From: "Thomas R. Corbin" <tc@...>
Date: 2001-12-06T02:04:47+09:00
Subject: [ruby-talk:27568] RE:  Package Naming

Mark Hahn wrote:

> 
> I like java's dot-com convention.  It absolutely guarantees no name
> clashes.

        I like it too.  sometimes it seems clumsy, but then any hierarchy can have
it's disadvantages. 

> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: dave@thomases.com [mailto:dave@thomases.com]On Behalf Of Dave
> Thomas
> Sent: Tuesday, December 04, 2001 1:51 PM
> To: ruby-talk ML
> Subject: [ruby-talk:27485] Package Naming
> 
> 
> 
> Right now, the naming of packages is something of a free-for-all:
> people add their packages where they feel appropriate in the Ruby
> library namespace.
> 
> To a point, this is convenient for users. If I write a markup package,
> users can do something like:
> 
>    require 'markup'
> 
>    m = Markup.new(..)
> 
> However, as the library grows, I'm wondering if this simplicity could
> lead to problems as we get name clashes and general confusion: does
> the Trace module show program execution or outline graphic elements?
> 
> The Perl solution is to have a module hierarchy. My markup program
> might be in text/markup/simple.rb, and users would do something like
> 
>   require 'text/markup/simple'
> 
>   m = Text::Markup::Simple.new(...)
> 
> or
> 
>   require 'text/markup/simple'
> 
>   include Text::Markup
> 
>   m = Simple.new(...)
> 
> 
> However, this solution has its own drawbacks. As a user, all these
> long strings of names it pretty daunting. As a module writer, it's a
> pain to refactor, and moving things around ends up affecting a lot of
> source code.  Also, until Matz gets
> 
>   module Text::Markup
> 
> implemented, you end up with a fair amount of additional indentation
> in deeply nested files
> 
>   module Text
>     module Markup
>      module OutputFormatter
> 
>        class ToHtml ....
> 
> 
> So, what do folks think? Should we start implementing module
> hierarchies, or is there a better way. Should RAA.succ enforce all
> this?
> 
> 
> Cheers
> 
> 
> Dave