Question - What is the consensus on library file distribution?

[vandersl]

Ok, so I am getting my feet wet in Lua, and to this point I have two scripts that both use libraries I have created, in addition to using some other libraries others have posted.

I would like to distribute the libraries with my scripts to simplify installation, but I am concerned about library dependencies, as someone might install an older version of the library by installing a package that includes the prior version. I have library version checks (at least for my own), but want to avoid compatibility issues.

I suppose one way is to always update all packages to have the latest library simultaneously, but that can be a chore. The other is to post the libraries as a separate resource, which complicates installation. Or I could ignore the problem.

The other question is how to handle dependencies on other folks libraries (e.g., LIP) that might not be available as stand-alone resources. I am thinking of distributing these myself but installing them into a separate folder with my own (e.g., Lua/lib/vs) to avoid breaking things.

Suggestions?

 

[aquietone]

Some people put their libraries in a folder like lib/ed for specialeds stuff or just embed them in the folder of their own script. Even if its a common library you may end up making tweaks to it like LIP in particular everyone that uses it is going in and making adjustments to the regex, so probably no two scripts that include it are including the same version. So personally, it seems best to just include it within your own folder if its just a utility you're using for your script. If its one that you want shared and reused by other people, then go with a separate resource like the dannet helpers.

 

[vandersl]

Some people put their libraries in a folder like lib/ed for specialeds stuff or just embed them in the folder of their own script. Even if its a common library you may end up making tweaks to it like LIP in particular everyone that uses it is going in and making adjustments to the regex, so probably no two scripts that include it are including the same version. So personally, it seems best to just include it within your own folder if its just a utility you're using for your script. If its one that you want shared and reused by other people, then go with a separate resource like the dannet helpers.

Thanks. I think the simplest overall is to just provide a copy (tweaked or stock) in my own folder if the original author isn't maintaining a resource. Same thing for my own - folks are free to copy for use in their own, but I probably won't be making my own library resource (too much hassle with backward compatibility, etc.)

 

[Knightly]

We also have luarocks, but for your own libraries you probably don't want to do that.