacs-mode packages in ports From: "Christopher J. Ruwe" To: Daniel Feenberg Date: Mon, 24 Nov 2014 09:24:37 +0100 In-Reply-To: References: <1416699134.31598.2.camel@mccarthy> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" X-Mailer: Evolution 3.10.4-0ubuntu2 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-bounce-key: webpack.hosteurope.de;cjr@cruwe.de;1416817480;7ee64e01; Cc: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org, freebsd-ports@freebsd.org X-BeenThere: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.18-1 Precedence: list List-Id: User questions List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , X-List-Received-Date: Mon, 24 Nov 2014 08:24:40 -0000 On So, 2014-11-23 at 07:32 -0500, Daniel Feenberg wrote: > > On Sun, 23 Nov 2014, Christopher J. Ruwe wrote: > > > > > In that light and as the ports maintainer of math/ess, the Emacs > > speaks statistics R-mode of emacs, I am asking myself specifically > > whether I add any real benefit in maintaining math/ess. More > > generally, I am interested in community answers as to whether it is > > really useful to maintain Emacs-extension-packages in ports. > > > > As a non-Emacs user, can I raise some questions that should be asked every > time a service/feature is withdrawn? > > If you stop maintaining math/ess, does it go away, or merely stop > improving? I think eventually math/ess would be retired on go away. Emacs package installation is available since Emacs 24 and I believe emacs23 is retired as of 19th November this year. > Does the Emacs package system support the same versions of Emacs that you > support in math/ess? I have the impression they are more up to date. Latest MELPA package is from the 14th (http://melpa.org/#/ess). > If a user upgrades FreeBSD will he lose what he has unless he converts to > the new Emacs package system? Emacs packages are more like plugins (cf. firefox). Upgrades of FreeBSD do not touch these. On upgrades of Emacs, users might need to recompile, if the chose to run compiled Emacs Lisp modules. > Is the Emacs package system something that requires an installation of its > own? A clear no. ESS is just an interface to the R language/interpreter (math/R). It can run without R installed, although it is not very useful in my opinion the same way that having a languange-mode for an arbitrary languae is not really useful without the corresponding language compiler/interpreter around. But people do strange things .. > May I suggest that if you let it go away, you place a README file where > Emacs-extension-packages was that points users to the replacement, with > instructions for how to get there? Not everyone using Emacs on FreeBSD > follows the mailing lists for FreeBSD, (or Emacs). I do not now procedures for deprecated ports. I see emacs modes alike to plugins in firefox, which are not packaged as well, so I see the idea of potentially retiring math/ess in the wider setting of giving up more or less all emacs extensions. Anyhow, thanks for your thoughts. Cheers, -- Christopher