From: rise <rise@...>
Date: 2001-04-25T04:56:38+09:00
Subject: [ruby-talk:14173] Re: RCR, strange things in $:

On Wed, 25 Apr 2001, Dave Thomas wrote:

> In terms of versioning, I'd like to see some conventions appear.
>
> Every library file could implement some standard local
> variables. These won't pollute the user's name space, as they
> disappear during a load.
>
>   version = '1.2.3a'
>   author  = 'dave@thomases.com'
>   needs   = [ 'xmlparser >=1.2', 'soap ==2.0', 'errmsg <3.14']
>
>   module DemoModule
>
>      # ...
>   end

Did you intend that this would apply to .so libraries as well?

I'd like to request that if they disappear from the user's (current) name
space during load they're made available somewhere else (global hash,
Config entry, new library that records the information if it's loaded).
Versioning information would make version incompatibility work-arounds
much easier to write[1], and any CRAN library that ends up getting written
can probably use the information as well.

[1] Like the one in the long-delayed maintenance release of the English
    version of the Ruby/Tk widget demos wherein it has to check against
    Ruby's version instead of that of the Tk library.

--
Jonathan Conway 	   The thing about Unix is that all the hoops are
rise@knavery.net           flaming, so at least you know where they are...