Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!lll-winken!lll-lcc!ames!mailrus!cornell!rochester!rutgers!att!whuts!homxb!ho7cad!hoswjc!wjc From: wjc@ho5cad.ATT.COM (Bill Carpenter) Newsgroups: comp.emacs Subject: Re: New Improved Elisp Directory, part 0 of 3 Message-ID: Date: 28 Dec 88 22:03:32 GMT References: <33803@bbn.COM> Sender: nuucp@ho7cad.ATT.COM Reply-To: att!ho5cad!wjc Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories Lines: 38 In-reply-to: dsill@RELAY-NSWC.NAVY.MIL's message of 22 Dec 88 16:33:04 GMT In article <33803@bbn.COM> dsill@RELAY-NSWC.NAVY.MIL (Dave Sill) writes: > I'd like to make a request of contributors to the pool of free elisp. > It would be very helpful to all if you'd put a short header at the > beginning of any code you produce, not matter how small, simple, or > obvious you think it is. Such a header should contain: > > Name: the name of your product > Author: your name and net address and/or snail address > Date: date of release or last modification > Version: major version number and patch level > Description: what it does and any other info I'd like to suggest one elaboration. For "name", please use the name of the file where you imagine it ought to reside. As an unofficial keeper of things locally, I often grab what look like useful items even if I figure I won't use them personally. If they don't have a suggested filename, I make one up. The only trouble is that if updates come in or if the package becomes part of the official GNUemacs distribution, I might not be alert enough to realize it's something I already have someplace. Of course, this leaves lots of litter around in my local elisp directory. Here are some further nice things about filenames: 1. Avoid filenames the same as those already under $GNU/lisp, even if you intend your stuff as a complete replacement. Since I let others fish around in my local elisp directory, I'd prefer to not surprise them by pre-empting any standard stuff. 2. Just like $GNU/lisp, please use filenames that are 13 or fewer characters when you include the ".el". More than once yours truly has zapped the source file by byte-compiling something that happened to already be 14 characters. Sure made me feel smart. Thanks a heap, and thanks for the heaps (of elisp)! -- -- Bill Carpenter att!ho5cad!wjc or attmail!bill