--- James Amundson <amundson@fnal.gov> wrote:
> > Finally I have some proposal about load command.
> > Right now it requires explicit share sub directory
> > load("subdir/file");
> > Is it worth to make this command a bit smarter?
> > In particular if no subdir is specified then load
> > should automatically scan all share subdirectories
> > and try to find the file in one of them.
>
> Another good question. I worried about that quite a bit, then decided
> that "smarter" was a bad idea. I think scanning all the
> subdirectories
> largely defeats the purpose of creating them in the first place. I'm
> particularly worried about the case where there are two files with
> the
> same name in different subdirectories.
>
> Feel free to try to convince me otherwise.
I can see it being a problem, but here are my arguements and a proposed
way out (as usual I'm not sure how difficult what I'm proposing would
be to impliment.)
The main arguement against specifying the directory (as far as I can
tell, anyway) is the extra typing needed. This sounds like a trivial
concern, but it will impact the usability of the system in the eyes of
users. There is another way things can be worked:
Have the system scan the subdirectories, and in the case of two or more
names which match, present the user with a list. Something like this
(simulated session):
Maxima 5.9.0pre-cvs (with enhancements by W. Schelter).
Licensed under the GNU Public License (see file COPYING)
(C1) load("diffeq.mac");
Multiple matches found for filename "diffeq.mac"
Select the package you want to use:
1) diffequations/diffeq.mac
2) graphics/diffeq.mac
3) numer/diffeq.mac
3
(D1) /usr/local/share/maxima/5.9.0pre-cvs/share/numeric/diffeq.mac
(C2)
Would that work?
CY
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