Re: progmodes/project.el and search paths

[Stefan Monnier]

> From what I see in project.el, this is an API for defining a set of
> directories.  I'm not saying that Emacs does not need such an API, but I
> would not call this a "project API".  What about things like setting up
> toolchains (compiler, linker, debugger), configurations (debug/release),
> support for external build systems, setting up environment variables and
> pre-processor symbols, and so on?

The point of view is very different: project.el is meant to provide to
the rest of Emacs the information needed to perform operations that
require knowledge about "the current project".

So the API is designed as a kind of "intersection (rather than union) of
all possible project systems".

Currently the "rest of Emacs" part that uses project knowledge is:
- text search within the project
- xref thingies
We could/should/will extend the API if there's a need for it in order to
implement further generic functionality.  I can imagine a few such
generic functions:
- "make"
- "run"
- flymake
I don't think any of those requires exposing concepts like toolchains or
compilers in the API (tho any particular implementation of that API
may/will probably be tailored to some particular toolchain/compiler
and/or will need to be taught bout the toolchain/compiler setup).


        Stefan