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+
The XEmacs Packages Quick Start Guide
-------------------------------------
-This text is intended to help you get started installing a new XEmacs
-and its packages from start. For details see the 'Startup Paths' and
-'Packages' sections of the XEmacs info manual.
+This text is intended to help you get started installing a new XEmacs and
+its packages. For more details see the 'Startup Paths' and 'Packages'
+sections of the XEmacs info manual.
-Real Real Quickstart FAQ
-------------------------
+* Real Real Quickstart FAQ
+--------------------------
Q. Do I need to have the packages to compile XEmacs?
-A. No, XEmacs will build and install just fine without any packages
- installed. However, only the most basic editing functions will be
- available with no packages installed, so installing packages is an
+
+A. Theoretically, no -- XEmacs will build and install just fine without any
+ packages installed. However, only the most basic editing functions will
+ be available with no packages installed, so installing packages is an
essential part of making your installed XEmacs _useful_.
Q. I really liked the old way that packages were bundled and do not
want to mess with packages at all.
+
A. You can grab all the packages at once like you used to with old
XEmacs versions, skip to the 'Sumo Tarball' section below.
+Q. How do I tell XEmacs where to find the packages?
+
+A. Normally, you put the packages under $prefix/lib/packages, where
+ $prefix is specified using the `--prefix' parameter to `configure'.
+ (See `Package hierarchies' below). However, if you have the packages
+ somewhere else (e.g. you're a developer and are compiling the packages
+ yourself, and want your own private copy of everything), use the
+ `--package-path' parameter, something like this:
+
+ configure --package-path="~/.xemacs::/src/xemacs/site-packages:/src/xemacs/xemacs-packages:/src/xemacs/mule-packages" ...
+
Q. After installing, I want XEmacs to do `foo', but when I invoke it
(or click the toolbar button or select the menu item), nothing (or
an error) happens, and it used to work.
+
A. See the first FAQ; you may be missing a package that is essential to
you. You can either track it down and install it, or install the
`Sumo Tarball' (see the second FAQ).
-A note of caution
------------------
+* A note of caution
+-------------------
The XEmacs package system is still in its infancy. Please expect a few
minor hurdles on the way. Also neither the interface nor the structure is
backwards compatibility as quirks are worked out over the coming
releases.
-Some Package Theory
--------------------
+* Some package theory
+---------------------
In order to reduce the size and increase the maintainability of XEmacs,
the majority of the Elisp packages that came with previous releases
the right place. On startup XEmacs will find them, set up the load
path correctly, install autoloads, etc, etc.
-Package hierarchies
--------------------
+* Package hierarchies
+---------------------
-On Startup XEmacs looks for packages in so called package hierarchies.
-These can be specified by the 'package-path' parameter to the
-'configure' script. However by default there are three system wide
-hierarchies.
+On Startup XEmacs looks for packages in so-called package hierarchies.
+Normally, there are three system wide hierarchies, like this:
+
+$prefix/lib/xemacs/xemacs-packages/
+ Normal packages go here.
-$prefix/lib/xemacs/site-packages
+$prefix/lib/xemacs/mule-packages/
+ Mule packages go here and are only searched by MULE-enabled XEmacsen.
+
+$prefix/lib/xemacs/site-packages/
Local and 3rd party packages go here.
-$prefix/lib/xemacs/mule-packages
- Only searched by MULE-enabled XEmacsen.
+This is what you get when you untar the SUMO tarballs under
+$prefix/lib/xemacs.
-$prefix/lib/xemacs/xemacs-packages
- Normal packages go here.
+$prefix is specified using the `--prefix' parameter to `configure', and
+defaults to `usr/local'.
+
+If your packages are located in the above directories, XEmacs will
+automatically find them at startup; however, if you have your packages
+somewhere else (e.g. you're a developer and are compiling the packages
+yourself, and want your own private copy of everything), you can tell
+XEmacs specifically where to look for the packages by using the
+`--package-path' parameter to the 'configure' script. Normally, it looks
+like this:
+
+configure --package-path="~/.xemacs::/src/xemacs/site-packages:/src/xemacs/xemacs-packages:/src/xemacs/mule-packages" ...
-Where to get the packages
--------------------------
+See `configure.usage' for more info about the format of this parameter.
+
+* Where to get the packages
+---------------------------
Packages are available from ftp://ftp.xemacs.org/pub/xemacs/packages
and its mirrors.
-How to install the packages
----------------------------
+* How to install the packages
+-----------------------------
+There are a few different ways to install packages:
-1. All at once, using the 'Sumo Tarball'.
-2. By hand.
-3. Automatically, using the package tools from XEmacs.
+ 1. Automatically, using the package tools from XEmacs.
+ 2. Manually, using individual package tarballs.
+ 3. Manually, all at once, using the 'Sumo Tarball'.
-The Sumo Tarball
-----------------
+** Automatically, using the package tools from XEmacs
+-----------------------------------------------------
-Those with little time, cheap connections and plenty of disk space can
-install all the packages at once using the sumo tarballs.
