Re: Adding major or popular language modes to Emacs distribution

[Yuchen Pei]

Philip Kaludercic <philipk@posteo.net> writes:

> Yuchen Pei <hi@ypei.me> writes:
>
> > Hello,
> >
> > I notice some glaring omissions of modes supporting major / 
> > popular
> > languages like php, haskell and wikitext in Emacs, though there 
> > are
> > widely used versions available externally as packages.
>
> See the thread "Re: NonGNU ELPA work" from today: I submitted 
> patches
> for NonGNU ELPA, the repository that has been enabled for Emacs 
> 28+,
> adding new major modes, so that they can be installed without 
> any
> further configuration.

I'm aware of NonGNU ELPA and use it, thanks for adding packages 
there.  But I'm not sure it can substitute Emacs itself.

> > I feel it is important that Emacs support these languages 
> > natively.
>
> Why natively? With packages like gnu-elpa, the user can be 
> notified when
> a major mode exists for a file they have opened. The advantage 
> is that
> bug-fixes and improvements are not tied to Emacs releases but 
> can happen
> concurrently. The disadvantage is that it requires an internet
> connection.

This makes sense.  But does this mean if I want to add new 
language modes it should go to GNU ELPA rather than Emacs itself?

> > What is the process of adding these modes?  My understanding 
> > is:
> >
> > 1. Ask the maintainer of a mode to contribute the mode to 
> > Emacs.
>
> And any significant contributor have to sign the FSF copyright
> agreement.

I acknowledge this could be a reason why some packages don't make 
their way to GNU ELPA or Emacs, but it shouldn't be a reason why 
new modes satisfying the criteria shouldn't be added to GNU ELPA 
or Emacs.

> > 2. If for some reason the maintainer is unable or unwilling to 
> > add the
> > mode, someone writes the mode and contribute to Emacs.
> >
> > In step 2, is it conventional to add the mode to GNU ELPA 
> > first,
> > before moving it into Emacs itself?
> >
> > I am asking because I am interested in working on some of these 
> > modes.


--
Best,
Yuchen

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