  
  [1X76 [33X[0;0YUsing and Developing [5XGAP[105X[101X[1X Packages[133X[101X
  
  [33X[0;0YThe  functionality  of  [5XGAP[105X can be extended by loading [5XGAP[105X packages. The [5XGAP[105X
  distribution  already  contains  all currently redistributed [5XGAP[105X packages in
  the [11Xgap-4.16.0/pkg[111X directory.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0Y[5XGAP[105X packages are written by (groups of) [5XGAP[105X users who may not necessarily be
  members of the [5XGAP[105X developer team. The responsibility and copyright of a [5XGAP[105X
  package remains with the original author(s).[133X
  
  [33X[0;0Y[5XGAP[105X  packages have their own documentation which is smoothly integrated into
  the  [5XGAP[105X  help  system.  (When  [5XGAP[105X  is started, [10XLoadPackageDocumentation[110X is
  called for all packages.)[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YAll [5XGAP[105X users who develop new code are invited to share the results of their
  efforts  with  other  [5XGAP[105X  users  by  making  the code and its documentation
  available in form of a package. Guidance on how to do this is available from
  the  [5XGAP[105X website ([7Xhttps://www.gap-system.org[107X) and in the [5XGAP[105X package [5XExample[105X
  (see [7Xhttps://www.gap-system.org/Packages/example.html[107X).[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YThe  [5XGAP[105X development team will assist in making any new package suitable for
  distribution  with  [5XGAP[105X. It is also possible to submit a package to a formal
  refereeing process.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YIn  this  chapter  we  first describe how to use existing packages, and then
  provide guidelines for writing a [5XGAP[105X package.[133X
  
  
  [1X76.1 [33X[0;0YInstalling a [5XGAP[105X[101X[1X Package[133X[101X
  
  [33X[0;0YBefore  a  package can be used it must be installed. A standard distribution
  of  [5XGAP[105X  already contains all the packages currently redistributed with [5XGAP[105X.
  This  set of packages has been checked for compatibility with the system and
  with each other during release preparation. Most of the packages can be used
  immediately,  but  some  of them may require further installation steps (see
  below).[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YAlso,  since [5XGAP[105X packages are released independently of the main [5XGAP[105X system,
  it  may  sometimes  be  useful  to  upgrade  or install new packages between
  upgrades  of  your [5XGAP[105X installation, e.g. if a new version of a package adds
  new capabilities or bug fixes that you need.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YA  package  consists of a collection of files within a single directory that
  must  be  a  subdirectory  of  the  [11Xpkg[111X  directory  in  one  of the [5XGAP[105X root
  directories (see [14X9.2[114X). If you don't have access to the [11Xpkg[111X directory in your
  main  [5XGAP[105X  installation you can add private root directories as explained in
  section [14X9.2[114X.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YWhenever  you download or clone an archive of a [5XGAP[105X package, it will contain
  a  [11XREADME[111X file (or [11XREADME.md[111X etc.) that explains how it should be installed.
  Some  packages  just  consist  of  [5XGAP[105X  code and the installation is done by
  unpacking  the  archive in one of the places described above. There are also
  packages  that  need  further  installation  steps,  such  as compilation or
  installing  additional  software to satisfy their dependencies. If there are
  some  external  programs  which  have  to be compiled, this is often done by
  executing [10X./configure; make[110X inside the unpacked package directory (but check
  the individual [11XREADME[111X files).[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YMost  of  the  packages that require compilation can be compiled in a single
  step  by  changing to the [11Xpkg[111X directory of your [5XGAP[105X installation and calling
  the [10X../bin/BuildPackages.sh[110X script.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YNote that if you use Windows you may not be able to use some or all external
  binaries.[133X
  
  
  [1X76.2 [33X[0;0YLoading a [5XGAP[105X[101X[1X Package[133X[101X
  
  [33X[0;0YIf  a  package  is  not  already loaded, it may be loaded using the function
  [2XLoadPackage[102X ([14X76.2-1[114X).[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YSome  [5XGAP[105X  packages are prepared for automatic loading, that is they will be
  loaded automatically when [5XGAP[105X starts (see [14X76.2-2[114X).[133X
  
  [1X76.2-1 LoadPackage[101X
  
  [33X[1;0Y[29X[2XLoadPackage[102X( [3Xname[103X[, [3Xversion[103X][, [3Xbanner[103X] ) [32X function[133X
  
  [33X[0;0Yloads the [5XGAP[105X package with name [3Xname[103X.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YAs an example, the following loads the [5XGAP[105X package [5XSONATA[105X (case insensitive)
  which   provides  methods  for  the  construction  and  analysis  of  finite
  nearrings:[133X
  
  [4X[32X  Example  [32X[104X
    [4X[25Xgap>[125X [27XLoadPackage("sonata");[127X[104X
    [4X[28X... some more lines with package banner(s) ...[128X[104X
    [4X[28Xtrue[128X[104X
  [4X[32X[104X
  
  [33X[0;0YThe  package  name is case insensitive and may be appropriately abbreviated.
  At  the  time  of  writing,  for example, [10XLoadPackage("semi");[110X will load the
  [5XSemigroups[105X  package,  and  [10XLoadPackage("js");[110X will load the [5Xjson[105X package. If
  the   abbreviation  cannot  be  uniquely  completed,  a  list  of  available
  completions will be offered, and [2XLoadPackage[102X returns [9Xfail[109X. Thus the names of
  [13Xall[113X installed packages can be shown by calling [10XLoadPackage("");[110X.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YWhen  the optional argument string [3Xversion[103X is present, the package will only
  be   loaded   in   a  version  number  equal  to  or  greater  than  [3Xversion[103X
  (see [2XCompareVersionNumbers[102X ([14X76.3-9[114X)). If the first character of [3Xversion[103X is [10X=[110X
  then only that version will be loaded.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0Y[2XLoadPackage[102X  will  return  [9Xtrue[109X if the package has been successfully loaded,
  and  will  return [9Xfail[109X if the package could not be loaded. The latter may be
  the  case  if  the  package is not installed, if necessary binaries have not
  been  compiled,  or  if  the  version number of the available version is too
  small. If the package cannot be loaded, [2XTestPackageAvailability[102X ([14X76.3-2[114X) can
  be  used to find the reasons. Also, [2XDisplayPackageLoadingLog[102X ([14X76.2-6[114X) can be
  used  to  find out more about the failure. To see the problems directly, one
  can  change the verbosity using the user preference [10XInfoPackageLoadingLevel[110X,
  see [2XInfoPackageLoading[102X ([14X76.2-6[114X) for details.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YIf  the package [3Xname[103X has already been loaded in a version number equal to or
  greater than [3Xversion[103X, [2XLoadPackage[102X returns [9Xtrue[109X without doing anything else.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YIf  the  optional  argument [3Xbanner[103X is present then it must be either [9Xtrue[109X or
  [9Xfalse[109X; in the latter case, the effect is that no package banner is printed.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YAfter  a package has been loaded, all its code becomes available to use with
  the rest of the [5XGAP[105X library.[133X
  
  
  [1X76.2-2 [33X[0;0YAutomatic loading of [5XGAP[105X[101X[1X packages[133X[101X
  
  [33X[0;0YWhen [5XGAP[105X is started some packages are loaded automatically, and these belong
  to  two  categories.  The first are those packages which are needed to start
  [5XGAP[105X  (at  the  present time, the only such package is [5XGAPDoc[105X). Their list is
  contained   in   [10XGAPInfo.Dependencies.NeededOtherPackages[110X.  The  second  are
  packages which are loaded during [5XGAP[105X startup by default. The latter list may
  be  obtained by calling [10XUserPreference("PackagesToLoad")[110X and is customisable
  as described in Section [14X'Reference: Configuring User preferences'[114X.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YWhile  [5XGAP[105X  will  not  start if any of the packages from the former group is
  missing,  loading of the packages from the latter group may be suppressed by
  using the [10X-A[110X command line option (see [14X3.1[114X).[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YIf  for  some  reason  you  don't  want certain packages to be automatically
  loaded, [5XGAP[105X provides three levels for disabling autoloading.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YThe  autoloading  of  specific packages can be overwritten [13Xfor the whole [5XGAP[105X
  installation[113X  by  putting  a  file [11XNOAUTO[111X into a [11Xpkg[111X directory that contains
  lines with the names of packages which should not be automatically loaded.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YFurthermore,  [13Xindividual  users[113X  can  disable  the  autoloading  of specific
  packages  by  putting  the  names  of  these  packages into the list that is
  assigned  to  the  user  preference  [21XExcludeFromAutoload[121X, for example in the
  user's [11Xgap.ini[111X file (see [14X3.2-1[114X).[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YUsing  the  [10X-A[110X  command  line  option when starting [5XGAP[105X (see [14X3.1[114X), automatic
  loading of packages is switched off [13Xfor this [5XGAP[105X session[113X.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YIn    any   of   the   above   three   cases,   the   packages   listed   in
  [10XGAPInfo.Dependencies.NeededOtherPackages[110X are still loaded automatically, and
  an error is signalled if any of these packages is unavailable.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YSee  [2XSetPackagePath[102X  ([14X76.2-3[114X) for a way to force the loading of a prescribed
  package    version.    See    also    [2XExtendRootDirectories[102X   ([14X76.2-4[114X)   and
  [2XExtendPackageDirectories[102X   ([14X76.2-5[114X)   for   methods  of  adding  directories
  containing packages [13Xafter[113X [5XGAP[105X has been started.[133X
  
  [1X76.2-3 SetPackagePath[101X
  
  [33X[1;0Y[29X[2XSetPackagePath[102X( [3Xpkgname[103X, [3Xpkgpath[103X ) [32X function[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YThis  function  can  be  used to force [5XGAP[105X to load a particular version of a
  package, even though newer versions of the package are available.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YLet  [3Xpkgname[103X  and  [3Xpkgpath[103X be strings denoting the name of a [5XGAP[105X package and
  the path to a directory where a version of this package can be found (i. e.,
  calling  [2XDirectory[102X  ([14X9.4-2[114X) with the argument [3Xpkgpath[103X will yield a directory
  that contains the file [11XPackageInfo.g[111X of the package).[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YIf the package [3Xpkgname[103X is already loaded with an installation path different
  from [3Xpkgpath[103X then [2XSetPackagePath[102X signals an error. If the package [3Xpkgname[103X is
  not  yet  loaded  then [2XSetPackagePath[102X erases the information about available
  versions  of the package [3Xpkgname[103X, and stores the record that is contained in
  the  [11XPackageInfo.g[111X  file  at  [3Xpkgpath[103X  instead,  such  that only the version
  installed at [3Xpkgpath[103X can be loaded with [2XLoadPackage[102X ([14X76.2-1[114X).[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YOne  should  call  [2XSetPackagePath[102X  immediately before loading the package in
  question.   Note   that   calling   [2XExtendPackageDirectories[102X   ([14X76.2-5[114X)   or
  [2XExtendRootDirectories[102X  ([14X76.2-4[114X)  may  change  the  available versions of the
  package [3Xpkgname[103X.[133X
  
  [1X76.2-4 ExtendRootDirectories[101X
  
  [33X[1;0Y[29X[2XExtendRootDirectories[102X( [3Xpaths[103X ) [32X function[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YLet  [3Xpaths[103X  be  a  list  of  strings  that denote paths to intended [5XGAP[105X root
  directories  (see  [14X9.2[114X). The function [2XExtendRootDirectories[102X adds these paths
  to  the  global  list  [10XGAPInfo.RootPaths[110X  and  calls  the  initialization of
  available  [5XGAP[105X  packages, such that later calls to [2XLoadPackage[102X ([14X76.2-1[114X) will
  find  the  [5XGAP[105X  packages  that  are  contained  in [11Xpkg[111X subdirectories of the
  directories given by [3Xpaths[103X.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YNote  that the purpose of this function is to make [5XGAP[105X packages in the given
  directories  available.  It  cannot  be  used to influence the start of [5XGAP[105X,
  because the [5XGAP[105X library is loaded before [2XExtendRootDirectories[102X can be called
  (and because [10XGAPInfo.RootPaths[110X is not used for reading the [5XGAP[105X library).[133X
  
  [1X76.2-5 ExtendPackageDirectories[101X
  
  [33X[1;0Y[29X[2XExtendPackageDirectories[102X( [3Xpaths[103X ) [32X function[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YLet  [3Xpaths[103X  be  a  list of strings that denote paths to intended [5XGAP[105X package
  directories  (see  [14X9.3[114X).  The  function  [2XExtendPackageDirectories[102X adds these
  paths   to   the   global  list  [10XGAPInfo.PackageDirectories[110X  and  calls  the
  initialization   of  available  [5XGAP[105X  packages,  such  that  later  calls  to
  [2XLoadPackage[102X  ([14X76.2-1[114X)  will  find the [5XGAP[105X packages that are contained in the
  directories given by [3Xpaths[103X.[133X
  