-Download the file
+XEmacs comes with some tools to make the periodic updating and
+installing easier. It will notice if new packages or versions are
+available and will fetch them from the FTP site.
+
+Unfortunately this requires that a few packages are already in place.
+You will have to install them by hand as above or use a SUMO tarball.
+This requirement will hopefully go away in the future. The packages
+you need are:
-xemacs-sumo.tar.gz
+ efs - To fetch the files from the FTP site or mirrors.
+ xemacs-base - Needed by efs.
-For an XEmacs compiled with Mule you also need
+and optionally:
-xemacs-mule-sumo.tar.gz
+ mailcrypt - For PGP verification of the package-index file.
-N.B. They are called 'Sumo Tarballs' for good reason. They are
-currently about 15MB and 2.3MB (gzipped) respectively.
+After installing these by hand, fire up XEmacs and follow these
+steps.
-Install them by
+ (1) Choose a download site.
+ - via menu: Tools -> Packages -> Set Download Site
+ - via keyb: M-x customize-variable RET package-get-remote RET
+ (put in the details of remote host and directory)
-cd $prefix/lib/xemacs ; gunzip -c <tarballname> | tar xf -
+ If the package tarballs _AND_ the package-index file are in a
+ local directory, you can: M-x pui-set-local-package-get-directory RET
-As the Sumo tarballs are not regenerated as often as the individual
-packages, it is recommended that you use the automatic package tools
-afterwards to pick up any recent updates.
+ (2) Obtain a list of packages and display the list in a buffer named
+ "*Packages*".
+ - menu: Tools -> Packages -> List & Install
+ - keyb: M-x pui-list-packages RET
-Installing by Hand
-------------------
+ XEmacs will now connect to the remote site and download the
+ latest package-index file.
-Fetch the packages from the ftp site, CDROM whatever. The filenames
+ The resulting buffer, "*Packages*" has brief instructions at the
+ end of the buffer.
+
+ (3) Choose the packages you wish to install.
+ - mouse: Click button 2 on the package name.
+ - keyb: RET on the package name
+
+ (4) Make sure you have everything you need.
+ - menu: Packages -> Add Required
+ - keyb: r
+
+ XEmacs will now search for packages that are required by the
+ ones that you have chosen to install and offer to select
+ those packages also.
+
+ For novices and gurus alike, this step can save your bacon.
+ It's easy to forget to install a critical package.
+
+ (5) Download and install the packages.
+ - menu: Packages -> Install/Remove Selected
+ - keyb: x
+
+** Manually, using individual package tarballs
+----------------------------------------------
+
+Fetch the packages from the FTP site, CD-ROM whatever. The filenames
have the form name-<version>-pkg.tar.gz and are gzipped tar files. For
a fresh install it is sufficient to untar the file at the top of the
-package hierarchy. For example if we are installing the 'xemacs-base'
-package in version 1.27:
+package hierarchy.
-mkdir $prefix/lib/xemacs/xemacs-packages # if it does not exist yet
-cd $prefix/lib/xemacs/xemacs-packages
-gunzip -c ...../xemacs-base-1.27-pkg.tar.gz | tar xf -
+Note: If you are upgrading packages already installed, it's best to
+remove the old package first (see 'Upgrading/Removing Packages' below).
-For MULE related packages, it is best to untar in the mule-packages
-hierarchy, i.e. for the mule-base package, version 1.25
+For example if we are installing the 'xemacs-base'
+package (version 1.48):
-mkdir $prefix/lib/xemacs/mule-packages # if it does not exist yet
-cd $prefix/lib/xemacs/mule-packages
-gunzip -c ...../mule-base-1.25-pkg.tar.gz | tar xf -
+ mkdir $prefix/lib/xemacs/xemacs-packages RET # if it does not exist yet
+ cd $prefix/lib/xemacs/xemacs-packages RET
+ gunzip -c /path/to/xemacs-base-1.48-pkg.tar.gz | tar xvf - RET
-Installing automatically
-------------------------
+Or if you have GNU tar, the last step can be:
-XEmacs comes with some tools to make the periodic updating and
-installing easier. It will notice if new packages or versions are
-available and will fetch them from the ftp site.
+ tar zxvf /path/to/xemacs-base-1.48-pkg.tar.gz RET
-Unfortunately this requires that a few packages are already in place.
-You will have to install them by hand as above or use a SUMO tarball.
-This requirement will hopefully go away in the future. The packages
-you need are:
+For MULE related packages, it is best to untar into the mule-packages
+hierarchy, i.e. for the mule-base package, version 1.37:
- efs - To fetch the files from the ftp site or mirrors.
- xemacs-base - Needed by efs.
+ mkdir $prefix/lib/xemacs/mule-packages RET # if it does not exist yet
+ cd $prefix/lib/xemacs/mule-packages RET
+ gunzip -c /path/to/mule-base-1.37-pkg.tar.gz | tar xvf - RET
-and optionally:
+Or if you have GNU tar, the last step can be:
+
+ tar zxvf /path/to/mule-base-1.37-pkg.tar.gz RET
+
+
+** Manually, all at once, using the 'Sumo Tarball'
+--------------------------------------------------
- mailcrypt - If you have PGP installed and want to verify the
- signature of the index file.
