[Info-vax] Looking to find a way to pull all the Open Source / Freeware folks together

[Phillip Helbig---remove CLOTHES to reply]

In article <hbh25e$on5$3 at online.de>, helbig at astro.multiCLOTHESvax.de
(Phillip Helbig---remove CLOTHES to reply) writes: 

> Some questions: should UNZIP then create a subdirectory
> where the stuff goes, or should it be unpacked where the ZIP file is
> (but, of course, perhaps with subdirectories)?  

IF UNZIP will create a subdirectory for all the stuff it unpacks, then 
it should include the version of the package so that the directory name 
will be unique.  I would prefer this to having the ZIP file within its 
own tree, so to speak.

> How should executables 
> and object files be named to differentiate between architectures?  

Have the extension .EXE, not .*EXE*.  Put the architecture name before 
the dot.  Ditto for .OBJ.

No ODS-5 nonsense!

> How 
> is the package built?

Every package should have, in the top-level directory, BUILD.COM.  This 
should work whatever the default directory is when it is called, it 
should prompt the user for all parameters (with an option to use 
defaults, if appropriate), it should not turn on privs but rather exit 
with an error if they are not there, and exit with a warning if they 
are (and tell the user to call it with a special parameter to make sure 
no privs are used without the user really knowing about it).  (In most 
cases, no privs would be needed to BUILD something, except for adding 
stuff to the HELP library.  The builder should need to call only this 
procedure, and no other.

> Documentation: Best would be HELP files which can be inserted into a 
> library for third-party products (i.e. not from HP and not from 
> individual users for their non-shared stuff).  

HELP files, such as those with ZIP and UNZIP, should be required.

> Is it too much to expect 
> BOOKREADER documentation?

Probably, but those who provide it will henceforth be seen as gods.

> Reference: Should the user define symbols, logical names etc as 
> described in the documentation, or should each package have procedures 
> to be executed a) at startup and b) from SYS$SYLOGIN or wherever to set 
> things up in a way which is guaranteed not to clash with anything else?

I think the procedure is the way to go.  If symbols etc should be set up 
by hand, then we need to agree on the naming of executables etc.  (Are 
those for different hardware in the same directory with different names 
or with the same names in different directories or something else?)