RE: [Axiom-mail] Re: noweb

[Page, Bill]

Ralf, 

On Tuesday, August 08, 2006 4:37 PM you wrote:
> 
> On 08/08/2006 10:01 PM, Gabriel Dos Reis wrote:
> > |  Can I for sure assume that it is a build utility
> > |  only? 
> 
> I would say the answer is: For an ordinary user of Axiom
> noweb is not needed.
> 
> However, sooner or later a user wants to extend Axiom and 
> he/she should do that in a pamphlet style. So here noweb
> is needed.

You are right.

> 
> I see 4 versions
> a) bootstrap Axiom (need autoconf and friends)
> 
> b) building Axiom from source (need configure, noweb, etc.; 
> no autoconf)
> 
> c) use a binary Axiom (a .deb or .rpm package, no sources 
> needed if the .dvi/.pdf files are provided for the Axiom
> mathematics library, Aldor/SPAD compiler would be needed
> for compiling interactive functions in the interpreter)
> 
> d) extend Axiom (needs at least c) and an Aldor compiler and 
> noweb; no sources of the build machinery of Axiom is needed)
> 

I don't see any need to distinguish between c) and d). The
C compiler is needed in any case by lisp. The Axiom binaries
for linux all assume that gcc is present. In the case of
Window we actually have to install parts of the MinGW gcc
distribution in order to support the SPAD compiler.

Regards,
Bill Page.