Re: [OctDev] Test web-site of new octave-forge web-site including all packages

[David Bateman]

John W. Eaton wrote:
> On 10-Oct-2006, John Swensen wrote:
>
> | This is slightly off-topic, but related to the package manager.  Is 
> | there plans now that there will be pre-packaged, individual tar.gz files 
> | for each package to do something like 'pkg dl 
> | <package_name_without_version>' to download the most recent package 
> | file?  Maybe even a 'pkg upgrade' or something like that to check for 
> | more recent version and prompt the user to upgrade package-by-package?  
> | If you are not averse to this idea, I would be willing to work on it 
> | (probably using wget or curl, I think most machines have one of these two).
> | 
> | Suggested commands:
> | pkg netlist
> | pkg netinstall
> | pkg netupgrade
>
> Octave now has urlwrite, which is based on curl, so you could do the
> download step directly in Octave.
>
> See also this thread:
>
>   https://www.cae.wisc.edu/pipermail/bug-octave/2006-October/000877.html
>
> jwe
>
>   
I'd think what needs to be done to pkg before adding new features is fix
it so that corrupted install diretcories of .octave_packages file won't
throw it of. Try the following....

1) Start installing a package and interrupt in during the process
(either with ctrl-c of a kill to octave). Then trying installing it
again.... The installation directory is created but the .octave_packages
file has no reference, and the result will be a failure that is
permanent until the install directory is removed. The solution is is to
     a) Give a clear message of why it failed and ask the user to remove
the installation directory
     b) Add a "-force" option to pkg that will install in any case
overwriting the existing directory

2) Try to fully install a package then "rm -fr" the packages directory.
You are then in a state where the package is identified in the
.octave_packages file and you can't upgrade or reinstall the package as
the directory is missing. To fix this pkg should be modified so that
gives a sensible message for this case, and removes the entry from the
.octave_packages file. Whether it then goes on to do the requested
function could then be optional..

Just time has prevented me from fixing the above points, as pkg works
without it in all but error states, and the fix won't change the pkg
files in any case.

D.



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