Re: package-vc support for :files keyword

[Philip Kaludercic]

Daniel Fleischer <danflscr@gmail.com> writes:

> Hi, I've been testing package-vc support in Emacs 29. It's clear that
> this feature is inspired by 3rd party packages that help users install
> packages from external forges. 

I have never used any of the other packages managers, primarily because
they seem to peruse different goals.  The primary motivation for
package-vc is to make it easy to hack on packages that are already
available on an ELPA and contribute these changes upstream via commands
like `package-vc-prepare-patch'.  The fact that it can be used as the
primary method for package.el to fetch sources is an "unintended"
consequence.

>                                Also, it makes sense that the Melpa
> recipe specification compatibility is not a goal. 

Right, as the primary technical inspiration for package-vc has been
elpa-admin, and therefore we (re-)use GNU ELPA-style package
specifications.

>                                                   However, I do think
> the `:files' keyword is very useful to have, and was wondering whether
> it's planned, maybe in master?

No, just like `:ignored-files' I do not see a sensible way to implement
it without compromising on the primary goal mentioned above.  Generally
speaking, this is a style of package development that {GNU,NonGNU} ELPA
would like to advise against perusing, in favour of a
one-repo-per-package approach.  Do you have a specific reason why you
think that something like `:{ignored-,}files' are useful in general
(i.e. not just because of the contingent fact that MELPA has popularised
this form of development).

But just like :make and :shell-command, or use-package support was not
intended in the beginning, I don't insist on anything as long as a
good compromise can be found.  I just have my doubts, since supporting
this would probably run against a number of basic assumptions that
package-vc was written around.
    
> Thanks,