- mule-base - Needed if you want to use XEmacs with MULE.
+Those with little time, cheap connections and plenty of disk space can
+install all the packages at once using the sumo tarballs.
+Download the file:
-After installing these by hand, you can start XEmacs. (It is a good
-idea to use 'xemacs -vanilla' here as your startup files might need
-things now moved to packages.)
+ xemacs-sumo.tar.gz
- - First you need to specify an FTP site to use.
- Use Options->Manage Packages->Add Download Site
- or M-x customize-variable RET package-get-remote RET
+For an XEmacs compiled with Mule you also need:
- Alternatively, if you already have the packages on a local disk
- then you can specify this directly using 'M-x
- pui-add-install-directory'. Please make sure you also have a
- corresponding copy of the package index there.
+ xemacs-mule-sumo.tar.gz
- - Invoke Options->Manage Packages->List & Install
- or M-x pui-list-packages RET
- XEmacs will now first try to fetch a new version of the package
- index from the FTP site. Depending on whether you are using
- 'mailcrypt/PGP', you will get some question about keys to fetch or
- whether to use the index without verifying the signature. If the
- new index was different from the one already on disk, XEmacs will
- offer you to overwrite the old index.
+N.B. They are called 'Sumo Tarballs' for good reason. They are
+currently about 19MB and 4.5MB (gzipped) respectively.
-- XEmacs will show you a buffer named "*Packages*" with an overview
- of available and installed packages, including a short description.
- In this buffer you can select which packages you want using the
- mouse or using RET.
+Install them by:
-- When you are finished choosing packages, invoke
- 'Packages->Install/Remove Select' from the menu or type 'x' to
- begin installing packages.
+ cd $prefix/lib/xemacs ; gunzip -c <tarballname> | tar xvf - RET
-After Installation
-------------------
+Or, if you have GNU tar:
-New packages can only be used by XEmacs after a restart.
+ cd $prefix/lib/xemacs ; tar zxvf /path/to/<tarballname> RET
-Note to MULE users
-------------------
+As the Sumo tarballs are not regenerated as often as the individual
+packages, it is recommended that you use the automatic package tools
+afterwards to pick up any recent updates.
+
+* After Installation
+--------------------
-Unlike all other packages the mule-base package is used at build/dump
-time. This means that you need this available before compiling XEmacs
-with MULE. Also it is a good idea to keep packages that are
-MULE-only separate by putting them in the mule-packages hierarchy.
+Updated packages can only be used by XEmacs after a restart.
-Which Packages to install?
---------------------------
+* Which Packages to install?
+----------------------------
This is difficult to say. When in doubt install a package. If you
administrate a big site it might be a good idea to just install
xemacs-base, xemacs-devel, c-support, cc-mode, debug, dired, efs,
edit-utils, fsf-compat, mail-lib, net-utils, os-utils, prog-modes,
-text-modes, time
+text-modes, time, mailcrypt
-Unfortunately the package system currently provides neither
-dependencies nor conflicts. This will be a future enhancement. The
-above set includes most packages that are used by others.
+If you are using the XEmacs package tools, don't forget to do:
+
+ Packages -> Add Required
+
+To make sure you have everything that the packages you have chosen to
+install need.
See also '.../etc/PACKAGES' for further descriptions of the individual
-packages (currently outdated).
+packages.
-Upgrading/Removing Packages
----------------------------
+* Upgrading/Removing Packages
+-----------------------------
As the exact files and their locations contained in a package may
change it is recommended to remove a package first before installing a
Note that the interactive package tools included with XEmacs already do
this for you.
-User Package directories
-------------------------
+* User Package directories
+--------------------------
In addition to the system wide packages, each user can have his own
-packages installed in "~/.xemacs/xemacs-packages". If you want to
-install packages there using the interactive tools, you need to set
-'pui-package-install-dest-dir' to "~/.xemacs/xemacs-packages"
+packages installed under "~/.xemacs/". If you want to install packages
+there using the interactive tools, you need to set
+'package-get-install-to-user-init-directory' to 't'
-Site lisp/Site start
---------------------
+* Site lisp/Site start
+----------------------
The site-packages hierarchy replaces the old 'site-lisp' directory.
XEmacs no longer looks into a 'site-lisp' directly by default.
A good place to put 'site-start.el' would be in
$prefix/lib/xemacs/site-packages/lisp/
-Finding the right packages
---------------------------
+* Finding the right packages
+----------------------------
If you want to find out which package contains the functionality you
are looking for, use M-x package-get-package-provider, and give it a
-symbol that is likely to be in that package. For example, if some
-code you want to use has a (require 'thingatpt) in it, try doing
-M-x package-get-package-provider RET thingatpt , which will return
-something like: (fsf-compat "1.06").
+symbol that is likely to be in that package.
+
+For example, if some code you want to use has a (require 'thingatpt)
+in it:
+
+ M-x package-get-package-provider RET thingatpt RET
+
+which will return something like: (fsf-compat "1.08").
projects / chise / xemacs-chise.git.1 / blobdiff