Subject: Re: installing elisp .el files

From: Ian Jackson <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 14 Aug 96 19:43 BST

Erick Branderhorst writes in private email (I hope he doesn't mind me
posting):
> I noticed that dpkg comes with debian-changelog-mode.el instead of
> a precompiled .elc file.
> 
> Here is a file elisp-comp which is used in several gnu packages as
> well for compiling and installing .el[c] files:

Hmm.  Is it really worth byte-compiling such a small file ?

If the Emacs maintainer tells me to do it I'll do it.  I'd also like
him to tell me what to put in the policy manual on this subject.

Thanks,
Ian.

---

From: Mark Eichin <[email-masked]>
Date: 14 Aug 1996 23:47:53 -0400

> Hmm.  Is it really worth byte-compiling such a small file ?

Byte-compilation depends much more on *speed* than size.  The
changelog mode doesn't do enough (I assume) to merit the speed
improvement... gnus, for example, really really needs to be byte
compiled.  mailcrypt, w3, vm, probably all do as well.  They also
happen to be big, but that's not the main issue, though there's some
correlation. 

Generally, if a package includes an elisp helper file, it probably
doesn't need to be byte-compiled. If the package is *written*
primarily in emacs, it's probably complex enough that speed is an
issue and should be byte compiled. In between it's a convenience
issue.

---

From: Ian Jackson <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 23 Aug 96 04:20 BST

Mark Eichin writes ("Re: installing elisp .el files"):
...
> issue and should be byte compiled. In between it's a convenience

Right.  I'd like to put that last paragraph in the policy manual, if I
may (lightly edited, probably).  Is that OK ?

It would also be good if something like the GNU people's
byte-compilation helper elisp-comp which Erick Branderhorst sent me
could be included in some appropriate package, so that packages can
just use it at build-time.  Let me know if and when this happens so
that I can mention it in the policy manual too.  Text fragments
appreciated, or I might get it wrong.

Ian.