Re: [bug-gettext] Why not have po-mode.el on GNU ELPA?

[Jordon Biondo]

Thanks for the reply, 

Firstly, po-mode.el has a
bunch of portability hacks, which cause several warnings when compiled
with the latest Emacs.  If we put it on GNU ELPA, we might need to
adjust them, perhaps breaking compatibility with older Emacs (though
personally I tend to agree with that).

Compatibility hacks are not uncommon for emacs packages, but I can say I compiled it as a package on the latest development branch without any problems recently. So I don't see a big issue there even if there are a few warnings as long as it works correctly with the hacks.

 the authors would need to assign copyright for Emacs, as well as for gettext.

This is true, but if getting authors to assign copyright is a problem there are other ELPA repositories besides the official GNU one, Melpa being the most popular. As long as po-mode is licensed for distribution outside official gettext channels, getting it on Melpa would be very simple. Though I do think GNU ELPA would be most appropriate.

I will write to emacs-devel, and get their thoughts.

Thanks

On Mon, Jul 27, 2015 at 9:09 PM, Daiki Ueno <address@hidden> wrote:

Jordon Biondo <address@hidden> writes:

> Is there a reason po-mode is distributed solely with gettext and not
> as a standalone emacs package on GNU ELPA or MELPA? Having po-mode
> available for a M-x install-package would make getting and using the
> package much easier.

Good idea.

However, I have a couple of minor concerns.  Firstly, po-mode.el has a
bunch of portability hacks, which cause several warnings when compiled
with the latest Emacs.  If we put it on GNU ELPA, we might need to
adjust them, perhaps breaking compatibility with older Emacs (though
personally I tend to agree with that).

Secondly, if I understand correctly, the packages on GNU ELPA are
covered by the same FSF copyright condition as Emacs itself.  If
po-mode.el were a part of GNU ELPA, the authors would need to assign
copyright for Emacs, as well as for gettext.

> Maybe this is something I should bring up with emacs-devel and not
> bug-gettext, but it would probably involve work between the two groups
> regardless.

Yes.  There are also several packages in a similar condition, e.g.,
idna.el in GNU libidn, rec-mode.el in GNU recutils.  It would be good to
confirm with emacs-devel if there is any consensus on having such
packages on GNU ELPA.

Regards,
--
Daiki Ueno