DIP11: Automatic downloading of libraries

[Mike Wey]

On 06/15/2011 11:10 PM, Andrei Alexandrescu wrote:
> On 6/15/11 3:48 PM, Mike Wey wrote:
>> First i didn't read all of the posts in this thread, so some of these
>> might already be answered.
>>
>> In the first paragraph the DIP talks about Automatic downloading of
>> *libraries* while all the posts here talk about downloading files.
>> This is also reflected in the "Package case" paragraph since the
>> compiler / separate tool will first try to download a .di file.
>> Which generally is a d import or header file, which doesn't need to
>> include the implementation, so the compiled library should also be
>> downloaded or linking would fail, right?
>
> That is correct. We need to address the scenario in which a .di file
> requires the existence of a .a/.lib file.
>
>> Also the proposal doesn't do anything with versioning, while larger
>> updates will probably get a different url, bug fixes might still
>> introduce regressions that silently break an application that uses the
>> library.
>
> I think this is a policy matter that depends on the URLs published by
> the library writer.

But a different url for every bugfix would be difficult to maintain.

>
>> And now you'll have to track down witch library introduced the
>> bug, and more importantly your app broke overnight and while you didn't
>> change anything. (other that recompiling)
>>
>> To find out how downloading the files would work i did some tests with
>> GtkD.
>>
>> Building GtkD itself takes 1m56.
>> Building an Helloworld app that uses the prebuild library takes 0m01.
>>
>> The Helloworld app need 133 files from GtkD.
>> Building the app and the files it needs takes 0m24.
>>
>> The source of the HelloWord application can be found here:
>> http://www.dsource.org/projects/gtkd/browser/trunk/demos/gtk/HelloWorld.d
>>
>
> Thanks for the measurements. So my understanding is that the slow
> helloworld essentially compiles those 133 files from GtkD in addition to
> helloworld itself?

Yes, thats correct.

>
>
> Thanks,
>
> Andrei

-- 
Mike Wey