  [1X76.2-6 DisplayPackageLoadingLog[101X
  
  [33X[1;0Y[29X[2XDisplayPackageLoadingLog[102X( [[3Xseverity[103X] ) [32X function[133X
  [33X[1;0Y[29X[2XInfoPackageLoading[102X [32X info class[133X
  [33X[1;0Y[29X[2XPACKAGE_ERROR[102X [32X global variable[133X
  [33X[1;0Y[29X[2XPACKAGE_WARNING[102X [32X global variable[133X
  [33X[1;0Y[29X[2XPACKAGE_INFO[102X [32X global variable[133X
  [33X[1;0Y[29X[2XPACKAGE_DEBUG[102X [32X global variable[133X
  [33X[1;0Y[29X[2XLogPackageLoadingMessage[102X( [3Xseverity[103X, [3Xmessage[103X[, [3Xname[103X] ) [32X function[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YWhenever  [5XGAP[105X  considers  loading a package, log messages are collected in a
  global  list. The messages for the current [5XGAP[105X session can be displayed with
  [2XDisplayPackageLoadingLog[102X.  To each message, a [21Xseverity[121X is assigned, which is
  one  of  [2XPACKAGE_ERROR[102X,  [2XPACKAGE_WARNING[102X,  [2XPACKAGE_INFO[102X,  [2XPACKAGE_DEBUG[102X,  in
  increasing  order.  The  function  [2XDisplayPackageLoadingLog[102X  shows  only the
  messages  whose  severity  is  at most [3Xseverity[103X, the default for [3Xseverity[103X is
  [2XPACKAGE_WARNING[102X.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YThe intended meaning of the severity levels is as follows.[133X
  
  [8XPACKAGE_ERROR[108X
        [33X[0;6Yshould  be  used  whenever  [5XGAP[105X  will run into an error during package
        loading,  where  the  reason  of  the error shall be documented in the
        global list.[133X
  
  [8XPACKAGE_WARNING[108X
        [33X[0;6Yshould be used whenever [5XGAP[105X has detected a reason why a package cannot
        be  loaded, and where the message describes how to solve this problem,
        for example if a package binary is missing.[133X
  
  [8XPACKAGE_INFO[108X
        [33X[0;6Yshould be used whenever [5XGAP[105X has detected a reason why a package cannot
        be  loaded,  and  where it is not clear how to solve this problem, for
        example  if  the  package  is  not  compatible  with  other  installed
        packages.[133X
  
  [8XPACKAGE_DEBUG[108X
        [33X[0;6Yshould  be  used  for  other  messages reporting what [5XGAP[105X does when it
        loads  packages  (checking  dependencies,  reading  files,  etc.). One
        purpose  is to record in which order packages have been considered for
        loading or have actually been loaded.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YThe  log  messages  are  created  either  by  the functions of [5XGAP[105X's package
  loading  mechanism  or  in  the  code  of  your  package, for example in the
  [10XAvailabilityTest[110X function of the package's [11XPackageInfo.g[111X file (see [14X76.3-15[114X),
  using  [2XLogPackageLoadingMessage[102X. The arguments of this function are [3Xseverity[103X
  (which  must  be  one  of the above severity levels), [3Xmessage[103X (which must be
  either  a  string  or a list of strings), and optionally [3Xname[103X (which must be
  the  name of the package to which the message belongs). The argument [3Xname[103X is
  not   needed  if  the  function  is  called  from  a  call  of  a  package's
  [10XAvailabilityTest[110X  function  (see  [14X76.3-15[114X)  or is called from a package file
  that  is read from [11Xinit.g[111X or [11Xread.g[111X; in these cases, the name of the current
  package (stored in the record [10XGAPInfo.PackageCurrent[110X) is taken. According to
  the above list, the [3Xseverity[103X argument of [2XLogPackageLoadingMessage[102X calls in a
  package's   [10XAvailabilityTest[110X   function   is   either   [2XPACKAGE_WARNING[102X   or
  [2XPACKAGE_INFO[102X.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YIf  you  want  to  see  the  log messages already during the package loading
  process,  you  can set the level of the info class [2XInfoPackageLoading[102X to one
  of  the  severity  values listed above; afterwards the messages with at most
  this  severity  are shown immediately when they arise. In order to make this
  work     already     for     autoloaded     packages,     you    can    call
  [10XSetUserPreference("InfoPackageLoadingLevel",   [3Xlev[103X[10X);[110X   to  set  the  desired
  severity  level  [3Xlev[103X. This can for example be done in your [11Xgap.ini[111X file, see
  Section [14X3.2-1[114X.[133X
  
  
  [1X76.3 [33X[0;0YFunctions for [5XGAP[105X[101X[1X Packages[133X[101X
  
  [33X[0;0YThe  following functions are mainly used in files contained in a package and
  not by users of a package. They are needed to organise reading package files
  into  [5XGAP[105X  in  the  right  order, performing maintenance tasks like building
  documentation and running package tests, checking package dependencies, etc.
  You  will  find  further  information  about  their  use in Section [14X76.4[114X and
  subsequent sections.[133X
  
  [1X76.3-1 ReadPackage[101X
  
  [33X[1;0Y[29X[2XReadPackage[102X( [[3Xname[103X, ][3Xfile[103X ) [32X function[133X
  [33X[1;0Y[29X[2XRereadPackage[102X( [[3Xname[103X, ][3Xfile[103X ) [32X function[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YCalled  with  two  strings [3Xname[103X and [3Xfile[103X, [2XReadPackage[102X reads the file [3Xfile[103X of
  the  [5XGAP[105X  package  [3Xname[103X,  where [3Xfile[103X is given as a path relative to the home
  directory  of  [3Xname[103X. Note that [3Xfile[103X is read in the namespace of the package,
  see Section [14X4.10[114X for details.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YIf  only  one  argument  [3Xfile[103X  is  given,  this should be the path of a file
  relative  to  the [11Xpkg[111X subdirectory of [5XGAP[105X root paths (see [14X9.2[114X). Note that in
  this  case,  the  package  name  is assumed to be equal to the first part of
  [3Xfile[103X, [13Xso the one argument form is not recommended[113X.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YThe  absolute  path is determined as follows. If the package in question has
  already  been loaded then the file in the directory of the loaded version is
  read.  If  the  package  is  available but not yet loaded then the directory
  given  by  [2XTestPackageAvailability[102X  ([14X76.3-2[114X)  is  used,  without  prescribed
  version  number.  (Note that the [2XReadPackage[102X call does [13Xnot[113X force the package
  to be loaded.)[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YIf  the  file  is  readable  then  [9Xtrue[109X  is returned, otherwise a warning is
  displayed (for [2XReadPackage[102X) or [9Xfalse[109X is returned (for [2XRereadPackage[102X).[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YEach  of  [3Xname[103X  and  [3Xfile[103X  should  be  a  string.  The [3Xname[103X argument is case
  insensitive.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0Y[2XRereadPackage[102X  does  the  same  as  [2XReadPackage[102X,  except that also read-only
  global variables are overwritten (cf. [2XReread[102X ([14X9.8-11[114X)).[133X
  
  [1X76.3-2 TestPackageAvailability[101X
  
  [33X[1;0Y[29X[2XTestPackageAvailability[102X( [3Xname[103X[, [3Xversion[103X][, [3Xcheckall[103X] ) [32X function[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YFor  strings  [3Xname[103X  and [3Xversion[103X, this function tests whether the [5XGAP[105X package
  [3Xname[103X  is  available  for  loading  in a version that is at least [3Xversion[103X, or
  equal   to   [3Xversion[103X   if   the   first  character  of  [3Xversion[103X  is  [10X=[110X  (see
  [2XCompareVersionNumbers[102X ([14X76.3-9[114X) for further details about version numbers).[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YThe  result  is  [9Xtrue[109X  if  the  package is already loaded, [9Xfail[109X if it is not
  available,  and  the  string  denoting  the  [5XGAP[105X root path where the package
  resides  if  it  is  available,  but  not yet loaded. So the package [3Xname[103X is
  available if the result of [2XTestPackageAvailability[102X is not equal to [9Xfail[109X.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YIf the optional argument [3Xcheckall[103X is [9Xtrue[109X then all dependencies are checked,
  even if some have turned out to be not satisfied. This is useful when one is
  interested  in  the  reasons  why the package [3Xname[103X cannot be loaded. In this
  situation,     calling     first     [2XTestPackageAvailability[102X     and    then
  [2XDisplayPackageLoadingLog[102X  ([14X76.2-6[114X)  with argument [2XPACKAGE_INFO[102X ([14X76.2-6[114X) will
  give an overview of these reasons.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YYou  should  [13Xnot[113X  call  [2XTestPackageAvailability[102X  in  the  test function of a
  package  (the  value  of the component [10XAvailabilityTest[110X in the [11XPackageInfo.g[111X
  file  of  the  package,  see [14X76.3-15[114X), because [2XTestPackageAvailability[102X calls
  this test function.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YThe argument [3Xname[103X is case insensitive.[133X
  
  [1X76.3-3 IsPackageLoaded[101X
  
  [33X[1;0Y[29X[2XIsPackageLoaded[102X( [3Xname[103X[, [3Xversion[103X] ) [32X function[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YFor  strings  [3Xname[103X  and [3Xversion[103X, this function tests whether the [5XGAP[105X package
  [3Xname[103X  is  already  loaded in a version that is at least [3Xversion[103X, or equal to
  [3Xversion[103X  if  the  first character of [3Xversion[103X is [10X=[110X (see [2XCompareVersionNumbers[102X
  ([14X76.3-9[114X) for further details about version numbers).[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YThe result is [9Xtrue[109X if the package is already loaded, [9Xfalse[109X otherwise.[133X
  
  [1X76.3-4 IsPackageMarkedForLoading[101X
  
  [33X[1;0Y[29X[2XIsPackageMarkedForLoading[102X( [3Xname[103X, [3Xversion[103X ) [32X function[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YThis function can be used in the code of a package [22XA[122X for testing whether the
  package  [3Xname[103X  in  version  [3Xversion[103X  will  be  loaded  after the [2XLoadPackage[102X
  ([14X76.2-1[114X)  call  for  the  package  [22XA[122X  has been executed. This means that the
  package  [3Xname[103X  had  been loaded before, or has been (directly or indirectly)
  requested  as a needed or suggested package of the package [22XA[122X or of a package
  whose loading requested that [22XA[122X was loaded.[133X
  
  [1X76.3-5 TestPackage[101X
  
  [33X[1;0Y[29X[2XTestPackage[102X( [3Xpkgname[103X ) [32X function[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YIt  is  recommended  that  a  [5XGAP[105X  package  specifies a standard test in its
  [11XPackageInfo.g[111X  file.  If [3Xpkgname[103X is a string with the name of a [5XGAP[105X package,
  then [10XTestPackage(pkgname)[110X will check if this package is loadable and has the
  standard test, and will run this test in the current [5XGAP[105X session.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YThe  output  of  the test depends on the particular package, and it also may
  depend  on  the  current  [5XGAP[105X  session (loaded packages, state of the random
  sources, defined global variables etc.).[133X
  
  [1X76.3-6 InstalledPackageVersion[101X
  
  [33X[1;0Y[29X[2XInstalledPackageVersion[102X( [3Xname[103X ) [32X function[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YIf   the   [5XGAP[105X   package  with  name  [3Xname[103X  has  already  been  loaded  then
  [2XInstalledPackageVersion[102X  returns  the  string denoting the version number of
  this  version  of  the  package. If the package is available but has not yet
  been  loaded  then the version number string for that version of the package
  that  currently  would  be  loaded. (Note that loading [13Xanother[113X package might
  force  loading  another  version  of  the  package  [3Xname[103X,  so  the result of
  [2XInstalledPackageVersion[102X will be different afterwards.) If the package is not
  available then [9Xfail[109X is returned.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YThe argument [3Xname[103X is case insensitive.[133X
  
  [1X76.3-7 DirectoriesPackageLibrary[101X
  
  [33X[1;0Y[29X[2XDirectoriesPackageLibrary[102X( [3Xname[103X[, [3Xpath[103X] ) [32X function[133X
  
  [33X[0;0Ytakes  the  string [3Xname[103X, a name of a [5XGAP[105X package, and returns a list that is
  either  empty  or contains one directory object [10Xdir[110X that describes the place
  where the library functions of this [5XGAP[105X package should be located.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YIn  the  latter  case, [10Xdir[110X is the [3Xpath[103X subdirectory of a directory where the
  package  [3Xname[103X  is  installed, where the default for [3Xpath[103X is [10X"lib"[110X, and where
  the  package directory belongs to the version of [3Xname[103X that is already loaded
  or  is  currently going to be loaded or would be the first version [5XGAP[105X would
  try  to  load  if no other version is explicitly prescribed. (If the package
  [3Xname[103X  is  not yet loaded then we cannot guarantee that the directory belongs
  to a version that really can be loaded.)[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YNote   that   [2XDirectoriesPackageLibrary[102X  is  likely  to  be  called  in  the
  [10XAvailabilityTest[110X function in the package's [11XPackageInfo.g[111X file (see [14X76.3-15[114X).[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YAs  an  example,  the  following  returns a directory object for the library
  functions of the [5XGAP[105X package [5XExample[105X:[133X
  
