README.en

[README for APEL (English Version)]

What's APEL?
============

  APEL stands for "A Portable Emacs Library".  It consists of
  following modules:

    poe.el --- emulation module mainly for basic functions and special
	       forms/macros of latest emacsen
      poe-xemacs.el  --- for XEmacs
      poe-18.el	     --- for Emacs 18/Nemacs
         env.el      --- env.el for Emacs 18
      localhook.el   --- hook functions for Emacs 19.28 and earlier.

    poem.el --- provide basic functions to write portable MULE
		programs
      poem-nemacs.el --- for Nemacs
      poem-ltn1.el   --- for Emacs 19/XEmacs without MULE
      poem-om.el     --- for MULE 1.*, 2.*
      poem-20.el     --- shared module between Emacs 20 and XEmacs-MULE
      poem-e20_2.el  --- for Emacs 20.1/20.2
      poem-e20_3.el  --- for Emacs 20.3
      poem-xm.el     --- for XEmacs-MULE

    invisible.el --- provide features about invisible region
      inv-18.el     --- for Emacs 18
      inv-19.el     --- for Emacs 19
      inv-xemacs.el --- for XEmacs

    mcharset.el --- provide MIME charset related features
      mcs-nemacs.el --- for Nemacs
      mcs-ltn1.el   --- for Emacs 19/XEmacs without MULE
      mcs-om.el     --- for MULE 1.*, 2.*
      mcs-20.el     --- shared module between Emacs 20 and XEmacs-MULE
      mcs-e20.el    --- for Emacs 20
      mcs-xm.el     --- for XEmacs-MULE
      mcs-xmu.el    --- for XEmacs-MULE to unify ISO646 characters

    static.el --- utility for static evaluation

    broken.el --- provide information of broken facilities of Emacs

    pccl.el --- utility to write portable CCL program
      pccl-om.el --- for MULE 2.*
      pccl-20.el --- for Emacs 20/XEmacs-21-MULE

    alist.el: utility for Association-list

    calist.el: utility for condition tree and
	       condition/situation-alist

    path-util.el: utility for path management or file detection

    filename.el: utility to make file-name

    install.el: utility to install emacs-lisp package

    mule-caesar.el: ROT 13-47-48 Caesar rotation utility

    emu.el --- (emu bundled in tm-7.106 compatibility module; it
	        required poe, poem and mcharset)
      emu-mule:	for MULE 1.*, 2.*
      richtext.el   --- text/richtext module
			for Emacs 19.29 or later,
			    XEmacs 19.14 or later
      tinyrich.el   --- text/richtext module for old emacsen

    pcustom.el --- provide portable custom environment

      tinycustom.el --- emulation module of custom.el


Installation
============

(a) run in expanded place

  If you don't want to install other directories, please do only
  following:

	% make

  You can specify the emacs command name, for example

	% make EMACS=xemacs

  If `EMACS=...' is omitted, EMACS=emacs is used.

(b) make install

  If you want to install other directories, please do following:

	% make install

  You can specify the emacs command name, for example

	% make install EMACS=xemacs

  If `EMACS=...' is omitted, EMACS=emacs is used.

  You can specify the prefix of the directory tree for Emacs Lisp
  programs and shell scripts, for example:

	% make install PREFIX=~/

  If `PREFIX=...' is omitted, the prefix of the directory tree of the
  specified emacs command is used (perhaps /usr/local).

  For example, if PREFIX=/usr/local and Emacs 20.2 is specified, it
  will create the following directory tree:

	/usr/local/share/emacs/20.2/site-lisp/	--- emu
	/usr/local/share/emacs/site-lisp/apel/	--- APEL

  You can specify the lisp directory for Emacs Lisp programs,
  for example:

	% make install LISPDIR=~/elisp

  You can also specify the version specific lisp directory where the
  emu modules will be installed in, for example:

	% make install VERSION_SPECIFIC_LISPDIR=~/elisp

  If you would like to know what files belong to the emu modules or
  the apel modules, or where they will be installed in, for example,
  please type the following command.

	% make what-where LISPDIR=~/elisp VERSION_SPECIFIC_LISPDIR=~/elisp

  You can specify other optional settings by editing the file
  APEL-CFG.  Please read comments in it.

(c) install as a XEmacs package

  If you want to install to XEmacs package directory, please do
  following:

	% make install-package

  You can specify the emacs command name, for example

	% make install-package XEMACS=xemacs-21

  If `XEMACS=...' is omitted, XEMACS=xemacs is used.

