Re: package.el: bytecode portability across emacs versions

[David Kastrup]

Richard Stallman <address@hidden> writes:

>     I know that sharing bytecode is bad.  I just didn't know what to do
>     about it.
>
> You could put the bytecode in
> /usr/local/share/emacs/VERSION/site-lisp, which is a standard element
> of load-path, version-specific.  The source code could go in
> /usr/local/share/emacs/site-lisp.  If package.el finds the source
> code and not the binary, it can compile for the current Emacs version.

Emacs is not well-equipped to have source and byte code in different
directories.  For example, it messes with the load path order: Emacs
will prefer loading an .el file in an earlier place in the load-path
over a .elc file in a later place.

It also stops byte-recompile-directory from working and makes
list-load-path-shadow complain.

I don't say that such a system could not be supported, but it would
need code changes outside of package.el itself.

-- 
David Kastrup, Kriemhildstr. 15, 44793 Bochum