R SIG Debian - Mar 2008 - info files

Hi,

I'm a little confused as to how Debian deals with texinfo files. The R
docs are a good example of my problems, so maybe you folks can explain
how this works.

What I've noticed is that the texinfo files for R get appended/indexed
in /usr/share/info/dir as well as /usr/local/info. This results in
duplicated entries when I browse the info tree from Emacs. The only
solutions I can come up with involve personally editing the various
dir files on my system. This is not a good solution, as it requires
additional attention whenever I update the docs from the repositories.
Is there a better way to either set up things at my end, or to deal
with the way the docs are packaged?

The fact that I'm running Emacs 22.1.1 installed from sources provided
upstream may be part of this problem. (I got tired of trying to chase
down what parts of Emacs were Debian-approved, and which were
"non-free" or just plain missing).

Thanks for your continuing efforts!

Tyler

-- 
Friends don't let friends send Word documents

http://www.nothingisreal.com/dfki/no-word

On 13 March 2008 at 15:01, tyler wrote:
| I'm a little confused as to how Debian deals with texinfo files. The R
| docs are a good example of my problems, so maybe you folks can explain
| how this works.
| 
| What I've noticed is that the texinfo files for R get appended/indexed
| in /usr/share/info/dir as well as /usr/local/info. This results in

Careful. The Debian package places them in the former location as 'dpkg
-L'
on the package name shows you rather convincingly.  And no Debian package
will ever touch /usr/local [ apart from creating empty stanza directories
like /usr/local/lib/R/site-library/ ] ie no files should _ever_ be written
there.

| duplicated entries when I browse the info tree from Emacs. The only
| solutions I can come up with involve personally editing the various
| dir files on my system. This is not a good solution, as it requires
| additional attention whenever I update the docs from the repositories.
| Is there a better way to either set up things at my end, or to deal
| with the way the docs are packaged?

Now, if your question is how to combine entries from packages and from manual
install -- I don't have a good solution. I think you're own your own. 
Maybe
a system like doc-base can help.
 
| The fact that I'm running Emacs 22.1.1 installed from sources provided

Yes. Because now you have Debian and non-Debian messing around with your
texinfo index files. You may have to clean that up yourself.

When I play with newer emacsen. I typically just rebuild the Debian package
from unstable.

Dirk

-- 
Three out of two people have difficulties with fractions.