Message-Id:	<3.0.1.16.19981101083112.1c0ff2f6@shadow.net>
X-Sender:	ralphgpr AT shadow DOT net
X-Mailer:	Windows Eudora Light Version 3.0.1 (16)
Date:	Sun, 01 Nov 1998 08:31:12
To:	Eli Zaretskii <eliz AT is DOT elta DOT co DOT il>
From:	Ralph Proctor <ralphgpr AT shadow DOT net>
Subject:	Re: "port"
Cc:	djgpp AT delorie DOT com
In-Reply-To:	<Pine.SUN.3.91.981101142343.6846X-100000@is>
References:	<3 DOT 0 DOT 1 DOT 16 DOT 19981030090009 DOT 24879dc0 AT shadow DOT net>
Mime-Version:	1.0
Reply-To:	djgpp AT delorie DOT com

At 02:24 PM 11/1/98 +0200, you wrote:

>However, since we live in a non-ideal world, some ports might be less
>than ``ideal'', especially if they are lying around for a long time
>and nobody has cared enough to get them up-to-date with the latest
>versions of compiler/linker/libraries/Windows/whatever.

I wonder if some of these were ad-hoc projects that served an
immediate purpose, did well, but then there was to effort to
improve the docs for wider use. This is understandable.
No complaints about this from me. But when somebody says
"I uploaded a port of ___________to djgpp" then one would
expect more.

>> Examples: Gnuplot and Calc are deemed to have djgpp "ports". I don't think
>> so.

>I have never said Calc was ported. 

No, you did not. I got the idea on my own somehow.

>I did say I have managed to make 
>it work for me,

So did I but I was never able to convert the .el files to .elc files.
"Make" did nothing.
Nor was I ever told in the readme how to do this other than just "make".

>and I have sent my patches and instructions to apply
>them to several people who asked for them, but I didn't have enough
>time to create a DJGPP-compatible package good enough to be uploaded
>for general use.  A single person can only do this much.

I understand.
But sometime in the future, IMHO, since this is a very good math
accessory to EMACS, I do think the porting problem should be
solved for DJGPP. I would guess all EMACS lovers (provided there
is no disk-space problem) would want this installed. Even if one
prefers hand-held calculators as I do Calc still is a very interesting
thing to have with EMACS.

Later it became clear that my good hand-held graphics calculators make things
easier and more practical for me than Calc, so I really don't need it, but
it is a 
good add-on to EMACS and it just sort of irks me that I never solved the
installation problem.

>As for Gnuplot, my information indicates that there's a public beta
>release of version 3.6 which should support building with DJGPP, at
>this URL:
>
>      ftp://cmpc1.phys.soton.ac.uk/pub/gnuplot-beta340.tar.gz

Thanks, Eli. I'll check this out. For now my DOS and Windows versions of
this good program are doing just fine.

>> A recommended methodology would be appreciated.
>
>The best methodology (IMHO) would be if everybody who made some
>package work for them would make some more effort to package it in
>DJGPP-standard way and upload it to SimTel.  If you see some
>supposedly ported package that needs work to really build with DJGPP,
>and contacting the person who did the original port doesn't work, just
>go ahead and upload the version that worked after you changed that.

I agree. Now I see that I am making too much of the term "port".
A "Here's how I got _______________to work with DJGPP" put in the
mail archives would do just as well.

Thanks for your help

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