On 5/4/17 May 4 -2:34 PM, Faré wrote:
In any case, friends don't let novices use the central-registry.
The counter-argument to this is that *central-registry* is much more conceptually simple and easier to debug than the new configuration framework.
If I write code that populates my *central-registry*, I can trace that code and I can look at the *central-registry*. It's as easy as (PPRINT asdf:*central-registry*)
At least in the past, if you added a new asd file to a directory in the *central-registry*, then ASDF would find it. If you add it to somewhere covered by the new configuration framework, it won't, will it? because the new configuration framework eagerly searches for asd files.
(Admittedly, *central-registry* scales poorly for very large programs).
For the new configuration arrangements, things are much more difficult for a novice to understand. The actual configuration is held in tables that are opaque (yes, they can be dumped, but it's non-trivial and not discussed in the manual).
Much of the configuration code cannot be traced because key operations take place in side-effecting anonymous lambdas.
Finally, if you configure with configuration files in your XDG config directories, there's not even a chance to trace, because by the time you could set up a trace, the configuration's been loaded.
In short, while the new configuration structure is better in many ways, that's only if it works. If something odd happens, it leaves you pretty flat. If you have a small set of libraries in use, *central-registry* can be a lot easier to deal with.
I've been meaning to provide more debugging to the configuration process, but just keeping up with everyone else's mods to ASDF has eaten all the ASDF time I have for now.