Updated readme with new instructions and conventions.

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Dominik Picheta 2013-06-02 23:18:46 +01:00
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# Babel
Babel is a work in progress *package manager* for Nimrod.
Babel is a *beta*-grade *package manager* for the Nimrod programming language.
## Compiling babel
You will need the latest Nimrod compiler from github to compile babel.
You will need the latest Nimrod compiler from github to compile babel (version 0.9.2 may work).
Compiling it is as simple as ``nimrod c babel``.
Compiling it is as simple as ``nimrod c -d:release babel``.
## Babel's folder structure
Babel stores everything that has been installed in ~/.babel on Unix systems and
in your $home/.babel on Windows. Libraries are stored in $babelDir/libs.
in your $home/.babel on Windows. Libraries are stored in $babelDir/libs, and
binaries are stored in $babelDir/bin.
## Libraries
## Packages
By convention, if you have a single file with the same filename as your package
name, then you can include it in the same directory as the .babel file.
However, if you have other public modules whose names are quite common,
they should be included in a separate directory by the name of "PackageName", so
as to not pollute the namespace. This will mean that your main file can be
imported by simply writing ``import PackageName`` and all other public modules
can be imported by writing ``import PackageName/module``. This structure can be
seen being used by [jester](https://github.com/dom96/jester).
Babel works on git repositories as its primary source of packages. Its list of
packages is stored in a JSON file which is freely accessible in the
[nimrod-code/packages repository](https://github.com/nimrod-code/packages).
This JSON file provides babel with the required Git URL to clone the package
and install it. Installation and build instructions are contained inside a
ini-style file with the ``.babel`` file extension. The babel file shares
the package's name.
All private modules should be placed, by convention, in
a ``private`` folder, these are modules which
the user of your library should not be importing.
### Libraries
When babel installs a library it will copy all the files that it downloaded
into ``$babelDir/libs/pkgname-ver``. It's up to the package creator to make sure
that the package directory layout is correct, this is so that users of the
package can correctly import the package.
By convention, it is suggested that the layout be as follows. The directory
layout is determined by the nature of your package, that is, whether your
package exposes only one module or multiple modules.
If your package exposes only a single module, then that module should be
present in the root directory (the directory with the babel file) of your git
repository, it is recommended that in this case you name that module whatever
your package's name is. A good example of this is the
[jester](https://github.com/dom96/jester) package which exposes the ``jester``
module. In this case the jester package is imported with ``import jester``.
If your package exposes multiple modules then the modules should be in a
``PackageName`` directory. This will allow for a certain measure of isolation
from other packages which expose modules with the same names. In this case
the package's modules will be imported with ``import PackageName/module``.
You are free to combine the two approaches described.
In regards to modules which you do **not** wish to be exposed. You should place
them in a ``PackageName/private`` directory. Your modules may then import these
private modules with ``import PackageName/private/module``. This directory
structure may be enforced in the future.
All files and folders in the directory of where the .babel file resides will be
copied as-is, you can however skip some directories or files in your by setting
copied as-is, you can however skip some directories or files by setting
the 'SkipDirs' or 'SkipFiles' options in your .babel file.
## Example .babel file
#### Example library .babel file
```ini
; Example babel file
[Package]
name = "ProjectName"
version = "0.1.0"
author = "Dominik Picheta"
description = """Example .babel file."""
author = "Your Name"
description = "Example .babel file."
license = "MIT"
SkipDirs = "SomeDir" ; ./ProjectName/SomeDir will be skipped.
SkipFiles = "file.txt,file2.txt" ; ./ProjectName/{file.txt, file2.txt} will be skipped.
SkipDirs = "SomeDir" ; ./SomeDir will not be installed
SkipFiles = "file.txt,file2.txt" ; ./{file.txt, file2.txt} will not be installed
[Deps]
Requires: "nimrod >= 0.8.0"
Requires: "nimrod >= 0.9.2"
```
All the fields (except ``SkipDirs`` and ``SkipFiles``) under ``[Package]`` are
required.
required. ``[Deps]`` may be ommitted.
### Binary packages
These are application packages which require building prior to installation.
A package is automatically a binary package as soon as it sets at least one
``bin`` value, like so:
```ini
bin = "main"
```
In this case when ``babel install`` is invoked, babel will build the ``main.nim``
file and subsequently copy it into ``$babelDir/bin/``.
Dependencies are automatically installed before building.
## Dependencies
Dependencies are specified under the ``[Deps]`` section in a babel file.
The ``requires`` key is used to specify them. For example:
```ini
[Deps]
Requires: "nimrod >= 0.9.2, jester > 0.1 & <= 0.5"
```
Dependency lists support version ranges. These versions may either be a concrete
version like ``0.1``, or they may contain any of the less-than (``<``),
greater-than (``>``), less-than-or-equal-to (``<=``) and greater-than-or-equal-to
(``>=``). Two version ranges may be combined using the ``&`` operator for example:
``> 0.2 & < 1.0`` which will install a package with the version greater than 0.2
and less than 1.0.
## Submitting your package to the package list.
Babel's packages list is stored on github and everyone is encouraged to add