[comp.emacs] version 19

casey@gauss.llnl.gov (Casey Leedom) (02/05/90)

| From: davidsen@crdos1.crd.ge.com (bill davidsen)
| 
| | From: schwartz@psuvax1.cs.psu.edu (Scott Schwartz)
| | 
| | The description of version 19 sounds interesting.  I hate to ask, but
| | how big is it going to be?
| 
|   If you have to ask you can't afford it.

  I'll probably get my ass flamed for this, but I gotta put it in ...

  I would feel a lot better about the size GNU Emacs if a lot of the real
crap that has accumulated in it was moved off into a completely separate
sub-directory and given the status of ``interesting hacks, user
contributed software, etc. that you might want to grub through for
possible installation'' and have the default ``install'' node in that
sub-directory's Makefile simply return without installing anything.

  It's really unbelievable what's managed to find it's way into GNU emacs
over the years.  It appears as if any piece of code no matter how silly
that was sent in was simply tossed in (this is mostly with regard to the
lisp and etc sub-directories.)  I mean, Zippy the Pinhead quotes belong
in a systems programming tool??  That kind of stuff (and a lot more)
besides should not be installed by default.

  Similar comments apply to the current method of installing the etc
sub-directory contents: it's simply copied enmass to the libdir!!!  There
are probably only ten or so files that are actually necessary to
install.  (Part of the problem here is that the top level Makefile is
taking responsibility for installing the etc sub-directory Makefile which
is an ugly violation of modularity.  The top level Makefile should simply
do a ``cd etc; make install $(MFLAGS) $(OPTIONS)'' and let the etc
sub-directory Makefile do what's necessary.

  In any case, enough bitching.  Note that I will simply delete any
flames sent in my direction without reading them, so don't even bother.

Casey

P.S.  I should note that I really think that GNU emacs has some really
    nice features, I'm just grossed out by its size.  It's obscene.
    It's two to three times the size of most UNIX kernels after all!!

P.P.S.  One particular complaint about GNU Emacs 18.55 (and all previous
    versions that I've used): the apropos command is nearly useless.  It
    takes far to long to operate even on the fastest machines.  When I
    use apropos in jove the first screen full of information is out almost
    immediately after I type the return.  Grumble, grumble ...  (If you
    decide to follow this point up you should probably change the subject
    to something like ``GNU emacs apropos is too slow.'')

ix@cosmo.UUCP (Redaktion ix) (07/11/90)

I'm looking for the newest Emacs version, 19. Is there
anyone in Germany who's got it?
Please reply to
	ix@cosmo
or
	js%ulf@cosmo
Juergen Seeger
iX-Redaktion