GNU bug report logs - #15284
wish: make the (name) field optional

Previous Next

Full log

Message #21 received at 15284-done <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Ricardo Wurmus <rekado <at> elephly.net>
To: 15284-done <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: wish: make the (name) field optional
Date: Thu, 16 Apr 2020 23:53:33 +0200

I agree with Ludo and Andreas that we better shouldn’t make the
name field optional.

That said, I just pushed a series of patches that happens to address
this wishlist item in a very roundabout way.  It is now possible to
build packages from JSON files like this:

--8<---------------cut here---------------start------------->8---
[
  {
    "name": "myhello",
    "version": "2.10",
    "source": "mirror://gnu/hello/hello-2.10.tar.gz",
    "build-system": "gnu",
    "arguments": {
      "tests?": false
    }
    "home-page": "https://www.gnu.org/software/hello/",
    "synopsis": "Hello, GNU world: An example GNU package",
    "description": "GNU Hello prints a greeting.",
    "license": "GPL-3.0+",
    "native-inputs": ["gettext"]
  },
  {
    "name": "greeter",
    "version": "1.0",
    "source": "https://example.com/greeter-1.0.tar.gz",
    "build-system": "gnu",
    "arguments": {
      "test-target": "foo",
      "parallel-build?": false,
    },
    "home-page": "https://example.com/",
    "synopsis": "Greeter using GNU Hello",
    "description": "This is a wrapper around GNU Hello.",
    "license": "GPL-3.0+",
    "inputs": ["myhello", "hello"]
  }
]
--8<---------------cut here---------------end--------------->8---

As you can see, there is no variable assignment, because this is JSON.
The “name” field is the only identifier, and its value can be used as an
input in other packages (see the reference to “myhello” in the “greeter”
package definition).

It’s really only tangentially related to what this issue is about, but
it’s as close as we can get to duplication-free syntax — even though
it’s JSON and not Scheme.  Look, there are also no labels for inputs!
Because there are no custom phases either…

--
Ricardo

Previous Next

GNU bug tracking system
Copyright (C) 1999 Darren O. Benham, 1997,2003 nCipher Corporation Ltd, 1994-97 Ian Jackson.