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RE: RE: RE: Installing package "SpreadOption`"

  • To: mathgroup at smc.vnet.net
  • Subject: [mg35954] RE: [mg35826] RE: [mg35699] RE: [mg35673] Installing package "SpreadOption`"
  • From: "David Park" <djmp at earthlink.net>
  • Date: Fri, 9 Aug 2002 05:18:02 -0400 (EDT)
  • Sender: owner-wri-mathgroup at wolfram.com

I consider the ExtraPackages folder to be preferable to the Applications
folder  because I consider a package to be a resource and not an
"application". I expect that my various applications can use that resource.
I don't really like my Applications folder, at the top level, being filled
up with packages.

If the Applications folder is the "blessed" location for packages, why have
the ExtraPackages folder at all? It would be very easy for WRI to fix it so
that Mathematica automatically looked for palettes and style sheets in
ExtraPackages, just as it now does in Applications. Then people could put
the package in either place according to their own preference. Maybe, in
some cases, a package would come with many application notebooks, and the
package might mainly be designed for use with those  notebooks. Then the
Applications folder might be the preferred place. In other cases the package
might be a general package for wide use. Then the ExtraPackages folder would
be more appropriate.

David Park
djmp at earthlink.net
http://home.earthlink.net/~djmp/

From: Omega Consulting [mailto:omega_consulting at yahoo.com]
To: mathgroup at smc.vnet.net

Perhaps. I don't see why the ExtraPackages folder is
preferable to the Applications folder.

Regardless, all indications are that Applications is
the "blessed" location for packages.

--- David Park <djmp at earthlink.net> wrote:
> So, wouldn't it be a good idea if WRI automatically
> included
>
> FrontEnd`FileName[{$TopDirectory, "AddOns",
> "ExtraPackages", _, "FrontEnd",
>     "Palettes"}, CharacterEncoding -> "WindowsANSI"]
>
> on the PalettePath and
>
> FrontEnd`FileName[{$TopDirectory, "AddOns",
> "ExtraPackages", _, "FrontEnd",
>     "StyleSheets"}, CharacterEncoding ->
> "WindowsANSI"]
>
> on the StyleSheetsPath? Then complete packages could
> just be dropped into
> the ExtraPackages folder, where they would more
> logically belong, instead of
> putting them in the Applications folder.
>
> David Park
> djmp at earthlink.net
> http://home.earthlink.net/~djmp/
>
> From: Omega Consulting
To: mathgroup at smc.vnet.net
> [mailto:omega_consulting at yahoo.com]
>
>
> All of these are possible. Mathematica has a drop-in
> system as long as you
> understand the layout scheme (which is a bit
> complicated, but worth
> understanding). The trick is that each package gets
> its own directory.
> Avoiding the conflicts you describe above.
>
> All these properties are set by options, so let's
> look at an option:
>
> In[3]:=
> pp=PalettePath/.Options[$FrontEnd, PalettePath];
>
> Let's just look at one value, the others are
> similar.
>
> In[5]:=
> pp[[6]]
>
> Out[5]=
>
FrontEnd`FileName[{$TopDirectory,AddOns,Applications,_,FrontEnd,Palettes},
>    CharacterEncoding[Rule]WindowsANSI]
>
> This says look in $TopDirectory/AddOns/Applications
> for directories of any
> name. Then in those directories look for a
> FrontEnd/Palettes directory with
> *.nb files. If any of these files exist, when the
> front end is started,
> then it will be included in the Palettes menu.
>
> Similar things are done for StyleSheetPath and
> AddOnHelpPath (for
> documentation). There are also other more exotic
> paths like
> ConfigurationPath and SpellingDictionariesPath, but
> these are largely
> unused.
>
> So when I write a package it looks like this:
>
> MyPackageName/
>          MyPackages.m (Actual packages)
>                  Kernel/
>                          init.m (Stub package.
> Loaded by <<MyPackageName`)
>          FrontEnd/
>                  Palettes/
>                          MyPalettes.nb (Palettes)
>                  StyleSheets/
>                          MyStyleSheets.nb
> (Stylesheets)
>          Documentation/
>                  $Language/ (English, French,
> Japanese, etc.)
>                          BrowserCategories.m
> (Organization of docs)
>                          BrowserIndex.nb (Master
> Index entries)
>                          HelpFiles.nb (Actual
> documentation)
>
> Just drop the whole tree into the
> $TopDirectory/AddOns/Applications
> directory (a couple other directories work as well)
> and you're ready to go.
> (Except you have rebuild the help index, but
> otherwise you're set.)
>
>
>
--------------------------------------------------------------
> Omega Consulting
> "The final answer to your Mathematica needs"
>
> Spend less time searching and more time finding.
> http://www.wz.com/internet/Mathematica.html
>


=====
------------------------------------------------
Omega Consulting
"The final answer to your Mathematica needs"

Spend less time searching and more time finding.
http://www.wz.com/internet/Mathematica.html

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