[Pkg-javascript-devel] node, js package naming schemes

[Jérémy Lal]

Hi,
we started with a simple package name scheme for Node and its modules :
for Node module xxx, distribute it as libnode-xxx and depend on nodejs.

Following the ruby team, moving to a simpler naming scheme would be
much less painful now than later...
Here are excerpts from [1] with s/ruby/node/ :

  The current libfoo-node naming, inspired from perl, is not really great.
  It would be better to move to the python naming, with node-foo.
  * Binary packages must normally be named "node-foo".
    If the package is mainly used as an application (not as a library),
    then it can be named "foo".
  * Source packages must have the same name as the "main" binary package.
    (our infrastructure is better at handling this case)

Question 1: since Node has its package named as "nodejs" in debian, the naming scheme
            could better be "nodejs-foo" ?

Some libraries are splittable in two packages :
* a part that can run in any javascript engine, think about node /and/ a web browser.
  that part could be named as "js-foo"
* a part that provides more functionnality to the pure js part, using node code.
  That part could be named "node-foo" depending on "js-foo".

The problem with "js-foo" package name is :
* there are already "libjs-foo" names
* "libjs" or "js" would make people think it is "browser-compatible", as one can
  think of current libjs packages now.

Question 2: a libjs-foo package means that foo software can run in a browser ?

Question 3: why not renaming libjs-foo to js-foo, then ?
            (Jonas, people are going to hate me for good)


Regards,
Jérémy.



[1]
http://wiki.debian.org/Teams/Ruby/Packaging#Single_package_for_all_Ruby_versions