  [4X[32X  Example  [32X[104X
    [4X[25Xgap>[125X [27XDirectoriesPackageLibrary( "Example", "gap" );[127X[104X
    [4X[28X[ dir("/home/werner/gap/4.0/pkg/example/gap/") ][128X[104X
  [4X[32X[104X
  
  [33X[0;0YObserve  that  we  needed  the  second  argument [10X"gap"[110X here, since [5XExample[105X's
  library functions are in the subdirectory [11Xgap[111X rather than [11Xlib[111X.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YIn  order  to  find  a  subdirectory  deeper  than  one  level  in a package
  directory, the second argument is again necessary whether or not the desired
  subdirectory  relative  to  the  package's  directory  begins  with [11Xlib[111X. The
  directories in [3Xpath[103X should be separated by [10X/[110X (even on systems, like Windows,
  which  use  [10X\[110X  as  the directory separator). For example, suppose there is a
  package  [10Xsomepackage[110X  with a subdirectory [11Xm11[111X in the directory [11Xdata[111X, then we
  might expect the following:[133X
  
  [4X[32X  Example  [32X[104X
    [4X[25Xgap>[125X [27XDirectoriesPackageLibrary( "somepackage", "data/m11" );[127X[104X
    [4X[28X[ dir("/home/werner/gap/4.0/pkg/somepackage/data/m11") ][128X[104X
  [4X[32X[104X
  
  [1X76.3-8 DirectoriesPackagePrograms[101X
  
  [33X[1;0Y[29X[2XDirectoriesPackagePrograms[102X( [3Xname[103X ) [32X function[133X
  
  [33X[0;0Yreturns  a  list  that  is either empty or contains one directory object [10Xdir[110X
  that  describes  the  place  where external binaries of the [5XGAP[105X package [3Xname[103X
  should be located.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YIn  the latter case, [10Xdir[110X is the [10Xbin/[110X[3Xarchitecture[103X subdirectory of a directory
  where  the package [3Xname[103X is installed, where [3Xarchitecture[103X is the architecture
  on    which   [5XGAP[105X   has   been   compiled   (this   can   be   accessed   as
  [10XGAPInfo.Architecture[110X,  see [2XGAPInfo[102X ([14X3.5-1[114X)), and where the package directory
  belongs  to the version of [3Xname[103X that is already loaded or is currently going
  to be loaded or would be the first version [5XGAP[105X would try to load if no other
  version  is  explicitly  prescribed.  (If the package [3Xname[103X is not yet loaded
  then we cannot guarantee that the directory belongs to a version that really
  can be loaded.)[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YNote   that  [2XDirectoriesPackagePrograms[102X  is  likely  to  be  called  in  the
  [10XAvailabilityTest[110X function in the package's [11XPackageInfo.g[111X file (see [14X76.3-15[114X).[133X
  
  [4X[32X  Example  [32X[104X
    [4X[25Xgap>[125X [27XDirectoriesPackagePrograms( "nq" );[127X[104X
    [4X[28X[ dir("/home/gap/4.0/pkg/nq/bin/x86_64-pc-linux-gnu-default64-kv3/") ][128X[104X
  [4X[32X[104X
  
  [1X76.3-9 CompareVersionNumbers[101X
  
  [33X[1;0Y[29X[2XCompareVersionNumbers[102X( [3Xsupplied[103X, [3Xrequired[103X[, [3X"equal"[103X] ) [32X function[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YA  version  number is a string which contains nonnegative integers separated
  by  non-numeric  characters.  Examples  of  valid  version  numbers  are for
  example:[133X
  
  [4X[32X  Example  [32X[104X
    [4X[28X"1.0"   "3.141.59"  "2-7-8.3" "5 release 2 patchlevel 666"[128X[104X
  [4X[32X[104X
  
  [33X[0;0Y[2XCompareVersionNumbers[102X  compares  two version numbers, given as strings. They
  are  split at non-digit characters, the resulting integer lists are compared
  lexicographically.  The  routine tests whether [3Xsupplied[103X is at least as large
  as  [3Xrequired[103X, and returns [9Xtrue[109X or [9Xfalse[109X accordingly. A version number ending
  in [10Xdev[110X is considered to be infinite.[133X
  
  [1X76.3-10 DeclareAutoreadableVariables[101X
  
  [33X[1;0Y[29X[2XDeclareAutoreadableVariables[102X( [3Xpkgname[103X, [3Xfilename[103X, [3Xvarlist[103X ) [32X function[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YLet  [3Xpkgname[103X  be  the  name of a package, let [3Xfilename[103X be the name of a file
  relative to the home directory of this package, and let [3Xvarlist[103X be a list of
  strings that are the names of global variables which get bound when the file
  is  read.  [2XDeclareAutoreadableVariables[102X  notifies  the names in [3Xvarlist[103X such
  that  the first attempt to access one of the variables causes the file to be
  read.[133X
  
  
  [1X76.3-11 [33X[0;0YKernel modules in [5XGAP[105X[101X[1X packages[133X[101X
  
  [33X[0;0YIf  the  package  has a kernel module, then it can be compiled using the [5Xgac[105X
  script.  A kernel module is implemented in C and follows certain conventions
  to comply with the [5XGAP[105X kernel interface, which we plan to document later. In
  the  meantime,  we advice to get in touch with [5XGAP[105X developers if you plan to
  develop such a package.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YTo  use the [5Xgac[105X script to produce dynamically loadable modules, call it with
  the [10X-d[110X option, for example:[133X
  
  [4X[32X  Example  [32X[104X
    [4X[28X$ gap4/gac -d test.c[128X[104X
  [4X[32X[104X
  
  [33X[0;0YThis  will  produce  a  file [11Xtest.so[111X, which then can be loaded into [5XGAP[105X with
  [2XLoadKernelExtension[102X  ([14X76.3-13[114X).  If  the  kernel  module is required for the
  package  to  work,  then  its [11XPackageInfo.g[111X should define a [10XAvailabilityTest[110X
  which calls [2XIsKernelExtensionAvailable[102X ([14X76.3-12[114X), see [14X76.16-2[114X for details.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YNote that before [5XGAP[105X 4.12, [2XLoadDynamicModule[102X ([14X76.3-14[114X) was used for this. It
  is  still  available  and in fact [2XLoadKernelExtension[102X ([14X76.3-13[114X) call it; but
  the  latter  provides  a  higher level abstraction and is more convenient to
  use.[133X
  
  [1X76.3-12 IsKernelExtensionAvailable[101X
  
  [33X[1;0Y[29X[2XIsKernelExtensionAvailable[102X( [3Xpkgname[103X[, [3Xmodname[103X] ) [32X function[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YFor  use  by  packages:  Search  for a loadable kernel module inside package
  [3Xpkgname[103X  with  name  [3Xmodname[103X  and  return [9Xtrue[109X if found, otherwise [9Xfalse[109X. If
  [3Xmodname[103X  is  omitted,  then [3Xpkgname[103X is used instead. Note that package names
  are case insensitive, but [3Xmodname[103X is not.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YThis  function  first  appeared  in  GAP 4.12. It is typically called in the
  [10XAvailabilityTest[110X function of a package (see [14X76.16-2[114X).[133X
  
  [4X[32X  Example  [32X[104X
    [4X[25Xgap>[125X [27XIsKernelExtensionAvailable("myPackageWithKernelExtension");[127X[104X
    [4X[28Xtrue[128X[104X
  [4X[32X[104X
  
  [1X76.3-13 LoadKernelExtension[101X
  
  [33X[1;0Y[29X[2XLoadKernelExtension[102X( [3Xpkgname[103X[, [3Xmodname[103X] ) [32X function[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YFor  use  by  packages:  Search  for a loadable kernel module inside package
  [3Xpkgname[103X with name [3Xmodname[103X, and load it if found. If [3Xmodname[103X is omitted, then
  [3Xpkgname[103X  is  used instead. Note that package names are case insensitive, but
  [3Xmodname[103X is not.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YThis  function  first  appeared  in  GAP 4.12. It is typically called in the
  [11Xinit.g[111X file of a package.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YPreviously, packages with a kernel module typically used code like this:[133X
  
  [4X[32X[104X
    [4Xpath := Filename(DirectoriesPackagePrograms("SomePackage"), "SomePackage.so");[104X
    [4Xif path <> fail then[104X
    [4X  LoadDynamicModule(path);[104X
    [4Xfi;[104X
  [4X[32X[104X
  
  [33X[0;0YThat  can now be replaced by the following, which also produces more helpful
  error messages for the user:[133X
  
  [4X[32X[104X
    [4XLoadKernelExtension("SomePackage");[104X
  [4X[32X[104X
  
  [33X[0;0YFor packages where the name of the kernel extension is not identical to that
  of  the  package,  you  can  either  rename  the  kernel extension to have a
  matching  name  (recommended  if  you only have a single kernel extension in
  your  package,  which  is how we recommend to set up things anyway), or else
  use the two argument version:[133X
  
  [4X[32X  Example  [32X[104X
    [4X[28XLoadKernelExtension("SomePackage", "kext"); # this will look for kext.so[128X[104X
  [4X[32X[104X
  
  [1X76.3-14 LoadDynamicModule[101X
  
  [33X[1;0Y[29X[2XLoadDynamicModule[102X( [3Xfilename[103X ) [32X function[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YTo load a compiled file, the command [2XLoadDynamicModule[102X is used. This command
  loads [3Xfilename[103X as module.[133X
  
  [4X[32X  Example  [32X[104X
    [4X[25Xgap>[125X [27XLoadDynamicModule("./test.so");[127X[104X
  [4X[32X[104X
  
  [33X[0;0YOn  some  operating  systems,  once  you have loaded a dynamic module with a
  certain  filename,  loading  another  with  the  same  filename will have no
  effect, even if the file on disk has changed.[133X
  
  
  [1X76.3-15 [33X[0;0YThe PackageInfo.g File[133X[101X
  
  [33X[0;0YEach  package  has  the  file  [11XPackageInfo.g[111X which contains meta-information
  about  the  package  (package  name,  version, author(s), relations to other
  packages,  homepage,  download  archives,  etc.).  This  file is used by the
  package  loading mechanism, by the [5XGAP[105X webpages about packages, and also for
  the redistribution of a package with [5XGAP[105X.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YA  [11XPackageInfo.g[111X  file  contains a call to the function [10XSetPackageInfo[110X, with
  argument a record. The following components of this record are [13Xmandatory[113X.[133X
  
  [8X[10XPackageName[110X[8X[108X
        [33X[0;6Ya nonempty string denoting the name of the package,[133X
  
  [8X[10XSubtitle[110X[8X[108X
        [33X[0;6Ya  string  that  describes  the  package's  contents, may be used by a
        default banner or on a web page, should fit on one line,[133X
  
  [8X[10XVersion[110X[8X[108X
        [33X[0;6Ya  nonempty  string  that  does not start with [10X=[110X, denoting the version
        number of the package (see Section [14X76.19[114X),[133X
  
  [8X[10XDate[110X[8X[108X
        [33X[0;6Ya  string  of  the  form  [10Xyyyy-mm-dd[110X  denoting the release date of the
        current  version  of  the  package  (a  date  since  1999,  when [5XGAP[105X 4
        appeared),[133X
  
  [8X[10XLicense[110X[8X[108X
        [33X[0;6Ya nonempty string containing an SPDX ID (see Section [14X76.23[114X),[133X
  
  [8X[10XArchiveURL[110X[8X[108X
        [33X[0;6Ya  string  started  with [10Xhttp://[110X, [10Xhttps://[110X, or [10Xftp://[110X, denoting an URL
        from  where the current package archive can be downloaded, but without
        the suffix describing the format (see the [10XArchiveFormats[110X component),[133X
  
  [8X[10XArchiveFormats[110X[8X[108X
        [33X[0;6Ya  string  that  lists the supported formats (among [10X.tar.gz[110X, [10X.tar.bz2[110X,
        [10X-win.zip[110X), separated by whitespace or commas,[133X
  
  [8X[10XREADME_URL[110X[8X[108X
        [33X[0;6Ya  string  started  with [10Xhttp://[110X, [10Xhttps://[110X, or [10Xftp://[110X, denoting an URL
        from  where the current [11XREADME.md[111X or [11XREADME[111X file of the package can be
        downloaded,[133X
  
  [8X[10XPackageInfoURL[110X[8X[108X
        [33X[0;6Ya  string  started  with [10Xhttp://[110X, [10Xhttps://[110X, or [10Xftp://[110X, denoting an URL
        from  where  the  current  [11XPackageInfo.g[111X  file  of  the package can be
        downloaded,[133X
  
