Getting Started with the xPack GNU texinfo

Separate User/Contributor/Maintainer pages

To address the specific needs of different audiences, this site features separate User's Guide, Contributor's Guide and Maintainer's Guide pages. This way, each group can easily find the information and resources most relevant to them.

Overview

xPack GNU texinfo is a standalone, cross-platform (macOS, GNU/Linux) binary distribution of GNU texinfo, aimed at reproducible builds.

What are reproducible operations?

To be reproducible, an operation must remain stable over time and across different environments. In other words, if the same operation is repeated after some time, possibly on a different machine or platform, the resulting behaviour must be functionally equivalent.

The main target of this project is macOS 10.13, as the older version of this utility fails during some builds.

GNU texinfo is the official documentation format of the GNU project.

GNU texinfo is an open source project hosted on Savannah.

danger

Unfortunately this project uses perl, which installs scripts with absolute paths.

Adjusting these paths to the actual install location requires post processing after install, a feature not yet available, therefore this project is not yet functional.

The open source xPack GNU texinfo project is hosted on GitHub as xpack-dev-tools/texinfo-xpack; it provides the platform specific binaries as release assets.

In addition to the binary archives and the package metadata, this project also includes the build scripts.

What are xpm packages? (xPacks)

xpm packages, abbreviated as xPacks, are versatile, language-neutral software packages. They have been successfully utilised in C/C++ projects.

What the heck are xpm packages (xPacks)? Please, do not introduce another package format!

Although the initial appearance may seem complex, utilising xpm packages is, in fact, straightforward. The design rationale is to automate frequent operations that occur during software development, such as the installation of dependencies, and to ensure reproducibility.

These packages are managed by xpm (the xPack Project Manager), a programme that complements the npm CLI (the popular JavaScript package manager), with new language-neutral features.

The xPacks Framework does NOT introduce a new package format; instead, it uses the same format as npm packages, which is a collection of files/folders and a package.json file with the package metadata.

xpm can install packages from the same repositories as npm, whether public or private.

The packages (usually regular archives, but also git repositories), are extracted into separate folders within the project.

Based on the content, there are two types of xpm packages:

• packages with source libraries (source xpm packages)
• packages with executables, usually platform-specific binary tools (binary xpm packages)

Source xpm packages are regular npm packages that include library source files, typically in C/C++, though there are no language restrictions.

Binary xpm packages are also regular npm packages, but with minimal content, typically just the package.json file. Since these packages provide executables for multiple platforms, some of which are quite large, it is not practical to include all binaries within the npm package itself. Instead, the package.json file contains references (URLs) to platform-specific binary archives (e.g., .tar.gz for Unix or .zip for Windows).

These archives are also expanded along with the package metadata. Links/forwarders to these executables are created in a .bin folder, eliminating the need to add multiple folders to the PATH.

In summary, xpm packages can enhance and automate the installation process for source libraries and tools.

In summary, xpm packages can streamline and automate the installation process for source libraries and tools. Further details are available on the xpm Concepts page.

Features

All binaries are:

• Self-contained (include all required libraries).
• File-system relocatable (can be installed in any location).
• Built on slightly older systems (to ensure compatibility with both old and new systems).

Compatibility with older systems

Given that most operating systems maintain significant compatibility with older versions, building an application on an older system ensures that the same binary can run on newer versions. Conversely, building an application on a newer system may utilize library features that are not available in older versions, making backward compatibility less feasible.

Similarly to flatpacks or snap, but significantly simpler, xpm packages include all dependent shared libraries within the distributed archives, making the binaries independent of any similar libraries installed on the system. This ensures they can run on any system without needing specific libraries to be installed.

Also the builds are configured so that the binaries do not depend on being installed in specific folders, and can be installed in any location, including in user folders.

Benefits

The main advantages of using the xPack GNU texinfo are:

• A convenient, uniform and portable install/uninstall/upgrade procedure; the same procedure is used for all major platforms (x64 macOS, arm64 macOS, x64 GNU/Linux, arm64 GNU/Linux).
• Multiple versions of the same package can be installed at the same time on the same system.
• No need to worry about dependent libraries, they are all included.
• Not affected by system updates that might change the versions of the dependent libraries.
• Significantly lighter and easier to use than Docker images that provide similar functionality and are GNU/Linux centric.
• Projects can be tied to specific tools versions; this provides a good reproducibility, especially useful in CI/CD environments.

Compatibility

The xPack GNU texinfo project is fully compatible with the upstream GNU texinfo.

Install

The executables and other related files can be installed automatically with xpm or manually by downloading the platform specific archives.

The details for installing the xPack GNU texinfo on different platforms are provided in the Install Guide on the project's website.

Status

The xPack GNU texinfo project is fully functional, stable, and suitable for use in production environments.

Documentation

The original GNU texinfo documentation is available from the project web site:

• https://www.gnu.org/software/texinfo/manual/texinfo/

Release schedule

This distribution generally follows the official GNU texinfo releases.

Releases

The list of releases is available in the Releases pages.

Change log

The release and change log is available in the repository CHANGELOG.md file.

Support & feedback

The quick advice for getting support and providing feedback is to use the GitHub Discussions.

For additional information, please refer to the Help Centre page.

License

Unless otherwise stated, the original content is released under the terms of the MIT License, with all rights reserved by Liviu Ionescu.

The binary distributions include several open-source components; the corresponding licenses are available in each archive in the distro-info/licenses folder.

Credits

Special thanks to MacStadium, for providing the Apple Silicon development infrastructure as part of their generous Free and Open Source Software program.

Thanks to Shields IO for the badges.

Enjoyed Using This Project? Let Us Know!

If you enjoyed using this project, please let us know! Here are some ways you can show your support:

• Donate: Your contributions, whether small or generous, help us keep the xPack projects thriving.
• Star the project on GitHub: It helps others discover our work.
• Follow us on X/Twitter: Stay updated with our latest releases and news.