Re: LYNX-DEV source size, source reorganization

[Nelson Henry Eric]

> > Timid request: can we split the distribution into two parts, the

And it should have stayed that way.  What little comment there was on
this thread was mostly negative, so I assumed it is a dead issue.  This
WILL be my last post on this topic, which is only done out of respect
and gratitude to the developers.

> You are mixing several things in this (is it a?) proposal.

Asking mostly for two things: 1) Some kind of distribution that is
less, and kept less, than 1MB in size, and 2) a top level directory
with fewer files and simpler directory structure.  Both ONLY proposals,
and I rescind the first since there is not that strong of a need.

> First you are talking about "the distribution".  I assume you mean the

Sorry, I don't know the right word; I meant, quoting Tom, any one of these:
-rw-rw-r--   1 165      21       2103005 Aug 29 01:45 lynx2.7.1ac-0.57.tar.Z
-rw-rw-r--   1 165      21       1367124 Aug 29 01:45 lynx2.7.1ac-0.57.tar.gz
-rw-rw-r--   1 165      21       1541875 Aug 29 01:45 lynx2.7.1ac-0.57.zip

> I am against having a final package which is split in any way, but
> especially if it is split along the line of docs vs. code.  Either the
[...]
> unnecessary, then we can get rid of them.  It takes only one mirrored copy
> in Japan to make faster downloading possible, right?
[...]
> to a "reduced functionality source package" with smaller size.  I don't
> think the demand would be high, but I may be wrong.  I don't think it's

You are correct on all accounts, so I must back down.  I do, and apologize
for even having wasted your and Tom's time.  The demand, as you point out,
is not great enough to warrant a less than desirable change.  (As to the
mirror, faster maybe, not necessarily possible.  I spent three weeks trying
to download a 500+kb tgz'd file from a busy site here in Japan.  The non-busy
`window' was very narrow, but now I'm again talking about my problems; sorry.)

> Well, if you want to follow the development code, just get the diffs from
> <URL: http://sol.slcc.edu/cgi-bin/lynx/patch>!  Get them in compressed
> form!  I don't really know how we can make it more convenient for you to
> get only what's needed.  I was specifically thinking about your situation
[...]
> http://sol.slcc.edu/lynx/current/lynx2-7-1/>.  You can get a list of
> changed filenames only from the patch page, if you want to download
> selected files manually.

I was not being facetious when I recommended people to use this service.
It really _is_ great.  I am thankful for this service, which I'm sure took
many hours to prepare.  To be frank, however, I am not skilled enough to
use it.  Also sometimes it does timeout, and I get an incomplete file.
Eventually it seems to get out of synchrony, and it is too much trouble
to try to get patch to work.  For me, a less automatic version, i.e.,
a series of small updaters like Tim Rowley's (sp) of a year or so ago, is
perfect.  Anyway, my own ineptitude is what forced me to give up on
current development code and only use Fote mods (about 600+kb to download,
which is hard, but not impossible).  I will give the manual downloading
of individual files a try, but for me it is probably too time consuming.

> Thirdly, you write about reorganizing the directory structure for
> documentation, as I understand it.  I agree that it may be hard to know
[...]
> One idea is to reduce the number of files in the top directory,
[...]
> this if possible :).  Someone should make a complete proposal, with the
> necessary edits, then if there is some agreement and no strong and valid
[...]
> If that script shuffles files around so that they end up being in
> places where they should be, and that applies for everybody, then it
> would be better we just put them in the right places so they won't

I like this idea, and this is the heart of my proposal. Anyway, *for
starters*, I would SUGGEST doing the appended operations on the top level
directory and applying the necessary patches (based on lynx2.7.1ac-0.28).
I would also like to move the VMS-specific files to a "VMS" directory,
but I am not qualified to really even suggest that.  The lynx-dev community
should comment, otherwise just let it be.

__Henry

rm docs/RFC-MAILCAP.txt
mv docs/README* lynx_help/
mv about_lynx/COPY* docs/
mv about_lynx/about* lynx_help/
rm -rf about_lynx
mv CHANGES2-* docs/
mv *.announce docs/
mv DESC docs/
mv PROBLEMS docs/
mv newfiles.* docs/
mv styles/lynx.lss samples/lynx.lss
rm -rf styles
mv test test-utils
mv utils/lpansi test-utils/
rm -rf utils

*** INSTALLATION.orig   Tue Feb 25 10:10:14 1997
--- INSTALLATION        Mon Sep  1 16:55:28 1997
***************
*** 61,67 ****
      Sun resolv library.
      On Sun systems you may need to define RESOLVLIB in the top Makefile
      to enable access to remote hosts.  See the comments in the Makefile
!     and PROBLEMS file for more information.
  
  VMS Step 1f.
      Downloading binary files.
--- 61,67 ----
      Sun resolv library.
      On Sun systems you may need to define RESOLVLIB in the top Makefile
      to enable access to remote hosts.  See the comments in the Makefile
!     and docs/PROBLEMS file for more information.
  