  [8X[10XAbstractHTML[110X[8X[108X
        [33X[0;6Ya string that describes the package's contents in a few lines, in HTML
        format;  this  text will be displayed on the package overview web page
        of [5XGAP[105X,[133X
  
  [8X[10XPackageWWWHome[110X[8X[108X
        [33X[0;6Ya  string  started  with  [10Xhttp://[110X,  [10Xhttps://[110X,  or [10Xftp://[110X, denoting the
        address of the package's home page,[133X
  
  [8X[10XPackageDoc[110X[8X[108X
        [33X[0;6Ya  record  or  a  list of records; each record describes a book of the
        package documentation, with the following components[133X
  
        [8X[10XBookName[110X[8X[108X
              [33X[0;12Ya string, the name of the book,[133X
  
        [8X[10XLongTitle[110X[8X[108X
              [33X[0;12Ya string shown by [10X?books[110X,[133X
  
        [8X[10XSixFile[110X[8X[108X
              [33X[0;12Ya  string denoting a relative path to the [11Xmanual.six[111X file of the
              book,[133X
  
        [8X[10XHTMLStart[110X[8X[108X
              [33X[0;12Ya  string denoting a relative path to the start file of the HTML
              version of the book,[133X
  
        [8X[10XPDFFile[110X[8X[108X
              [33X[0;12Ya string denoting a relative path to the [11X.pdf[111X file of the book,[133X
  
        [8X[10XArchiveURLSubset[110X[8X[108X
              [33X[0;12Ya  list  of  strings  denoting relative paths to those files and
              directories  from  the  archive  that  are needed for the online
              manual; typically, [10X[ "doc" ][110X suffices,[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YThe following components of the record are [13Xoptional[113X.[133X
  
  [8X[10XTextFiles[110X[8X or [10XBinaryFiles[110X[8X or [10XTextBinaryFilesPatterns[110X[8X[108X
        [33X[0;6Ya  list  of  strings  that specify which files in the archive are text
        files  or  binary  files  (at  most one of the three components can be
        available,  each  string  in [10XTextBinaryFilesPatterns[110X must start with [10XT[110X
        for text files and by [10XB[110X for binary files),[133X
  
  [8X[10XPersons[110X[8X[108X
        [33X[0;6Ya list of records, each with the mandatory components[133X
  
        [8X[10XLastName[110X[8X[108X
              [33X[0;12Ya string,[133X
  
        [8Xat least one of [10XIsAuthor[110X[8X or [10XIsMaintainer[110X[8X[108X
              [33X[0;12Y[9Xtrue[109X or [9Xfalse[109X,[133X
  
        [33X[0;6Yand optional components[133X
  
        [8X[10XFirstNames[110X[8X[108X
              [33X[0;12Ya string (was mandatory before [5XGAP[105X 4.14),[133X
  
        [8X[10XPlace[110X[8X[108X
              [33X[0;12Ya string,[133X
  
        [8X[10XInstitution[110X[8X[108X
              [33X[0;12Ya string,[133X
  
        [33X[0;6YIf  the  [10XIsMaintainer[110X  value  is  [9Xtrue[109X  then also one of the following
        components is mandatory, otherwise these components are optional.[133X
  
        [8X[10XEmail[110X[8X[108X
              [33X[0;12Ya string,[133X
  
        [8X[10XWWWHome[110X[8X[108X
              [33X[0;12Ya string denoting an URL, or[133X
  
        [8X[10XPostalAddress[110X[8X[108X
              [33X[0;12Ya string.[133X
  
  [8X[10XSourceRepository[110X[8X[108X
        [33X[0;6Ya  record  with  the components [10XType[110X (the version control system, e.g.
        [10X"git"[110X or [10X"hg"[110X) and [10XURL[110X (the URL of the repository), both strings,[133X
  
  [8X[10XIssueTrackerURL[110X[8X[108X
        [33X[0;6Ya string started with [10Xhttp://[110X, [10Xhttps://[110X, or [10Xftp://[110X,[133X
  
  [8X[10XSupportEmail[110X[8X[108X
        [33X[0;6Ya string denoting an e-mail address,[133X
  
  [8X[10XDependencies[110X[8X[108X
        [33X[0;6Ya  record  describing  the  dependencies  of  the package (see Section
        [14X76.11[114X), with the following optional components[133X
  
        [8X[10XGAP[110X[8X[108X
              [33X[0;12Ya string denoting the needed version of [5XGAP[105X,[133X
  
        [8X[10XNeededOtherPackages[110X[8X[108X
              [33X[0;12Ya list of pairs [10X[ pkgname, pkgversion ][110X of strings, denoting the
              other  packages  which  must be available if the current package
              shall be loadable,[133X
  
        [8X[10XSuggestedOtherPackages[110X[8X[108X
              [33X[0;12Ya list of pairs [10X[ pkgname, pkgversion ][110X of strings, denoting the
              other  packages  which shall be loaded together with the current
              package if they are available,[133X
  
        [8X[10XTestPackages[110X[8X[108X
              [33X[0;12Ya  list  of  pairs  [10X[ pkgname, pkgversion ][110X of strings, denoting
              packages  that  are  needed only to test the package, but not to
              load the package,[133X
  
        [8X[10XNeededSystemPackages[110X[8X[108X
              [33X[0;12Ya  record  whose  contents describe external dependencies of the
              package   in   a  machine-readable  form  (see  [14X76.12[114X  for  more
              information),[133X
  
        [8X[10XExternalConditions[110X[8X[108X
              [33X[0;12Ya list of strings or of pairs [10X[ text, URL ][110X of strings, denoting
              conditions  on  external  programs in a human-readable form (see
              [14X76.12[114X for more information),[133X
  
  [8X[10XAvailabilityTest[110X[8X[108X
        [33X[0;6Ya  function  with  no  arguments  that  returns [9Xtrue[109X if the package is
        available,  and  [9Xfalse[109X  otherwise  (can  be  [2XReturnTrue[102X ([14X5.4-1[114X) if the
        package consists only of [5XGAP[105X code; this is also the default value),[133X
  
  [8X[10XBannerString[110X[8X or [10XBannerFunction[110X[8X[108X
        [33X[0;6Ya string or a function, respectively, that is used to create a package
        banner different from the default banner (see Section [14X76.18[114X),[133X
  
  [8X[10XTestFile[110X[8X[108X
        [33X[0;6Ya  string  denoting  a relative path to a readable file which contains
        tests of the package's functionality (see Section [14X76.20[114X),[133X
  
  [8X[10XKeywords[110X[8X[108X
        [33X[0;6Ya  list  of  strings  that  are  keywords  related to the topic of the
        package,[133X
  
  [8X[10XExtensions[110X[8X[108X
        [33X[0;6Ya  list of records that describe conditional extensions of the package
        (see Section [14X76.13[114X).[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YOther  components  of  the  record can be supported; for example, [10XAutoDoc[110X is
  used by the [5XAutoDoc[105X package if applicable.[133X
  
  [1X76.3-16 ValidatePackageInfo[101X
  
  [33X[1;0Y[29X[2XValidatePackageInfo[102X( [3Xinfo[103X ) [32X function[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YThis  function  is  intended to support package authors who create or modify
  [11XPackageInfo.g[111X  files. (It is [13Xnot[113X called when these files are read during the
  startup of [5XGAP[105X or when packages are actually loaded.)[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YThe argument [3Xinfo[103X must be either a record as is contained in a [11XPackageInfo.g[111X
  file or a string which describes the path to such a file. The result is [9Xtrue[109X
  if the record or the contents of the file, respectively, has correct format,
  and  [9Xfalse[109X  otherwise;  in  the  latter case information about the incorrect
  components  is  printed.  These  diagnostic  messages  can  be suppressed by
  setting the global option [10Xquiet[110X to [9Xtrue[109X.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YNote that the components used for package loading are checked as well as the
  components  that  are  needed for composing the package overview web page or
  for updating the package archives.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YIf  [3Xinfo[103X  is  a  string then [2XValidatePackageInfo[102X checks additionally whether
  those  package  files exist that are mentioned in the file [11Xinfo[111X, for example
  the [11Xmanual.six[111X file of the package documentation.[133X
  
  [1X76.3-17 ShowPackageVariables[101X
  
  [33X[1;0Y[29X[2XShowPackageVariables[102X( [3Xpkgname[103X[, [3Xversion[103X][, [3Xarec[103X] ) [32X function[133X
  [33X[1;0Y[29X[2XPackageVariablesInfo[102X( [3Xpkgname[103X, [3Xversion[103X ) [32X function[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YLet  [3Xpkgname[103X  be  the  name  of  a  [5XGAP[105X  package.  If the package [3Xpkgname[103X is
  available  but  not  yet  loaded  then [2XShowPackageVariables[102X prints a list of
  global variables that become bound and of methods that become installed when
  the package is loaded. (For that, [5XGAP[105X actually loads the package.)[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YIf  a  version  number  [3Xversion[103X  is  given  (see Section [14X'Reference: Version
  Numbers'[114X) then this version of the package is considered.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YAn  error  message  is  printed if (the given version of) the package is not
  available or already loaded.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YInformation  is printed about new and redeclared global variables, and about
  names  of  global  variables  introduced  in  the  package  that differ from
  existing  globals  only  by  case;  note  that  the  [5XGAP[105X help system is case
  insensitive,  so it is difficult to document identifiers that differ only by
  case.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YInfo lines for undocumented variables are marked with an asterisk [10X*[110X.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YThe  following entries are omitted from the list: default setter methods for
  attributes  and properties that are declared in the package, and [10XSet[3Xattr[103X[10X[110X and
  [10XHas[3Xattr[103X[10X[110X type variables where [3Xattr[103X is an attribute or property.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YThe  output  can be customized using the optional record [3Xarec[103X, the following
  components of this record are supported.[133X
  
  [8X[10Xshow[110X[8X[108X
        [33X[0;6Ya  list  of strings describing those kinds of variables which shall be
        shown,  such as [10X"new global functions"[110X; the default are all kinds that
        appear in the package,[133X
  
  [8X[10XshowDocumented[110X[8X[108X
        [33X[0;6Y[9Xtrue[109X  (the  default) if documented variables shall be shown, and [9Xfalse[109X
        otherwise,[133X
  
  [8X[10XshowUndocumented[110X[8X[108X
        [33X[0;6Y[9Xtrue[109X (the default) if undocumented variables shall be shown, and [9Xfalse[109X
        otherwise,[133X
  
  [8X[10XshowPrivate[110X[8X[108X
        [33X[0;6Y[9Xtrue[109X  (the  default)  if  variables from the package's name space (see
        Section [14X4.10[114X) shall be shown, and [9Xfalse[109X otherwise,[133X
  
  [8X[10XDisplay[110X[8X[108X
        [33X[0;6Ya function that takes a string and shows it on the screen; the default
        is [2XPrint[102X ([14X6.3-4[114X), another useful value is [2XPager[102X ([14X2.4-1[114X).[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YAn   interactive   variant   of   [2XShowPackageVariables[102X   is   the   function
  [2XBrowsePackageVariables[102X  ([14XBrowsePackageVariables???[114X)  that is provided by the
  [5XGAP[105X package [5XBrowse[105X. For this function, it is not sensible to assume that the
  package  [3Xpkgname[103X  is  not  yet  loaded before the function call, because one
  might be interested in packages that must be loaded before [5XBrowse[105X itself can
  be     loaded.     The     solution     is    that    [2XBrowsePackageVariables[102X
  ([14XBrowsePackageVariables???[114X)  takes the output of [2XPackageVariablesInfo[102X as its
  second   argument.   The  function  [2XPackageVariablesInfo[102X  is  used  by  both
  [2XShowPackageVariables[102X  and [2XBrowsePackageVariables[102X ([14XBrowsePackageVariables???[114X)
  for  collecting  the  information  about the package in question, and can be
  called before the package [5XBrowse[105X is loaded.[133X
  
