Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!cs.utexas.edu!samsung!uakari.primate.wisc.edu!bin
From: bin@primate.wisc.edu (Brain in Neutral)
Newsgroups: comp.windows.x
Subject: Re: imake considered useful (was Re: R5 Wish List (Imake to the bitbucket))
Message-ID: <2773@uakari.primate.wisc.edu>
Date: 18 Jul 90 15:50:36 GMT
References: <5005@labtam.oz>
Sender: bin@primate.wisc.edu
Reply-To: bin@primate.wisc.edu
Lines: 33

From article <5005@labtam.oz>, by timr@labtam.oz (Tim Roper):
> In article <2767@uakari.primate.wisc.edu>, bin@primate.wisc.edu (Brain in Neutral) writes:
>> Or is it just me?  I really like imake a lot, but found I have to invest
>> quite a bit of time trying to understand it before I was able to take
>> it and use it for my own projects.  Is this unusual?
> 
> [This note is in support of Paul's view with a subjective assessment of my
> experiences with imake etc.]

Well, while we're on the subject of imake...

I've been thinking lately of how to be able to reuse configuration
files for multiple projects that may or may not be related, without
having to have a full set for each project (Imake.tmpl, site.def,
Project.tmpl, Imake.rules, etc.)  I've written up some scribblings
about how this might be done; if anyone would like to read it and
give me feedback, send mail.

The problem I've tried to solve is this:
how can the number of configuration files to be maintained be
minimized and how can configuration files be shared among projects
without sacrificing the ability to specify project-specific
information as necessary?

I freely admit that this may not even be a problem at all, i.e.,
that the standard X11R4 Imake.tmpl architecture might allow this
somehow.   But I couldn't figure out how to do it without making
some changes.  (The "Configuration Management in the X Window Sytem"
document does hint at sharing the master template and the .cf files
"among various development efforts", but it's no more than a hint.)

Paul DuBois
dubois@primate.wisc.edu