Re: w32 does not have emacsclient/server - getting paper size

[David Kastrup]

Lennart Borgman <address@hidden> writes:

> Jason Rumney wrote:
>
>>>Ghostscript is not installed that way on w32. It is not supposed to be
>>>find in the PATH.
>>>    
>>>
>>
>>Why? It seems very inconvenient to require programs to find other
>>programs by searching for them manually in a "registry", rather than
>>using the PATH features that are built into the OS.
>>  
>>
> There are several reasons I think. One reason is that installing new
> programs should not change system overall behaviour.

Then why install them in the first place?

> A more important reason is that programs on w32 communicate
> differently than on GNU/Linux. The w32 way, COM (or what the current
> name for it is, it changes now and then), is rather similar to Corba
> on a conceptual level. Programs can call other programs through COM
> and get a result back. The Registry keeps track of the available COM
> components.

Well, PATH keeps track of the available programs.

> COM is designed as interfaces with version control so it gives a
> rather flexibel environment.

What use is there in "interfaces with version control" in a system
that does not even support different versions of DLLs to be installed
at the same time?

> Whatever we think of that this is the w32 way and to integrate in
> the w32 environment as first class citizens this must be accepted.

It is not a goal for Emacs to be a first class w32 citizen.  The goal
for Emacs on Windows is to be as good an Emacs as elsewhere.

-- 
David Kastrup, Kriemhildstr. 15, 44793 Bochum