RE: PATCH: zsh/pcre module

["Andrej Borsenkow" <Andrej.Borsenkow@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

>
> Bart Schaefer wrote:
> >
> > Incidentally, I'm not entirely sure I approve of adding this PCRE module
> > to the regular zsh distribution.
>
> I agree with Bart here in some respects.
>
> How easy is it to package up modules separately in such a way that they
> could be built and installed without needing to be unpacked over the zsh
> source and compiled with it. Ideally, we would have a set of include
> files which was all anyone needed to build a separate zsh module.
>

That is what I'm still thinking about.

I'm afraid currently there is no easy way to separate modules and main zsh.
We do not have well defined interfaces; even worse, with modules
cross-references you'd need extra stuff for every dependent module that is
needed to compile a module (ough ...). Also, chained dynamic loading is not
well supported on many plattforms.

What I am really considering is more Apache-like scheme. Modules can be
packaged separately but still need to be included in sources (registered?).
Every module is to large extend independent; you unpack it, do something
like

configure --with-zsh-dir=...

and it will modify zsh configuration to include this module (whatever it
means). It must not be configure (it is well possible that this should be
pre-configure task). After that you just do make and it will compile module
*and* recompile zsh main if needed.

But it is still very vague; and there are some other more urgent things
(module dependencies in the first place).

-andrej