Actually, a quick aside: `gather-operation` is an unpleasing name, since most of our other operation subclasses are named *foo*-`op`.

Is there some way to make `gather-op` a new name, while keeping `gather-operation` as a (deprecated) alias for the class? Ideally permitting users' method dispatch and `make-instance` usage to continue to function?

In the best of all worlds, I would like to make that name change, and then export `gather-op` (and *only* `gather-op`).

On 4 Aug 2020, at 16:35, Robert Goldman wrote:

On 4 Aug 2020, at 16:18, Ilya Perminov wrote:

...

The around method will look something like this

(defmethod input-files :around ((o asdf/bundle::gather-operation) (c 
system))
  (unless (eq (asdf/bundle::bundle-type o) :no-output-file)
    (append (call-next-method)
            (remove-if-not
                (asdf/bundle::pathname-type-equal-function
                     (asdf/bundle::bundle-pathname-type 
(asdf/bundle::gather-type o)))
                           (mappend (lambda (c) (output-files 
'process-op c))
                                    (asdf/component:sub-components c  
:type 'wrapper-file))))))

...

To my taste it knows too much about ASDF guts, but maybe it is not too bad.

I'm looking at the code now, and

• `bundle-type` is exported from `asdf/bundle` (but not `asdf`) (it

could use a docstring if you can propose one)

• So is `bundle-pathname-type`

• `pathname-type-equal-function` is not exported, but it's a trivial

combination of `pathname-type` and `equalp`

• `gather-type` is the only "really internal" function. (A block

comment would be nice here, too.)

• `gather-operation` is *not* exported, but I think that's probably

wrong on our part: I don't believe there should be hidden operations. If I get around to it, I will probably export it from the `asdf` (really `asdf/interface`) package, unless someone has a good argument for it continuing to be internal.

So I don't think that is a lot of ASDF internals, especially not for customizing the ASDF protocol.