  You can specify the package directory, for example:

	% make install PACKAGEDIR=~/.xemacs

  If `PACKAGEDIR=...' is omitted, the first existing package
  directory is used.

  Notice that XEmacs package system requires XEmacs 21.0 or later.


load-path (for Emacs or MULE)
=============================

  If you are using Emacs or Mule, please add directory of apel to
  load-path.  If you install by default setting with Emacs 19.29 or
  later or Emacs 20.1/20.2, you can write subdirs.el for example:

  --------------------------------------------------------------------
  (normal-top-level-add-to-load-path '("apel"))
  --------------------------------------------------------------------

  If you are using Emacs 20.3 or later or XEmacs, there are no need to
  set up load-path with normal installation.


Version specific information
============================

For Emacs 18 users: "old byte-compiler" vs "new byte-compiler"

  In this package, we use compile-time evaluation heavily.
  Unfortunately, the byte-compiler bundled with Emacs 18 (the "old
  byte-compiler") does not have features such as `eval-when-compile'
  and `eval-and-compile', and our emulation version of these macros
  evaluate "compile-time evaluation" at load-time or at run-time!
  In addition, the "old byte-compiler" cannot compile top-level use of
  macros and leaves most of our code uncompiled.

  Therefore, we recommend you to use the "new" optimizing byte-compiler.
  It is the origin of byte-compiler bundled with Emacs 19 and later.

  Optimizing byte-compiler for Emacs 18 is available from the Emacs
  Lisp Archive and its mirrors.

  In Mule 1.* days, "contrib" package for Mule 1.* was distributed and
  it contained the "new byte-compiler" for Mule.  But, I think it is
  difficult to obtain this package now.

  AFAIK, the "new byte-compiler" for Emacs 18 is also bundled with SKK
  9.6.  It includes patch for Mule 1.*.


For Emacs 19.34 and XEmacs 19.14 users: "old custom" vs "new custom"

  "custom" library bundled with Emacs 19.32 - 19.34, XEmacs 19.14, and
  Gnus 5.2/5.3 is "old", its API is incompatible with "new custom"
  bundled with Emacs 20.1, XEmacs 19.15, or newer, and Gnus 5.4/5.5.

  "new custom" for Emacs 19.34 and XEmacs 19.15 - 20.2 is available
  from the following URL.

  ftp://ftp.dina.kvl.dk/pub/Staff/Per.Abrahamsen/custom/custom-1.9962.tar.gz

  (Note that "new custom" bundled with XEmacs 19.15 - 20.2, and Gnus
  5.4/5.5 is older than this version.)

  Before installing "new custom", you should check the following points.

    1) If you stick to Gnus 5.2/5.3 (or any other applications which
       use "old custom"), you should not install "new custom".

    2) If you use Mule (based on Emacs 19), you must apply this patch
       to "new custom".

----8<------8<------8<------8<------8<------8<------8<------8<----
--- custom-1.9962/cus-face.el~	Wed Mar  4 19:52:39 1998
+++ custom-1.9962/cus-face.el	Mon Mar  9 08:05:33 1998
@@ -96,7 +96,7 @@
       "Define a new FACE on all frames, ignoring X resources."
       (interactive "SMake face: ")
       (or (internal-find-face name)
-	  (let ((face (make-vector 8 nil)))
+	  (let ((face (make-vector face-vector-length nil)))
 	    (aset face 0 'face)
 	    (aset face 1 name)
 	    (let* ((frames (frame-list))
----8<------8<------8<------8<------8<------8<------8<------8<----

    3) Applications compiled with "custom" require the same version of
       "custom" at load-time (and run-time).  Therefore, if you use
       "new custom", you must always include "new custom" in your
       load-path.  The easiest way to achieve this is "subdirs.el";
       if you installed "new custom" in "/usr/local/share/emacs/19.34/
       site-lisp/custom/", put the following line to "/usr/local/share/
       emacs/19.34/site-lisp/subdirs.el".

       (normal-top-level-add-to-load-path '("custom"))


How to use
==========

alist
-----

Function put-alist (ITEM VALUE ALIST)

  Modify ALIST to set VALUE to ITEM.  If there is a pair whose car is
  ITEM, replace its cdr by VALUE.  If there is not such pair, create
  new pair (ITEM . VALUE) and return new alist whose car is the new
  pair and cdr is ALIST.

Function del-alist (ITEM ALIST)

  If there is a pair whose key is ITEM, delete it from ALIST.

