[Slackbuilds-users] info files on submitted packages

[Grigorios Bouzakis]

On Sat, Aug 29, 2009 at 12:42:02AM -0500, Robby Workman wrote:
> On Tue, 25 Aug 2009 09:23:44 +0300
> "Grigorios Bouzakis" <grbzks at xsmail.com> wrote:
> 
> > It has come to my attention that the sumbitted scripts for packages
> > that install info files in /usr/info, common mostly in GNU tools, 
> > but not limited to those don't add entries to the /usr/info/dir 
> > file which makes autocompletion fail.
> > 
> > AFAIK Pat ships a custom dir file making sure that the entries there
> > reflect the packages part of Slackware. But if you install others 
> > the dir file isn't updated, at least not for the ones i've checked 
> > available on SBo.  I don't know what other implications this has, 
> > since i don't use the info files much.  But i have 3 packages 
> > installing one, msmtp, gtypist & ratpoison, & autocompletion fails 
> > for them all.
> > 
> > To deal with this there could be something like the following in
> > doinst.sh:
> > 
> > install-info /usr/info/$package.info $/usr/info/dir 2> /dev/null
> > 
> > that adds the entry to the dir file. Most tools in SBo don't have
> > multiple info files like it happens for example with a2ps in 
> > Slackware.
> > 
> > Of course that entry will stay there even if the custom installed
> > package is unistalled. It would need something like
> > install-info --delete /usr/info/$package.info $/usr/info/dir 2> /dev/null
> > but Slackware doesnt have a way to do that automatically upon package
> > removal.
> > 
> > Maybe it would be worth adding an entry to the doinst.sh in the
> > template.SlackBuild?
> > Thoughts?
> 
> 
> If (and that *is* an *if*) we do this, we would need to do it in a 
> way that's alternate-root safe.  Hypothetically speaking, if we do
> it, what happens *when* a package is removed and info's dir file 
> still has entry in it?  Does it simply enable autocompletion of a
> now nonexistent file(name), or does it cause any actual problems?
> 
> FWIW, I'm wondering all of this while (again) cursing the idea 
> that texinfo is somehow superior to mandoc.  Sheesh.
> 
> -RW

What happens here for example with 'info xboard' which i don't have
installed, is that instead of opening the info file which is missing, you
are presented with the contents of the dir file, so you can choose
another info file to look at. If you choose xboard it returns 'xboard:
no such file or directory'.
I don't think having entries for not existant info files in dir causes
any trouble, but on the other hand not updating the dir file, which is
how things work now, doesn't either.
You just can't complete them in command line, and invocking texinfo by
executing just info which gives you the contents of the dir file won't
present you with an option to view the info file for the application you
installed outside of Slackware.

BTW the entries above are not completely corrent. They should be:
install-info /usr/info/$PKGNAM.info /usr/info/dir 2> /dev/null
& install-info --delete /usr/info/$PKGNAM.info /usr/info/dir 2>
/dev/null

This could also be added into the info part of the SlackBuild eg.
# Compress info pages and remove the package's dir file
# If no info pages are installed by the software, don't leave this in
# the script
rm -f $PKG/usr/info/dir
gzip -9 $PKG/usr/info/*.info*
install-info /usr/info/$PKGNAM.info /usr/info/dir 2> /dev/null

instead of the doinst.sh script

-- 
Greg