  [1X76.3-18 BibEntry[101X
  
  [33X[1;0Y[29X[2XBibEntry[102X( [3Xpkgname[103X[, [3Xkey[103X] ) [32X function[133X
  [6XReturns:[106X  [33X[0;10Ya  string in BibXMLext format (see [14X'GAPDoc: The BibXMLext Format'[114X)
            that can be used for referencing the [5XGAP[105X system or a [5XGAP[105X package.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YIf  the  argument [3Xpkgname[103X is the string [10X"GAP"[110X, the function returns an entry
  for the current version of [5XGAP[105X.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YOtherwise, if a string [3Xpkgname[103X is given, which is the name of a [5XGAP[105X package,
  an  entry  for  this  package  is  returned; this entry is computed from the
  [11XPackageInfo.g[111X   file   of   [13Xthe   current   version[113X   of  the  package,  see
  [2XInstalledPackageVersion[102X  ([14X76.3-6[114X).  If  no  package  with  name  [3Xpkgname[103X  is
  installed then the empty string is returned.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YA  string  for  [13Xa  different  version[113X of [5XGAP[105X or a package can be computed by
  entering, as the argument [3Xpkgname[103X, the desired record from the [11XPackageInfo.g[111X
  file. (One can access these records using the function [10XPackageInfo[110X.)[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YIn  each of the above cases, an optional argument [3Xkey[103X can be given, a string
  which is then used as the key of the BibTeX entry instead of the default key
  that is generated from the system/package name and the version number.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0Y[2XBibEntry[102X  requires  the  functions [2XFormatParagraph[102X ([14XGAPDoc: FormatParagraph[114X)
  and [2XNormalizedNameAndKey[102X ([14XGAPDoc: NormalizedNameAndKey[114X) from the [5XGAP[105X package
  [5XGAPDoc[105X.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YThe   functions   [2XParseBibXMLextString[102X  ([14XGAPDoc:  ParseBibXMLextString[114X)  and
  [2XStringBibXMLEntry[102X  ([14XGAPDoc:  StringBibXMLEntry[114X)  can  be  used to create for
  example a BibTeX entry from the return value, as follows.[133X
  
  [4X[32X  Example  [32X[104X
    [4X[25Xgap>[125X [27Xbib:= BibEntry( "GAP", "GAP4.5" );;[127X[104X
    [4X[25Xgap>[125X [27XPrint( bib, "\n" );[127X[104X
    [4X[28X<entry id="GAP4.5"><misc>[128X[104X
    [4X[28X  <C>GAP</C> – <C>G</C>roups, <C>A</C>lgorithms,[128X[104X
    [4X[28X         and <C>P</C>rogramming, <C>V</C>ersion 4.5.1[128X[104X
    [4X[28X  <howpublished><URL>https://www.gap-system.org</URL></howpublished>[128X[104X
    [4X[28X  <key>GAP</key>[128X[104X
    [4X[28X  <keywords>groups; *; gap; manual</keywords>[128X[104X
    [4X[28X  <other type="organization">The GAP <C>G</C>roup</other>[128X[104X
    [4X[28X</misc></entry>[128X[104X
    [4X[25Xgap>[125X [27Xparse:= ParseBibXMLextString( bib );;[127X[104X
    [4X[25Xgap>[125X [27XPrint( StringBibXMLEntry( parse.entries[1], "BibTeX" ) );[127X[104X
    [4X[28X@misc{ GAP4.5,[128X[104X
    [4X[28X  title =            {{GAP}   {\textendash}   {G}roups,   {A}lgorithms,  and[128X[104X
    [4X[28X                      {P}rogramming, {V}ersion 4.5.1},[128X[104X
    [4X[28X  organization =     {The GAP {G}roup},[128X[104X
    [4X[28X  howpublished =     {\href                      {https://www.gap-system.org}[128X[104X
    [4X[28X                      {\texttt{https://www.gap-system.org}}},[128X[104X
    [4X[28X  key =              {GAP},[128X[104X
    [4X[28X  keywords =         {groups; *; gap; manual}[128X[104X
    [4X[28X}[128X[104X
  [4X[32X[104X
  
  [1X76.3-19 Cite[101X
  
  [33X[1;0Y[29X[2XCite[102X( [[3Xpkgname[103X[, [3Xkey[103X]] ) [32X function[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YUsed  with  no  arguments  or  with  argument [10X"GAP"[110X (case-insensitive), [2XCite[102X
  displays  instructions  on  citing  the  version  of [5XGAP[105X that is being used.
  Suggestions  are  given  in plain text, HTML, BibXML and BibTeX formats. The
  same  instructions  are  also contained in the [11XCITATION[111X file in the [5XGAP[105X root
  directory.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YIf [3Xpkgname[103X is the name of a [5XGAP[105X package, instructions on citing this package
  will  be displayed. They will be produced from the [11XPackageInfo.g[111X file of the
  working  version  of  this  package  that  must  be  available  in  the  [5XGAP[105X
  installation  being  used. Otherwise, one will get a warning that no working
  version of the package is available.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YThe optional 2nd argument [3Xkey[103X has the same meaning as in [2XBibEntry[102X ([14X76.3-18[114X).[133X

  [1X76.4 [33X[0;0YGuidelines for Writing a [5XGAP[105X[101X[1X Package[133X[101X
  
  [33X[0;0YThe remaining part of this chapter explains the basics of how to write a [5XGAP[105X
  package so that it integrates properly into [5XGAP[105X.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YThere are two basic aspects of creating a [5XGAP[105X package.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YFirst,  it is a convenient possibility to load additional functionality into
  [5XGAP[105X  including  a smooth integration of the package documentation. Second, a
  package is a way to make your code available to other [5XGAP[105X users.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YMoreover,  the  [5XGAP[105X  Group  may  provide  some help with redistributing your
  package  via the [5XGAP[105X website after checking if the package provides some new
  or  improved  functionality  which  looks interesting for other users, if it
  contains reasonable documentation, and if it seems to work smoothly with the
  [5XGAP[105X  library  and  other  distributed packages. In this case the package can
  take  part  in the [5XGAP[105X distribution update mechanism and becomes a [13Xdeposited[113X
  package.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YFurthermore, package authors are encouraged to check if the package would be
  appropriate  for the refereeing process and [13Xsubmit[113X it. If the refereeing has
  been  successful,  the  package  becomes  an  [13Xaccepted[113X  package.  Check  out
  [7Xhttps://www.gap-system.org/Packages/Authors/authors.html[107X  on the [5XGAP[105X website
  for more details.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YBelow  we  start  with  a  description  how the directory structure of a [5XGAP[105X
  package  should  be  constructed  and then add remarks on certain aspects of
  creating  a  package, some of these only apply to some packages. Finally, we
  provide guidelines for the release preparation and its distribution.[133X

  [1X76.5 [33X[0;0YStructure of a [5XGAP[105X[101X[1X Package[133X[101X
  
  [33X[0;0YA  [5XGAP[105X  package  should  have  an alphanumeric name; mixed case is fine, but
  there  should  be  no  whitespace  characters.  All  files  of a [5XGAP[105X package
  [3Xpackagename[103X  must  be  collected  in  a  single  directory [3Xpackagedir[103X, where
  [3Xpackagedir[103X  should be just [3Xpackagename[103X optionally converted to lowercase and
  optionally  followed  by  the  package  version  (with  or without hyphen to
  separate  the version from [3Xpackagename[103X). Let us call this directory the [13Xhome
  directory[113X of the package.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YTo use the package with [5XGAP[105X, the directory [3Xpackagedir[103X must be a subdirectory
  of  a  [11Xpkg[111X  directory  in  (one  of) the [5XGAP[105X root directories (see [14X9.2[114X). For
  example,  if  [5XGAP[105X  is  installed  in  [11X/usr/local/gap4[111X  then the files of the
  package  [10XMyPack[110X  may  be placed in the directory [11X/usr/local/gap4/pkg/mypack[111X.
  The  directory  [3Xpackagedir[103X  preferably  should  have the following structure
  (below, a trailing [10X/[110X distinguishes directories from ordinary files):[133X
  
  [4X[32X  Example  [32X[104X
    [4X[28Xpackagedir/[128X[104X
    [4X[28X  doc/[128X[104X
    [4X[28X  lib/[128X[104X
    [4X[28X  tst/[128X[104X
    [4X[28X  CHANGES[128X[104X
    [4X[28X  LICENSE[128X[104X
    [4X[28X  README[128X[104X
    [4X[28X  PackageInfo.g[128X[104X
    [4X[28X  init.g[128X[104X
    [4X[28X  read.g[128X[104X
  [4X[32X[104X
  
  [33X[0;0YThis   layout   of  directories  and  files  may  be  created  manually,  or
  automatically   using   the   tool   called   [5XPackageMaker[105X,   available   at
  [7Xhttps://github.com/gap-system/PackageMaker[107X.  The  [5XPackageMaker[105X  asks several
  questions about the intended package and then creates a new directory for it
  and populates it with all the files needed for a basic package.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YPackages  that contain some code that requires compilation will usually have
  it  in  the  [11Xsrc[111X  subdirectory.  They  may  also  have  extra  files such as
  [11Xconfigure[111X,  [11XMakefile.in[111X  etc.  that  automate the build procedure. There are
  three  file names with a special meaning in the home directory of a package:
  [11XPackageInfo.g[111X  and  [11Xinit.g[111X  which  must  be  present,  and  [11Xread.g[111X  which is
  optional.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YOn  the  other  hand, the names of [11XCHANGES[111X, [11XLICENSE[111X and [11XREADME[111X files are not
  strictly fixed. They may have extensions [11X.txt[111X or [11X.md[111X, and instead of [11XLICENSE[111X
  one  could  use  e.g.  [11XCOPYING[111X or [11XGPL[111X for packages distributed under the GNU
  General Public License, or use [11XHISTORY[111X instead of [11XCHANGES[111X.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YWe now describe the above files and directories in more details:[133X
  
  [8X [11XREADME[111X[108X
        [33X[0;6YThe filename may optionally have an extension, e.g. [11X.txt[111X or [11X.md[111X.[133X
  
        [33X[0;6YThis  should  contain  [21Xhow to get it[121X instructions (covering the way of
        getting  it  with  the  [5XGAP[105X  distribution and from the [5XGAP[105X website, if
        applicable),  as  well  as  installation instructions and names of the
        package   authors   and  their  email  addresses.  These  installation
        instructions  should  be  repeated  or  referenced  from the package's
        documentation,  which  should  be  in  the  [11Xdoc[111X  directory (see [14X76.6[114X).
        Authors'  names and addresses should be repeated both in the package's
        documentation and in the [11XPackageInfo.g[111X (see below).[133X
  
  [8X [11XCHANGES[111X[108X
        [33X[0;6YFor  further versions of the package, it will be also useful to have a
        [11XCHANGES[111X  file  that  records  the main changes between versions of the
        package.[133X
  
        [33X[0;6YThe filename may optionally have an extension, e.g. [11X.txt[111X or [11X.md[111X.[133X
  
  [8X [11XLICENSE[111X[108X
        [33X[0;6YThe   file   which   explains  conditions  on  which  the  package  is
        distributed.[133X
  
        [33X[0;6YWe  advise  all  package authors to make clear in the documentation of
        their  package  the  basis  on which it is being distributed to users.
        Technically, this is the terms of the license which you give the users
        to   copy,  modify  and  redistribute  your  software  (of  which  you
        presumably own the copyright) for their purposes.[133X
  
        [33X[0;6Y[5XGAP[105X itself is distributed under the GNU General Public License version
        2,  a popular [21Xfree software[121X license which allows users to redistribute
        it  freely  under the same terms, and requires that any software which
        incorporates  [5XGAP[105X  (technically, any [21Xderived work[121X) also be distributed
        under those terms. We would encourage you to consider the GPL for your
        packages,  but  you  might  wish  to be more restrictive (for instance
        forbidding  redistribution  for  profit) or less restrictive (allowing
        your software to be incorporated into commercial software).[133X
  
        [33X[0;6YThe  filename may optionally have an extension, e.g. [11X.txt[111X or [11X.md[111X. Some
        packages also use different filenames, like [11XCOPYING[111X.[133X
  
  [8X[11Xconfigure[111X, [11XMakefile.in[111X[108X
        [33X[0;6YThese  files  are typically only used by packages which have a non-[5XGAP[105X
        component,  e.g. some  C code (the files of which should be in the [11Xsrc[111X
        directory). The [11Xconfigure[111X and [11XMakefile.in[111X files of the [5XExample[105X package
        provide  prototypes  (or  they  may  be created using the [5XPackageMaker[105X
        mentioned  above).  The  [11Xconfigure[111X file typically takes a path [3Xpath[103X to
        the  [5XGAP[105X  root  directory  as  argument and uses the value assigned to
        [10XGAParch[110X  in  the  file  [11Xsysinfo.gap[111X,  created when [5XGAP[105X was compiled to
        determine  the  compilation architecture, inserts this in place of the
        string [10X@GAPARCH@[110X in [11XMakefile.in[111X and creates a file [11XMakefile[111X. When [10Xmake[110X
        is run (which, of course, reads the constructed [11XMakefile[111X), a directory
        [11Xbin[111X  (if  necessary)  and subdirectories of [11Xbin[111X with the path equal to
        the  string  assigned  to  [10XGAParch[110X  in  the file [11Xsysinfo.gap[111X should be
        created;  any binaries constructed by compiling the code in [11Xsrc[111X should
        end up in this subdirectory of [11Xbin[111X.[133X
  
