newPackage(String) -- package item: start a new package

Synopsis

• Usage:

  newPackage ( title )

• Function: newPackage
• Inputs:

  • title, a string, the name of the new package
• Consequences:

  • a package is created
• Optional inputs:

  • Version => a string, default value 0.0, the version number of the package. A version number less than 1.0 indicates that the package is under development, and the user interface may change.
  • Date => a string, default value null, the date of this version of the package
  • InfoDirSection => a string, default value Macaulay2 and its packages, the title of the section in the info page directory where the menu entry for this package should be made
  • Headline => a string, default value null, a brief (5-10 words) description of the package
  • Authors => a list, default value {}, a list of lists of options, one for each author. The suboptions are of the form Name => x, Email => x, or HomePage => x, where x is a string.
  • HomePage => a string, default value null, the URI pointing to the home page of the package, if any
  • DebuggingMode => a Boolean value, default value false, whether debuggingMode should be true during package loading
  • AuxiliaryFiles => a Boolean value, default value false, whether the package source to be distributed includes a directory for auxiliary files, with the same name as the package
  • CacheExampleOutput => a Boolean value, default value null, whether installPackage should cache (newer) example output in a subdirectory of the auxiliary file directory named examples, for use in a future installation. This value can be overridden by a value explicitly specified when installPackage is called. After the directory is created, it will necessary for the user also to specify AuxiliaryFiles=>true.
  • Certification => a list, default value null, the certification block inserted by the maintainers of Macaulay2 after the package has been accepted for publication by a journal, such as The Journal of Software for Algebra and Geometry: Macaulay2. Authors should not undertake to create such a certification block themselves.
  • Configuration => a list, default value {}, a list of configuration options for the package. The keys and values should be constant expressions, such as strings and integers, not incorporating symbols to be exported by the package (and not yet defined). The first time the package is loaded by the user, unless the -q option is specified on the M2 command line, these options will be stored in a file in the user's application directory (see applicationDirectory). The user can change the configuration by editing the file. The user can override the configuration settings when loading the package; see loadPackage(..., Configuration => ...) and needsPackage(..., Configuration => ...). The file will be overwritten when a newer version of the package with different configuration options is loaded, but a backup will be made and the user's settings for the surviving options will be retained.

Description

i1 : newPackage("Foo", 
          Version => "1.1", 
          Headline => "making Foo",
          Configuration => { "foo" => 42, "bar" => "x" }
          )

o1 = Foo

o1 : Package

i2 : endPackage "Foo"

o2 = Foo

o2 : Package

i3 : options Foo

o3 = OptionTable{Authors => {}                               }
                 AuxiliaryFiles => false
                 CacheExampleOutput => null
                 Certification => null
                 Configuration => {foo => 42, bar => x}
                 Date => null
                 DebuggingMode => false
                 Headline => making Foo
                 HomePage => null
                 InfoDirSection => Macaulay2 and its packages
                 Version => 1.1

o3 : OptionTable

i4 : oo.Headline

o4 = making Foo

i5 : (options Core).Version

o5 = 1.3.1

newPackage("PACKAGENAME",
    Headline => "one line description",
    Version => 0.1,
    Date => "month XX, 20XX",
    Authors => {
         {Name => "author1", Email => "email1", HomePage => "url1"}
         {Name => "author2", Email => "email2", HomePage => "url2"},
         },
    DebuggingMode => true,
    HomePage => "http://univ.edu/~user/PACKAGENAME/",
    Configuration => {}
    )

See also

• packages