Re: Question regarding load-path handling for ELPA packages

[Michael Heerdegen]

Xiyue Deng <manphiz@gmail.com> writes:

> Thanks for your expanded explanations and code pointers!  It helped me a
> lot in understanding how package.el handles `load-path'.  After some
> more investigation, it turns out the behavior I observe in dh-elpa
> installation path is actually a result of the existence of subdirs.el in
> its parent directory.  I have added an extended explanations in the
> Debian tracking bug[1].

I didn't investigate that much - but AFAIU
`normal-top-level-add-to-load-path' doesn't add subdirectories
recursively.  Or does it?

And - we are lucky and I'm on Debian, so I can have a look.

On my stable branch system, an emacs installation with package "auctex"
installed will not have subdirectories of auctex stuff installed.  After
startup I only see "/usr/share/emacs/site-lisp/auctex" and
"/usr/share/auctex" in `load-path'.  Or does your problem occur in
experimental only?

> I think one last question I'd like to ask is the direction of
> subdirectory handling in ELPA packages.  Though currently the case of
> auctex may cause breakage, this is in the minority and hence fixing it
> can be localized to just one package, while there may be benefits to do
> so for other cases.

What would those benefits be?

Note that subdirectories may contain random stuff like test files not to
be intended to be loaded for normal functioning at all.  It's not a
problem to keep the "normal" source code files in the top-level
directory - there is room enough there...  And keeping load-path small
makes lookup faster.  We may add a lot of unnecessary crap.  Things
would also get harder to investigate with load-path complicated in such
a way.  Any package still can add subdirectories explicitly.  In sum I
see more disadvantages.

Michael.