Function set-alist (SYMBOL ITEM VALUE)

  Modify a alist indicated by SYMBOL to set VALUE to ITEM.

  Ex. (set-alist 'auto-mode-alist "\\.pln$" 'text-mode)

Function modify-alist (MODIFIER DEFAULT)

  Modify alist DEFAULT into alist MODIFIER.

Function set-modified-alist (SYMBOL MODIFIER)

  Modify a value of a SYMBOL into alist MODIFIER.  The SYMBOL should
  be alist. If it is not bound, its value regard as nil.

path-util
---------

Function add-path (PATH &rest OPTIONS)

  Add PATH to `load-path' if it exists under `default-load-path'
  directories and it does not exist in `load-path'.

  You can use following PATH styles:

    load-path relative: "PATH" (it is searched from
				`default-load-path')

    home directory relative: "~/PATH" "~USER/PATH"

    absolute path: "/FOO/BAR/BAZ"

  You can specify following OPTIONS:

    'all-paths --- search from `load-path' instead of
	           `default-load-path'

    'append --- add PATH to the last of `load-path'

Function add-latest-path (PATTERN &optional ALL-PATHS)

  Add latest path matched by regexp PATTERN to `load-path' if it
  exists under `default-load-path' directories and it does not exist
  in `load-path'.

  For example, if there is bbdb-1.50 and bbdb-1.51 under site-lisp,
  and if bbdb-1.51 is newer than bbdb-1.50, and site-lisp is
  /usr/local/share/emacs/site-lisp,

	(add-latest-path "bbdb")

  it adds "/usr/local/share/emacs/site-lisp/bbdb-1.51" to top of
  `load-path'.

  If optional argument ALL-PATHS is specified, it is searched from all
  of `load-path' instead of `default-load-path'.

Function get-latest-path (PATTERN &optional ALL-PATHS)

  Return latest directory in default-load-path which is matched to
  regexp PATTERN.  If optional argument ALL-PATHS is specified, it is
  searched from all of load-path instead of default-load-path.

  Ex. (let ((gnus-path (get-latest-path "gnus")))
        (add-path (expand-file-name "lisp" gnus-path))
        (add-to-list 'Info-default-directory-list
		     (expand-file-name "texi" gnus-path))
        )

Function file-installed-p (FILE &optional PATHS)

  Return absolute-path of FILE if FILE exists in PATHS.  If PATHS is
  omitted, `load-path' is used.

Function exec-installed-p (FILE &optional PATHS SUFFIXES)

  Return absolute-path of FILE if FILE exists in PATHS.  If PATHS is
  omitted, `exec-path' is used.  If SUFFIXES is omitted,
  `exec-suffix-list' is used.

Function module-installed-p (MODULE &optional PATHS)

  Return non-nil if MODULE is provided or exists in PATHS.  If PATHS
  is omitted, `load-path' is used.

filename
--------

Function replace-as-filename (string)

  Return safety file-name from STRING.

  It refers variable `filename-filters'.  It is list of functions for
  file-name filter.  Default filter refers following variables:

	Variable filename-limit-length

	  Limit size of file-name.

	Variable filename-replacement-alist

	  Alist list of characters vs. string as replacement.  List of
          characters represents characters not allowed as file-name.


Bug reports
===========

  If you write bug-reports and/or suggestions for improvement, please
  send them to the APEL Mailing List:

	apel-en@m17n.org	(English)
	apel-ja@m17n.org	(Japanese)

  Via the APEL ML, you can report APEL bugs, obtain the latest release
  of APEL, and discuss future enhancements to APEL.  To join the APEL
  ML, send an empty e-mail to

	apel-en-ctl@m17n.org	(English)
	apel-ja-ctl@m17n.org	(Japanese)


Anonymous FTP
=============

  Latest release of APEL can be obtained from:

    ftp://ftp.m17n.org/pub/mule/apel/


CVS
===

  Development of APEL uses CVS.  So latest developing version is
  available at CVS.

(0) cvs login (first time only)

    % cvs -d :pserver:anonymous@cvs.m17n.org:/cvs/root login

    CVS password: [CR] # NULL string

(1) checkout

    % cvs -d :pserver:anonymous@cvs.m17n.org:/cvs/root checkout apel

  If you would like to join CVS based development, please send mail to

	cvs@cvs.m17n.org

  with your account name and UNIX /etc/passwd style crypted password.
  We hope you will join the open development.