  VMS Step 1f.
      Downloading binary files.
***************
*** 180,186 ****
  
  
  UNIX Step 3.
!     Go ahead and test it out with the about_lynx/about_lynx.html file.
      You shouldn't need to install Lynx to test it.
      Once you are satisfied that it works, go ahead and install it.
  
--- 180,186 ----
  
  
  UNIX Step 3.
!     Go ahead and test it out with the lynx_help/about_lynx.html file.
      You shouldn't need to install Lynx to test it.
      Once you are satisfied that it works, go ahead and install it.
  
***************
*** 198,204 ****
            relying on the LYNX_CFG, LYNX_CFG_FILE, or WWW_HOME variables.
  
  VMS Step 3. 
!     Go ahead and test it out with the [.about_lynx]about_lynx.html file.
      You shouldn't need to install Lynx to test it.
      Once you are satisfied that it works, go ahead and install it.
  
--- 198,204 ----
            relying on the LYNX_CFG, LYNX_CFG_FILE, or WWW_HOME variables.
  
  VMS Step 3. 
!     Go ahead and test it out with the [.lynx_help]about_lynx.html file.
      You shouldn't need to install Lynx to test it.
      Once you are satisfied that it works, go ahead and install it.
  

*** README.orig Mon Sep  1 17:01:19 1997
--- README      Mon Sep  1 17:05:48 1997
***************
*** 26,32 ****
     Lynx is distributed under the GNU General Public License without
     restrictions on usage or redistribution, and is supported by the
     Lynx user community.  See the accompanying COPYHEADER and COPYING
!    files (in the about_lynx subdirectory) for more details.
  
     Certain portions of the Lynx source distribution were originally
     created by CERN and have been modified during the development of
--- 26,32 ----
     Lynx is distributed under the GNU General Public License without
     restrictions on usage or redistribution, and is supported by the
     Lynx user community.  See the accompanying COPYHEADER and COPYING
!    files in the docs subdirectory for more details.
  
     Certain portions of the Lynx source distribution were originally
     created by CERN and have been modified during the development of
***************
*** 37,43 ****
  
     A users guide is included in this distribution along with a man page
     for Unix systems and a help file for VMS systems. All documentation is
!    contained in this directory and the doc and samples subdirectories.
     
     While running Lynx, type 'h', 'H', or '?' to invoke the help menu
     system. From the help menu you may access several useful documents
--- 37,43 ----
  
     A users guide is included in this distribution along with a man page
     for Unix systems and a help file for VMS systems. All documentation is
!    contained in this directory and the docs and samples subdirectories.
     
     While running Lynx, type 'h', 'H', or '?' to invoke the help menu
     system. From the help menu you may access several useful documents
***************
*** 48,56 ****
     your site in order to lessen the load on http servers. This also will
     allow you to customize the help menu system for your site.
     
!    To install the help menu system, copy the lynx_help/ and about_lynx/
!    directories to a public place on your system. Then, edit the lynx.cfg
!    file so that the HELPFILE line is defined as follows:
     
  
        HELPFILE:file://localhost/[public_path]/lynx_help/lynx_help_main.html
--- 48,56 ----
     your site in order to lessen the load on http servers. This also will
     allow you to customize the help menu system for your site.
     
!    To install the help menu system, copy the lynx_help/ directory to a
!    public place on your system. Then, edit the lynx.cfg file so that the
!    HELPFILE line is defined as follows:
     
  
        HELPFILE:file://localhost/[public_path]/lynx_help/lynx_help_main.html
***************
*** 68,74 ****
  PROBLEMS
  
     If you experience problems installing or compiling Lynx, please read
!    the PROBLEMS file located in the source distribution. If your problem
     is not addressed there, there is a mailing list called lynx-dev which
     is frequented by Lynx experts. To subscribe to lynx-dev, send email to
     address@hidden with only the following message in the body: 
--- 68,74 ----
  PROBLEMS
  
     If you experience problems installing or compiling Lynx, please read
!    the PROBLEMS file located in the docs subdirectory. If your problem
     is not addressed there, there is a mailing list called lynx-dev which
     is frequented by Lynx experts. To subscribe to lynx-dev, send email to
     address@hidden with only the following message in the body: 


*** lynx_help_main.html.orig    Thu Feb 27 12:30:09 1997
--- lynx_help_main.html         Mon Sep  1 17:35:33 1997
***************
*** 24,31 ****
  >Lynx links</a>
  | <a href="http://www.slcc.edu/lynx/faq.html";
  >Lynx FAQ</a>
! <li><a href="../about_lynx/about_lynx.html">About Lynx</a>
! | <a href="../about_lynx/about_lynx-dev.html">About Lynx-Dev</a>
  | <a href="http://www.access.digex.net/~asgilman/lynx/FAQ/";
  >Al's Picks (FAQ)</a>
  </ul>
--- 24,31 ----
  >Lynx links</a>
  | <a href="http://www.slcc.edu/lynx/faq.html";
  >Lynx FAQ</a>
! <li><a href="about_lynx.html">About Lynx</a>
! | <a href="about_lynx-dev.html">About Lynx-Dev</a>
  | <a href="http://www.access.digex.net/~asgilman/lynx/FAQ/";
  >Al's Picks (FAQ)</a>
  </ul>
;
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