This page explains what a package is, and the steps you can take to contribute one.
If you are familiar with all this, just click here for the Contribute a new script page.
Help for contributing a package
What's a package?
A script is a single item of source code that someone can copy from the site and run in a REBOL console window.
A package is anything more complicated than that:
- A script that needs other scripts or files to work
- An encapped (or equivalent) binary file. These run directly from the operating system (not the REBOL console), and may have multiple versions for different platforms - the package may consist of several copies of the same encapped application with instructions to donwload the appropriate one for the user's platform
In the first release of package support, a package has two parts:
- A script in the Library. This is likely to be fairly basic, mainly the instructions for downloading the package
- The package -- one or more files, one or more of which has to be downloaded by the user to make a fully-working application of their computer.
More on these two parts below:
[1/2] The script part
This is not quite a dummy script. Think of it more as a visible header or index card
So it's the place for the Library Header details, and any notes you want the end user to read before they download your package.
Important points about the script header:
- Library Header type field -- must include package -- without that, you will not be able to upload the files in the package.
- REBOL Header file -- this, in effect, is the package name. It's the name that a user will quote to retrieve package elements with the downloader.
It should also contain the instructions for downloading the package.
Those instructions could be the one-line invocation of the standard Library Package downloader, eg
do http://www.rebol.org/library/public/repack.r
Or you could supply some code that implements your own downloader. You may need to do this if you have a package whose installation is more complicated than the standard downloader can handle. Click this link if you want to know more about that.
[2/2] The package part
Is a set of files you have either:
- Uploaded from your computer; or
- Included from existing Library scripts
and can be downloaded by the user to install the package.
More information on this here.
Contributing a package -- summary
- Use Contribute a new script to add the basic script header.
- Remember to set the Library Header type to include package
- When you click the update button, you'll be taken to the upload package files page