[Orgmode] ELPA [WAS] Re: [PROPOSAL] Quick and easy installation instructions

[Dan Davison]

Achim Gratz <address@hidden> writes:

> Dan Davison <address@hidden> writes:
>> OK, so we're agreed. But your points below don't seem to describe a less
>> technical route. Could you describe the less technical version of the
>> instructions for the method that you are advocating?
>
> Installing is something technical and I'm a tech-head, so you're asking
> something of me I'm not really qualified to do. :-)
>
> My points were:
>
> - I think that a proper installation via make is the way to go, but I
>   recognize that some folks don't want or need to do that.
>
> - There is a default place where Emacs expects this kind of stuff and
>   has some magic implemented to make it work without further
>   configuration, and that place is site-lisp.  You can put it someplace
>   else, but then you have to alter the load-path or you are at the mercy
>   of some special configuration to make the same magic work in other
>   places, too (I've had ~/lisp set up that way when I was still
>   compiling Emacs myself).
>
> - If org was delivered and compiled in 'org/' rather than 'lisp/', one
>   could instruct users to just take that folder and copy/drag it into
>   the site-lisp directory of their Emacs installation.  You can do that
>   with the lisp folder, but I'd at least tell people to please rename it
>   to org after doing the copy.
>
> If you want to get any less technical than that, I'd suggest ELPA or
> something like it (as has been discussed already in another thread).
> ELPA packages build and configure themselves as far as possible, so that
> should take out the guesswork for novice users.  Also it looks like it
> will come standard with Emacs24 (with a GNU archive and the possibility
> to add additional archives, which could take care of the "bleeding
> edge"), so there will be absolutely no "installation" work required from
> the user from then on.

Hi Achim,

Thanks, that was very helpful.

Using ELPA does seem like an attractive route, especially if it
(package.el) is going to be in Emacs24.

- How much work would it take to put and maintain Org-mode on ELPA?
- Would it make sense to have two different packages available via ELPA,
  i.e. Latest Release and Latest?
- Will it be possible for the Org project to have control over the files
  that ELPA points at (in which case we might be able to keep the latest
  updated a few times a day or something), or do we have to submit them
  to a server that's out of our control?
- Will ELPA be able to get the info files installed suitably?

Dan

>
>
> Regards,
> Achim.