  [8X[11XPackageInfo.g[111X[108X
        [33X[0;6YEvery  [5XGAP[105X  package  [13Xmust[113X  have  a  [11XPackageInfo.g[111X  file which contains
        meta-information  about the package (package name, version, author(s),
        relations  to other packages, homepage, download archives, etc.). This
        information  is used by the package loading mechanism and also for the
        redistribution   of   a   package  with  [5XGAP[105X.  The  [5XExample[105X  package's
        [11XPackageInfo.g[111X  file  is  well-commented and can be used as a prototype
        (see  also  [14X76.3-15[114X for further details). It may also be created using
        the [5XPackageMaker[105X mentioned above.[133X
  
  [8X[11Xinit.g[111X, [11Xread.g[111X[108X
        [33X[0;6YA [5XGAP[105X package [13Xmust[113X have a file [11Xinit.g[111X. Typical [11Xinit.g[111X and [11Xread.g[111X files
        should normally consist entirely of [2XReadPackage[102X ([14X76.3-1[114X) commands (and
        possibly  also [2XRead[102X ([14X9.8-1[114X) commands) for reading further files of the
        package.  If  the  [21Xdeclaration[121X and [21Ximplementation[121X parts of the package
        are  separated  (and  this  is  recommended), there should be a [11Xread.g[111X
        file.  The  [21Xdeclaration[121X  part  of  a  package consists of function and
        variable  [13Xname[113X declarations and these go in files with [10X.gd[110X extensions;
        these  files  are read in via [10XReadPackage[110X commands in the [11Xinit.g[111X file.
        The   [21Ximplementation[121X   part  of  a  package  consists  of  the  actual
        definitions  of  the functions and variables whose names were declared
        in  the  [21Xdeclaration[121X  part, and these go in files with [10X.gi[110X extensions;
        these  files  are read in via [10XReadPackage[110X commands in the [11Xread.g[111X file.
        The  reason  for following the above dichotomy is that the [11Xread.g[111X file
        is  read  [13Xafter[113X  the  [11Xinit.g[111X  file, thus enabling the possibility of a
        function's  implementation  to refer to another function whose name is
        known  but  is  not  actually  defined  yet  (see [14X76.14[114X below for more
        details).[133X
  
        [33X[0;6YThe  [5XGAP[105X  code  (whether  or  not  it  is  split  into [21Xdeclaration[121X and
        [21Ximplementation[121X  parts)  should  go in the package's [11Xlib[111X directory (see
        below).[133X
  
  [8X[11Xdoc[111X[108X
        [33X[0;6YThis  directory should contain the package's documentation, written in
        an  XML-based documentation format supported by the [5XGAP[105X package [5XGAPDoc[105X
        (see  [14X'GAPDoc:  Introduction  and  Example'[114X) which is used for the [5XGAP[105X
        documentation itself.[133X
  
        [33X[0;6YThe  [5XExample[105X  package's  documentation  (see its [11Xdoc[111X directory) may be
        used  as a prototype. It consists of the master file [11Xmain.xml[111X, further
        [11X.xml[111X  files  for  manual  chapters (included in the manual via [10XInclude[110X
        directives  in the master file) and the [5XGAP[105X input file [11X../makedocrel.g[111X
        which  generates  the  manuals.  Generally,  one should also provide a
        [11Xmanual.bib[111X BibTeX database file or an [11Xxml[111X file in the BibXMLext format
        (see [14X'GAPDoc: The BibXMLext Format'[114X).[133X
  
        [33X[0;6YOne  could also use the [5XAutoDoc[105X which simplifies writing documentation
        by generating most of the [5XGAPDoc[105X code automatically.[133X
  
  [8X[11Xlib[111X[108X
        [33X[0;6YThis  is the preferred place for the [5XGAP[105X code of the package, i.e. the
        [10X.g[110X,  [10X.gd[110X  and [10X.gi[110X files (other than [11XPackageInfo.g[111X, [11Xinit.g[111X and [11Xread.g[111X).
        For some packages, the directory [11Xgap[111X has been used instead of [11Xlib[111X; [11Xlib[111X
        has  the  advantage  that  it is the default subdirectory of a package
        directory  searched  for  by  the  [2XDirectoriesPackageLibrary[102X  ([14X76.3-7[114X)
        command.[133X
  
  [8X[11Xsrc[111X[108X
        [33X[0;6YIf  the  package  contains non-[5XGAP[105X code, e.g. C code, then this source
        code should go in the [11Xsrc[111X directory. If there are [10X.h[110X [21Xinclude[121X files you
        may  prefer to put these all together in a separate [10Xinclude[110X directory.
        There  is  one further rule for the location of kernel library modules
        or external programs which is explained in [14X76.16-1[114X below.[133X
  
  [8X[11Xtst[111X[108X
        [33X[0;6YIt  is highly recommended that a package should have test files, which
        then  should  go in the [11Xtst[111X directory. For a deposited package, a test
        file  with  a basic test of the package (for example, to check that it
        works  as expected and/or that the manual examples are correct) may be
        specified in the [11XPackageInfo.g[111X to be included in the [5XGAP[105X standard test
        suite  and run as a part of the [5XGAP[105X release preparation. More specific
        and  time  consuming  tests  are  not supposed to be a part of the [5XGAP[105X
        standard  test  suite  but  may  be  placed  in the [11Xtst[111X directory with
        further  instructions  on how to run them. See Section [14X76.20[114X about the
        requirements to the test files formats and further recommendations.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YAll other files can be organised as you like. But we suggest that you have a
  look  at  existing  packages  and  use  a  similar  scheme, for example, put
  examples   in   the   [11Xexamples[111X   subdirectory,   data   libraries  in  extra
  subdirectories, and so on.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YSometimes  there  may be a need to include an empty directory in the package
  distribution  (for example, as a place to store some data that may appear at
  runtime).  In this case package authors are advised to put in this directory
  a  short  [11XREADME[111X  file  describing its purpose to ensure that such directory
  will be included in the redistribution.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YConcerning  the  [5XGAP[105X  code  in  packages,  it  is  recommended  to  use only
  documented  [5XGAP[105X  functions, see [14X83.3[114X. In particular if you want to make your
  package available to other [5XGAP[105X users it is advisable to avoid using [21Xobsolete[121X
  variables (see [14X77[114X). To test that the package does not use obsolete variables
  you  can  set  the [10XReadObsolete[110X component in your [11Xgap.ini[111X file to [9Xfalse[109X (see
  [14X3.2[114X)  or  start [5XGAP[105X with [10X-A -O[110X command line options (note that this may also
  cause problems with loading other packages that use [21Xobsolete[121X variables).[133X

  [1X76.6 [33X[0;0YWriting Documentation and Tools Needed[133X[101X
  
  [33X[0;0YIf  you intend to make your package available to other users it is essential
  to include documentation explaining how to install and use your programs.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YConcerning  the  installation you should produce a [11XREADME[111X file which gives a
  short  description  of  the  purpose  of  the  package  and  contains proper
  instructions  how  to  install  your package. Again, check out some existing
  packages to get an idea how this could look like.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YDocumentation   for   [5XGAP[105X   package  should  be  prepared  in  an  XML-based
  documentation  format  that  is  defined  in and can be used with the [5XGAPDoc[105X
  package (see [14X'GAPDoc: Introduction and Example'[114X).[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YThere  should  be at least a text version of your documentation provided for
  use  in  the  terminal running [5XGAP[105X and some nicely printable version in [10X.pdf[110X
  format.  Many  [5XGAP[105X users like to browse the documentation in HTML format via
  their  web  browser.  As a package author, you are not obliged to provide an
  HTML  version  of your package manual, but if you use the [5XGAPDoc[105X package you
  should have no trouble in producing one.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YMoreover,  using  the  [5XGAPDoc[105X  package,  it is also possible to produce HTML
  version  of  the documentation supporting MathJax ([7Xhttps://www.mathjax.org/[107X)
  for  the  high  quality  rendering  of mathematical symbols while viewing it
  online.  For  example,  if  you  are viewing the HTML version of the manual,
  compare how this formula will look with MathJax turned on/off:[133X

  [24X[33X[0;6Y[ χ, ψ ] = ( ∑_{g ∈ G} χ(g) ψ(g^{-1}) ) / |G|.[133X[124X
  
  [33X[0;0YThe  manual  of  the  [5XExample[105X  package  is written in the [5XGAPDoc[105X format, and
  commands  needed  to  build  it  are contained in the file [10Xmakedocrel.g[110X (you
  don't  need  to  re-build  the  manual  since  it is already included in the
  package). You will also need to have certain TeX tools installed: to produce
  manuals in the [10X.pdf[110X format, you need [10Xpdflatex[110X.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YIn  principle  it is also possible to use alternative documentation systems.
  Historically, there is one such TeX-based system, which predates [5XGAPDoc[105X, and
  which  is  still  in  use  by several packages. However, we do not recommend
  using it for new packages.[133X

  [1X76.7 [33X[0;0YAn Example of a [5XGAP[105X[101X[1X Package[133X[101X
  
  [33X[0;0YWe  illustrate  the  creation of a [5XGAP[105X package by an example of a very basic
  package.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YCreate  the following directories in your home directory: [11X.gap[111X, [11X.gap/pkg[111X and
  [11X.gap/pkg/test[111X.  Then inside the directory [11X.gap/pkg/test[111X create an empty file
  [11Xinit.g[111X, and a file [11XPackageInfo.g[111X with the following contents:[133X
  
  [4X[32X  Example  [32X[104X
    [4X[28XSetPackageInfo( rec([128X[104X
    [4X[28X  PackageName := "test",[128X[104X
    [4X[28X  Version := "1.0",[128X[104X
    [4X[28X  PackageDoc := rec([128X[104X
    [4X[28X      BookName  := "test",[128X[104X
    [4X[28X      SixFile   := "doc/manual.six",[128X[104X
    [4X[28X  ),[128X[104X
    [4X[28X  Dependencies := rec([128X[104X
    [4X[28X      GAP       := "4.9",[128X[104X
    [4X[28X      NeededOtherPackages := [ ["GAPDoc", "1.6"] ],[128X[104X
    [4X[28X      SuggestedOtherPackages := [ ] ),[128X[104X
    [4X[28X  AvailabilityTest := ReturnTrue ) );[128X[104X
  [4X[32X[104X
  
  [33X[0;0YThis  file  declares  the  [5XGAP[105X  package  with  name [21Xtest[121X in version 1.0. The
  package documentation consists of one autoloaded book; the [10XSixFile[110X component
  is  needed  by  the  [5XGAP[105X  help  system. Package dependencies (picked for the
  purposes  of  this  example)  require at least [5XGAP[105X 4.9 and [5XGAPDoc[105X package at
  version  at least 1.6, and these conditions will be checked when the package
  will  be loaded (see [14X76.19[114X). Since there are no requirements that have to be
  tested, [10XAvailabilityTest[110X just uses [2XReturnTrue[102X ([14X5.4-1[114X).[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YNow  start  [5XGAP[105X (without using the [10X-r[110X option) and the [11X.gap[111X directory will be
  added  to the [5XGAP[105X root directory to allow [5XGAP[105X to find the packages installed
  there (see [14X9.2[114X).[133X
  
  [4X[32X  Example  [32X[104X
    [4X[25Xgap>[125X [27XLoadPackage("test");[127X[104X
    [4X[28Xtrue[128X[104X
  [4X[32X[104X
  
  [33X[0;0YThis  [5XGAP[105X  package  is  too  simple  to  be useful, but we have succeeded in
  loading it via [2XLoadPackage[102X ([14X76.2-1[114X), satisfying all specified dependencies.[133X

  [1X76.8 [33X[0;0YFile Structure[133X[101X
  
  [33X[0;0YPackage  files  may follow the style used for the [5XGAP[105X library. Every file in
  the  [5XGAP[105X  library starts with a header that lists the filename, copyright, a
  short  description  of  the  file  contents and the original authors of this
  file,  and ends with a comment line [10X#E[110X. Indentation in functions and the use
  of  decorative spaces in the code are left to the decision of the authors of
  each  file. Global (i.e. re-used elsewhere) comments usually are indented by
  two hash marks and two blanks, in particular, every declaration or method or
  function  installation  which  is  not only of local scope is separated by a
  header.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YFacilities  to  distribute  a  document  over  several  files  to  allow the
  documentation  for  parts  of some code to be stored in the same file as the
  code  itself are provided by the [5XGAPDoc[105X package (see [14X'GAPDoc: Distributing a
  Document  into  Several  Files'[114X).  The  same approach is demonstrated by the
  [5XExample[105X  package.  E.g.  [11Xexample/doc/example.xml[111X has the statement [10X<#Include
  Label="ListDirectory">[110X and [11Xexample/lib/files.gd[111X contains[133X
  
  [4X[32X  Example  [32X[104X
    [4X[28X##  <#GAPDoc Label="ListDirectory">[128X[104X
    [4X[28X##  <ManSection>[128X[104X
    [4X[28X##  <Func Name="ListDirectory" Arg="[dir]"/>[128X[104X
    [4X[28X##[128X[104X
    [4X[28X##  <Description>[128X[104X
    [4X[28X##  lists the files in directory dir (a string)[128X[104X
    [4X[28X##  or the current directory if called with no arguments.[128X[104X
    [4X[28X##  </Description>[128X[104X
    [4X[28X##  </ManSection>[128X[104X
    [4X[28X##  <#/GAPDoc>[128X[104X
    [4X[28XDeclareGlobalFunction( "ListDirectory" );[128X[104X
  [4X[32X[104X
  
