Re: Modules

[Marco Kuhlmann <mk@mcqm.net>]

* Berend de Boer <berend@pobox.com> (2002-01-19 19:07:18 +0100):

> 1. What is a well-defined module interface? You have \usemodule. A
>    module is just any ConTeXt file for now.

Exactly. But what about

  - module parameters
  - standard \setup keywords
  - namespaces
  - usage of standard library macros

> 2. You can use any ConTeXt code, why should a module be limited?

For portability reasons, for example. If there were some kind
of standard library, then one would rather want to use that
instead of self-hacked things, because it will still work and
the sizes of the modules will be smaller. Of course, in
general, you can do whatever you want. This is merely a
question of maintenance and system integrity -- which LaTeX
lacks, for example.

> 3. Distribution mechanism isn't there, but I'm sure Hans is quite
>    willing to put up links on his ConTeXt page to 3rd party
>    stuff. Perhaps a good idea, what do you think Hans?

It certainly would be. However, it should also be on CTAN. And
Giuseppe's comments on things like TeXUtil hooks etc. are worth
considering, in my opinion.

    Marco