[Gnu-arch-users] Re: Are pristine trees really dead?

[Pau Aliagas]

On Wed, 17 Dec 2003, Tom Lord wrote:

>     > What I propose is very simple:
>     > -add a create .arch-cache + make it the default revlib in the make 
> install 
>     >  script.
>     > Later on we can think of pruning processes. tla prune-library?
> 
> 
> I agree with the general principle but I'm confused on a few points.
> 
> You want to create .arch-cache in the "make install" script?   I
> thought that that was supposed to be ~/.arch-cache but not every user
> of arch is ever going to run "make install".

Woops, I feel embarrased. You are completely right. I need a double coffe 
and not working every day til 3 AM...

> Does this default library wind up in my library path?  Or is it just a
> default that is used when my library path is empty?   Sometimes, at
> least for testing purposes, I clear my library path expecting to get
> "library-less operation" -- I wouldn't want to see that stop working.
> 
> I'm also concerned about the presumably non-trivial number of users
> who's usual place to "do work" is on a different device from ~/.
> A default under ~/ won't work nicely with --link, sure.  But also, 
> I think it will just piss some users off if arch suddenly
> automagically starts storing large amounts of data under ~/.

It should be something like what you say: when no default is set, add them
in a ~/.arch-cache and warn the user. Show an explanation when the 
directory is created and point him to `tla my-revision-library -H`.

Until now pritines were added without you even noticing it (I'm sure 90%
of arch users do not even know what they are and that they have them, it
happened to me for a long time). We could do kind of the same thing but 
with a big initial warning.

Maybe we could add something like =latest in the library path and put
there the number of revisions kept per version. This number could be small
by default. I do not particulary like it veery much, but it would solve
these space management issues automatically for little-knowledgeable users
and newbies.

With these two things pristines would not be needed any more.

Pau