  [33X[0;0YThis  is  all put together in the file [11Xexample/makedocrel.g[111X which builds the
  package  documentation,  calling  [2XMakeGAPDocDoc[102X ([14XGAPDoc: MakeGAPDocDoc[114X) with
  locations of library files containing parts of the documentation.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YAlternatively,   one   could  use  the  [5XAutoDoc[105X,  which  simplifies  writing
  documentation  by  generating  most  of  the  [5XGAPDoc[105X code automatically. The
  equivalent of the fragment of the code above for [5XAutoDoc[105X would look like[133X
  
  [4X[32X  Example  [32X[104X
    [4X[28X#! @Arguments [dir][128X[104X
    [4X[28X#! @Description[128X[104X
    [4X[28X#!  lists the files in directory dir (a string)[128X[104X
    [4X[28X#!  or the current directory if called with no arguments.[128X[104X
    [4X[28XDeclareGlobalFunction( "ListDirectory" );[128X[104X
  [4X[32X[104X

  [1X76.9 [33X[0;0YCreating the PackageInfo.g File[133X[101X
  
  [33X[0;0YWhile the minimalistic [11XPackageInfo.g[111X file described in [14X76.7[114X is enough to let
  [5XGAP[105X  load  the package, and check all specified dependencies, it is actually
  missing  many  extra  fields which become relevant if you want to distribute
  your  package:  they  contain  lists of authors and/or maintainers including
  contact  information,  URLs of the package archives and README files, status
  information,  text  for  a  package  overview  webpage, and so on. All these
  details are required for a package to be redistributed with [5XGAP[105X.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YThe  command  [2XValidatePackageInfo[102X  ([14X76.3-16[114X) can be used to get a quick idea
  about which fields are missing:[133X
  
  [4X[32X  Example  [32X[104X
    [4X[25Xgap>[125X [27XValidatePackageInfo("PackageInfo.g");[127X[104X
    [4X[28X#E  component `Subtitle' must be bound to a string[128X[104X
    [4X[28X#E  component `Date' must be bound to a string of the form `dd/mm/yyyy'[128X[104X
    [4X[28X#E  component `ArchiveURL' must be bound to a string started with http://, https:// or ftp://[128X[104X
    [4X[28X#E  component `ArchiveFormats' must be bound to a string[128X[104X
    [4X[28X#E  component `README_URL' must be bound to a string started with http://, https:// or ftp://[128X[104X
    [4X[28X#E  component `PackageInfoURL' must be bound to a string started with http://, https:// or ftp://[128X[104X
    [4X[28X#E  component `AbstractHTML' must be bound to a string[128X[104X
    [4X[28X#E  component `PackageWWWHome' must be bound to a string started with http://, https:// or ftp://[128X[104X
    [4X[28X#E  component `ArchiveURLSubset' must be bound to a list of strings denoting relative paths to readable files or directories[128X[104X
    [4X[28X#E  component `HTMLStart' must be bound to a string denoting a relative path to a readable file[128X[104X
    [4X[28X#E  component `PDFFile' must be bound to a string denoting a relative path to a readable file[128X[104X
    [4X[28X#E  component `SixFile' must be bound to a string denoting a relative path to a readable file[128X[104X
    [4X[28X#E  component `LongTitle' must be bound to a string[128X[104X
    [4X[28Xfalse[128X[104X
  [4X[32X[104X
  
  [33X[0;0YWe  suggest  to  create a [11XPackageInfo.g[111X file for your package by copying the
  one  in the [5XExample[105X package, distributed with [5XGAP[105X, or using the [5XPackageMaker[105X
  ([7Xhttps://github.com/gap-system/PackageMaker[107X), and then adjusting it for your
  package.  Within  [5XGAP[105X  you  can  look  at  this template file for a list and
  explanation of all recognised entries by[133X
  
  [4X[32X  Example  [32X[104X
    [4X[28XPager(StringFile(Filename(DirectoriesLibrary(),[128X[104X
    [4X[28X                          "../pkg/example/PackageInfo.g")));[128X[104X
  [4X[32X[104X
  
  [33X[0;0YInstead  of  populating the rest of the [11XPackageInfo.g[111X by hands, you can also
  create  a  basic  [5XGAP[105X package with the help of the tool called [5XPackageMaker[105X,
  available  at  [7Xhttps://github.com/gap-system/PackageMaker[107X.  The [5XPackageMaker[105X
  asks  several  questions  about  the intended package and then creates a new
  directory  for  it  and  populates  it with all the files needed for a basic
  package.[133X
  
  
  [1X76.10 [33X[0;0YFunctions and Variables and Choices of Their Names[133X[101X
  
  [33X[0;0YIn  writing the [5XGAP[105X code for your package you need to be a little careful on
  just how you define your functions and variables.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0Y[13XFirstly[113X,  in  general  one should avoid defining functions and variables via
  assignment statements in the way you would interactively, e.g.[133X
  
  [4X[32X  Example  [32X[104X
    [4X[25Xgap>[125X [27XSquared := x -> x^2;;[127X[104X
    [4X[25Xgap>[125X [27XCubed := function(x) return x^3; end;;[127X[104X
  [4X[32X[104X
  
  [33X[0;0YThe  reason  for  this  is  that  such  functions  and  variables are [13Xeasily
  overwritten[113X and what's more you are not warned about it when it happens.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YTo  protect a function or variable against overwriting there is the function
  [2XBindGlobal[102X  ([14X4.9-8[114X),  or  alternatively  (and equivalently) you may define a
  global     function    via    a    [2XDeclareGlobalFunction[102X    ([14X79.10-5[114X)    and
  [2XInstallGlobalFunction[102X   ([14X79.10-5[114X)   pair   or   a   global  variable  via  a
  [2XDeclareGlobalVariable[102X  ([14X79.10-2[114X)  and [2XInstallValue[102X ([14X79.10-3[114X) pair. There are
  also  operations  and their methods, and related objects like attributes and
  filters which also have [10XDeclare...[110X and [10XInstall...[110X pairs.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0Y[13XSecondly[113X,  it  is a good idea to reduce the chance of accidental overwriting
  by  choosing names for your functions and variables that begin with a string
  that identifies it with the package, e.g. some of the undocumented functions
  in  the [5XExample[105X package begin with [10XEg[110X. This is especially important in cases
  where  you  actually  want  the  user  to  be  able to change the value of a
  function or variable defined by your package, for which you have used direct
  assignments  (for which the user will receive no warning if she accidentally
  overwrites  them).  It is also important for functions and variables defined
  via      [10XBindGlobal[110X,     [10XDeclareGlobalFunction[110X/[10XInstallGlobalFunction[110X     and
  [10XDeclareGlobalVariable[110X/[10XInstallValue[110X,  in order to avoid name clashes that may
  occur with (extensions of) the [5XGAP[105X library and other packages.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YAdditionally,  since  [5XGAP[105X 4.5  a  package  may place global variables into a
  local  namespace  as  explained  in  [14X4.10[114X in order to avoid name clashes and
  preserve  compatibility.  This  new  feature  allows  you  to define in your
  package  global variables with the identifier ending with the [10X@[110X symbol, e.g.
  [10XxYz@[110X. Such variables may be used in your package code safely, as they may be
  accessed   from   outside   the  package  only  by  their  full  name,  i.e.
  [10XxYz@YourPackageName[110X.   This  helps  to  prevent  clashes  between  different
  packages  or  between  a  package  and  the  [5XGAP[105X library because of the same
  variable names.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YOn   the   other   hand,   operations   and   their   methods  (defined  via
  [2XDeclareOperation[102X  ([14X78.1-5[114X),  [2XInstallMethod[102X  ([14X78.3-1[114X)  etc. pairs)  and their
  relatives  do  not  need  this  consideration, as they avoid name clashes by
  allowing for more than one [21Xmethod[121X for the same-named object.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YTo     demonstrate     the     definition    of    a    function    via    a
  [10XDeclareOperation[110X/[10XInstallMethod[110X  pair,  the  method  [2XRecipe[102X  ([14XRecipe???[114X)  was
  included  in  the  [5XExample[105X  package; [10XRecipe( FruitCake );[110X gives a [21Xmethod[121X for
  making a fruit cake (forgive the pun).[133X
  
  [33X[0;0Y[13XThirdly[113X,  functions  or  variables with [10XSet[3XXXX[103X[10X[110X or [10XHas[3XXXX[103X[10X[110X names (even if they
  are defined as operations) should be avoided as these may clash with objects
  associated  with  attributes  or  properties  (attributes and properties [3XXXX[103X
  declared   via   the  [10XDeclareAttribute[110X  and  [10XDeclareProperty[110X  commands  have
  associated with them testers of form [10XHas[3XXXX[103X[10X[110X and setters of form [10XSet[3XXXX[103X[10X[110X).[133X
  
  [33X[0;0Y[13XFourthly[113X,  it  is a good idea to have some convention for internal functions
  and  variables  (i.e. the  functions  and variables you don't intend for the
  user to use). For example, they might be entirely CAPITALISED.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YAdditionally,  there  is  a  recommended naming convention that the [5XGAP[105X core
  system  and  [5XGAP[105X  packages  should  not use global variables starting in the
  lowercase. This allows to reserve variables with names starting in lowercase
  to  the  [5XGAP[105X  user so they will never clash with the system. It is extremely
  important  to  avoid  using  for  package  global variables very short names
  started  in  lowercase. For example, such names like [10Xcs[110X, [10Xexp[110X, [10Xngens[110X, [10Xpc[110X, [10Xpow[110X
  which  are  perfectly  fine  for  local  variables, should never be used for
  globals.  Additionally,  the package must not have writable global variables
  with  very  short names even if they are starting in uppercase, for example,
  [10XC1[110X or [10XORB[110X, since they also could be easily overwritten by the user.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YIt  is a good practice to follow naming conventions used in [5XGAP[105X as explained
  in  [14X5.6[114X  and  [14X'Tutorial:  Changing the Structure'[114X, which might help users to
  memorize or even guess names of functions provided by the package.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0Y[13XFinally[113X,         note         the         advantage         of         using
  [10XDeclareGlobalFunction[110X/[10XInstallGlobalFunction[110X,
  [10XDeclareGlobalVariable[110X/[10XInstallValue[110X,  etc. pairs  (rather than [10XBindGlobal[110X) to
  define  functions  and variables, which allow the package author to organise
  her  function- and variable- definitions in any order without worrying about
  any  interdependence.  The [10XDeclare...[110X statements should go in files with [10X.gd[110X
  extensions  and  be  loaded  by [10XReadPackage[110X statements in the package [11Xinit.g[111X
  file,  and the [10XInstall...[110X definitions should go in files with [10X.gi[110X extensions
  and  be  loaded  by  [10XReadPackage[110X statements in the package [11Xread.g[111X file; this
  ensures  that  the [10X.gi[110X files are read [13Xafter[113X the [10X.gd[110X files. All other package
  code  should  go  in  [10X.g[110X  files  (other  than  the  [11Xinit.g[111X  and [11Xread.g[111X files
  themselves) and be loaded via [10XReadPackage[110X statements in the [11Xinit.g[111X file.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YIn conclusion, here is some practical advice on how to check which variables
  are used by the package.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YFirstly,  there is a function [2XShowPackageVariables[102X ([14X76.3-17[114X). If the package
  [3Xpkgname[103X is available but not yet loaded then [10XShowPackageVariables( pkgname )[110X
  prints  a  list  of  global  variables that become bound and of methods that
  become  installed  when the package is loaded (for that, the package will be
  actually  loaded,  so  [10XShowPackageVariables[110X  can be called only once for the
  same  package in the same [5XGAP[105X session.) The second optional argument [3Xversion[103X
  may specify a particular package version to be loaded. An error message will
  be printed if (the given version of) the package is not available or already
  loaded.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YInfo  lines  for  undocumented  variables will be marked with an asterisk [10X*[110X.
  Note  that  the  [5XGAP[105X  help system is case insensitive, so it is difficult to
  document identifiers that differ only by case.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YThe  following entries are omitted from the list: default setter methods for
  attributes  and properties that are declared in the package, and [10XSet[3Xattr[103X[10X[110X and
  [10XHas[3Xattr[103X[10X[110X type variables where [3Xattr[103X is an attribute or property.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YFor  example, for the [5XExample[105X package it may produce the output looking like
  this:[133X
  
