>From: Derick Eddington <xxxxxx@gmail.com>
Subject: Re: Please drop the ^main^ thing
Date: Fri, 25 Sep 2009 11:23:22 -0700

> It's not only for single-component library names.  If you have libraries
> (acme foo), (acme foo helper1), and (acme foo helper2), you may want
> them all organized under "acme/foo".
[...]
> A collection of libraries with common prefix (acme ---) might have an
> (acme) library and you may want all the libraries organized under
> "acme".  I don't know how usual this will be.
>
> I've been under the impression there's enough demand for the
> organize-under-the-same-directory ability of the implicit file name to
> justify supporting it.  I could be wrong.  Am I?

Just as a data point, I don't have desire to organize a library
under a single directory.   I don't mind the library tarball
expands into acme/foo.sls, acme/foo/helper1.sls, acme/foo/helper2.sls...

> Being able to organize all libraries with a shared name prefix under the
> same directory seems desirable so that, when managing the related
> libraries, the directory is the single thing for them, instead of having
> to remember there's also the file outside the directory and also deal
> with it.  E.g., a collection with (acme) library is distributed in a
> tar/zip with files all under the "acme" directory, and when you want to
> move/delete it you only need to remember and deal with the directory.

That sounds plausible, but most of the time I go for
some kind of install process, for libraries may need
some sort of setup depending on the environment.  Some
libraries needs to install other components anyway
(e.g. auxiliary helper command).  Then it is safer
to rely on 'uninstall' make target.

Simple libraries may not need that, but it is a burden
to remember which ones need to be explicitly uninstalled
and which ones are just ok to remove single directory.
Since not all libraries are that simple, each library
needs to provide uninstall instruction anyways; I won't
rely on my memory and just remove one directory.

(I'm not proposing sophisiticated package managing
utility; good old make does the job.)

--shiro