  [4X[32X  Example  [32X[104X
    [4X[25Xgap>[125X [27XShowPackageVariables("example");[127X[104X
    [4X[28X----------------------------------------------------------------[128X[104X
    [4X[28XLoading Example 3.3 (Example/Template of a GAP Package)[128X[104X
    [4X[28Xby Werner Nickel (http://www.mathematik.tu-darmstadt.de/~nickel),[128X[104X
    [4X[28X   Greg Gamble (http://www.math.rwth-aachen.de/~Greg.Gamble), and[128X[104X
    [4X[28X   Alexander Konovalov (http://www.cs.st-andrews.ac.uk/~alexk/).[128X[104X
    [4X[28X----------------------------------------------------------------[128X[104X
    [4X[28Xnew global functions:[128X[104X
    [4X[28X  EgSeparatedString( str, c )*[128X[104X
    [4X[28X  FindFile( dir, file )[128X[104X
    [4X[28X  HelloWorld(  )[128X[104X
    [4X[28X  ListDirectory( arg )[128X[104X
    [4X[28X  LoadedPackages(  )[128X[104X
    [4X[28X  WhereIsPkgProgram( prg )[128X[104X
    [4X[28X  Which( prg )[128X[104X
    [4X[28X[128X[104X
    [4X[28Xnew global variables:[128X[104X
    [4X[28X  FruitCake[128X[104X
    [4X[28X[128X[104X
    [4X[28Xnew operations:[128X[104X
    [4X[28X  Recipe( arg )[128X[104X
    [4X[28X[128X[104X
    [4X[28Xnew methods:[128X[104X
    [4X[28X  Recipe( cake )[128X[104X
  [4X[32X[104X
  
  [33X[0;0YAnother  trick  is  to  start  [5XGAP[105X with [10X-r -A[110X options, immediately load your
  package  and  then  call [2XNamesUserGVars[102X ([14X4.9-11[114X) which returns a list of the
  global  variable  names created since the library was read, to which a value
  is currently bound. For example, for the [5XExample[105X it produces[133X
  
  [4X[32X  Example  [32X[104X
    [4X[25Xgap>[125X [27XNamesUserGVars();[127X[104X
    [4X[28X[ "EgSeparatedString", "FindFile", "FruitCake", "HelloWorld", "ListDirectory",[128X[104X
    [4X[28X  "LoadedPackages", "Recipe", "WhereIsPkgProgram", "Which" ][128X[104X
  [4X[32X[104X
  
  [33X[0;0Ybut for packages with dependencies it will also contain variables created by
  other  packages.  Nevertheless,  it  may  be  a  useful  check to search for
  unwanted  variables appearing after package loading. A potentially dangerous
  situation which should be avoided is when the package uses some simply named
  temporary  variables  at  the loading stage. Such [21Xphantom[121X variables may then
  remain  unnoticed  and,  as  a result, there will be no warnings if the user
  occasionally uses the same name as a local variable name in a function. Even
  more dangerous is the case when the user variable with the same name already
  exists before the package is loaded so it will be silently overwritten.[133X
  
  
  [1X76.11 [33X[0;0YPackage Dependencies (Requesting one [5XGAP[105X[101X[1X Package from within Another)[133X[101X
  
  [33X[0;0YIt is possible for one [5XGAP[105X package [10XA[110X to require another package [10XB[110X. For that,
  one  simply adds the name and the (least) version number of the package [10XB[110X to
  the  [10XNeededOtherPackages[110X  component  of  the  [10XDependencies[110X  component of the
  [11XPackageInfo.g[111X  file of the package [10XA[110X. In this situation, loading the package
  [10XA[110X forces that also the package [10XB[110X is loaded, and that [10XA[110X cannot be loaded if [10XB[110X
  is not available.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YIf  [10XB[110X  is  not  essential for [10XA[110X but should be loaded if it is available (for
  example  because  [10XB[110X  provides  some improvements of the main system that are
  useful  for  [10XA[110X)  then the name and the (least) version number of [10XB[110X should be
  added  to the [10XSuggestedOtherPackages[110X component of the [10XDependencies[110X component
  of  the  [11XPackageInfo.g[111X  file  of  [10XA[110X.  In this situation, loading [10XA[110X forces an
  attempt to load also [10XB[110X, but [10XA[110X is loaded even if [10XB[110X is not available.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YIf  [10XB[110X  is not essential for [10XA[110X but is used in the package tests, (for example
  because  [10XB[110X  is  a library of groups used to provide testcases) then the name
  and  the  (least)  version  number  of [10XB[110X should be added to the [10XTestPackages[110X
  component of the [10XDependencies[110X component of the [11XPackageInfo.g[111X file of [10XA[110X. Note
  that  [5XGAP[105X  itself  does  not  use this information at all. In particular, no
  attempts are made to actually load [10XB[110X, this should be done explicitly as part
  of  the  package  tests.  The  benefit  of  specifying this component is for
  automated  test runners (e.g. as part of the [5XGAP[105X package distribution) which
  can use this information to ensure all packages needed to run your package's
  tests are installed and ready.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YAll  package dependencies must be documented explicitly in the [11XPackageInfo.g[111X
  file. It is important to properly identify package dependencies and make the
  right  decision whether the other package should be [21Xneeded[121X or [21Xsuggested[121X. For
  example,  declaring package as [21Xneeded[121X when [21Xsuggested[121X might be sufficient may
  prevent loading of packages under Windows for no good reason.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YIt  is  not  appropriate  to  explicitly  call [2XLoadPackage[102X ([14X76.2-1[114X) [13Xwhen the
  package  is  loaded[113X, since this may distort the order of package loading and
  result in warning messages. It is recommended to turn such dependencies into
  needed or suggested packages. For example, a package can be designed in such
  a way that it can be loaded with restricted functionality if another package
  (or standalone program) is missing, and in this case the missing package (or
  binary)  is  [13Xsuggested[113X.  Alternatively,  if  the package author decides that
  loading  the  package  in  this  situation  makes no sense, then the missing
  component is [13Xneeded[113X.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YOn the other hand, if [2XLoadPackage[102X ([14X76.2-1[114X) is called inside functions of the
  package  then  there  is  no such problem, provided that these functions are
  called  only  after  the  package has been loaded, so it is not necessary to
  specify  the  other package as suggested. The same applies to test files and
  manual  examples,  which  may  be  simply  extended  by calls to [2XLoadPackage[102X
  ([14X76.2-1[114X).[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YIt  may  happen  that  a  package B that is listed as a suggested package of
  package A is actually needed by A. If no explicit [2XLoadPackage[102X ([14X76.2-1[114X) calls
  for  B  occur  in  A at loading time, this can now be detected using the new
  possibility  to  load a package without loading its suggested packages using
  the  global  option  [10XOnlyNeeded[110X  which can be used to (recursively) suppress
  loading  the  suggested  packages  of  the  package  in question. Using this
  option,  one  can  check  whether  errors  or  warnings appear when B is not
  available  (note  that  this  option  should be used only for such checks to
  simulate  the  situation when package B is not available; it is not supposed
  to  be  used  in  an actual [5XGAP[105X session when package B will be loaded later,
  since  this  may  cause  problems). In case of any errors or warnings, their
  consequence  can  then  be  either turning B into a needed package or (since
  apparently  B was not intended to become a needed package) changing the code
  accordingly.  Only  if package A calls [2XLoadPackage[102X ([14X76.2-1[114X) for B at loading
  time  (see  above)  then package B needs to be [13Xdeinstalled[113X (i.e. removed) to
  test loading of A without B.[133X
  
  
  [1X76.12 [33X[0;0YExternal Dependencies (System packages needed by a [5XGAP[105X[101X[1X Package)[133X[101X
  
  [33X[0;0YIt  is  possible  for  a  [5XGAP[105X  package to require external software. If this
  software  is  not  bundled  together  with the package, then this dependency
  should  be  documented. To do so, one may add either a string describing the
  dependency,  or  a  list  [10X[  description,  URL  ][110X, to the [10XExternalConditions[110X
  component of the [10XDependencies[110X component of the [11XPackageInfo.g[111X file of the [5XGAP[105X
  package.[133X
  
  [4X[32X  Example  [32X[104X
    [4X[28XExternalConditions := [[128X[104X
    [4X[28X    [ "needs the PARI/GP computer algebra system Version 2.5 or higher",[128X[104X
    [4X[28X      "https://pari.math.u-bordeaux.fr/" ][128X[104X
    [4X[28X][128X[104X
  [4X[32X[104X
  
  [33X[0;0YNote  that  the data in [10XExternalConditions[110X is purely informational and meant
  to  be human-readable, not machine-readable. [5XGAP[105X itself does not use it, but
  for  packages  distributed  with  [5XGAP[105X,  the  [5XGAP[105X  website displays it in its
  package list.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YIf  this  dependency  is  available through a package manager such as [10Xapt[110X or
  [10Xbrew[110X,  this should also be documented. This can be done by adding the system
  package  to  the  relevant  component  (such  as  [10XUbuntu[110X or [10XHomebrew[110X) of the
  [10XNeededSystemPackages[110X component of the [11XPackageInfo.g[111X file of the [5XGAP[105X package.
  Each system package is added by means of a list whose first component is the
  name  needed  by  the  package  manager. The other elements of this list are
  reserved for future usage.[133X
  
  [4X[32X  Example  [32X[104X
    [4X[28XNeededSystemPackages := rec([128X[104X
    [4X[28X    Ubuntu   := [["pari-gp"]],[128X[104X
    [4X[28X    Homebrew := [["pari"]][128X[104X
    [4X[28X)[128X[104X
  [4X[32X[104X
  
  [33X[0;0YNote  that  this  mechanism is primarily intended for consumption by the [5XGAP[105X
  package  distribution  and by other testing tooling. It is deliberately kept
  very simple. For example, at this point there is no mechanism to prescribe a
  distribution  version (basically, "Ubuntu" means whatever `ubuntu-latest` is
  referring  to  in  GitHub  actions),  nor  to specify a minimal version of a
  system  package.  Despite  these  strong limitations, this data may still be
  useful  for  people packaging [5XGAP[105X and its packages for a distribution, as it
  at least gives a hint which system packages may be needed.[133X
  
  
  [1X76.13 [33X[0;0YExtensions Provided by a Package[133X[101X
  
  [33X[0;0YSometimes  a  package [10XA[110X can provide additional functionality, such as better
  methods  or  additional  data, if some other packages [10XB[110X, [10XC[110X, etc. are loaded.
  However,  one  would  like  package  [10XA[110X  to  still  be  usable  without these
  additional  packages,  and  therefore  [10XB[110X,  [10XC[110X,  etc. shall not be regarded as
  needed packages (see Section [14X76.11[114X) of [10XA[110X.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YOne  way to deal with this situation is to put those parts of code of [10XA[110X that
  depend  on  [10XB[110X,  [10XC[110X, etc., into files that get read only in the situation that
  the  packages  in  question  have  actually been loaded into the current [5XGAP[105X
  session.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YHowever,  this leaves the question when to load these files of a conditional
  [13Xextension[113X  of  [10XA[110X.  In  the  past, the only option for [10XA[110X was to check for the
  presence  of  [10XB[110X, [10XC[110X, etc., while it itself was being loaded. With this setup,
  it depends on the order in which packages get loaded whether some feature is
  available  or not: If [10XB[110X is loaded before [10XA[110X, the extension might be loaded as
  well; if [10XB[110X is loaded only after [10XA[110X, then the extension is not loaded.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YTo  deal with this issue of conditional extensions of packages, [5XGAP[105X offers a
  dedicated mechanism: The [10XExtensions[110X component of the [11XPackageInfo.g[111X file of [10XA[110X
  is a list of declarations of conditional extension of [10XA[110X, each being a record
  with the following components.[133X
  
  [8X[10Xneeded[110X[8X[108X
        [33X[0;6Ya  list  of the form [10X[ [ pkgname1, version1 ], [ pkgname2, version2 ],
        [110X[22X...[122X[10X  ][110X,  meaning  that  the  extension  shall be loaded as soon as all
        packages  [10Xpkgname1[110X,  [10Xpkgname2[110X, [22X...[122X, with versions (at least) [10Xversion1[110X,
        [10Xversion2[110X, [22X...[122X, have been loaded, and[133X
  
  [8X[10Xfilename[110X[8X[108X
        [33X[0;6Ythe  path, relative to the package directory of [10XA[110X, of a file such that
        reading this file will load the code of the extension.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YAs  an  example suppose the following is part of the [11XPackageInfo.g[111X. Then [5XGAP[105X
  will load the file [11XfileForB.gd[111X as soon as package [10XB[110X is loaded in version 0.6
  or  newer,  and  [11XfileForCD.gi[111X once package [10XC[110X and [10XD[110X are loaded in version 1.2
  and 0.1 or newer respectively.[133X
  
  [4X[32X  Example  [32X[104X
    [4X[28XExtensions := [[128X[104X
    [4X[28X  rec([128X[104X
    [4X[28X    needed := [ ["B", "0.6"] ],[128X[104X
    [4X[28X    filename := "gap/fileForB.gd",[128X[104X
    [4X[28X  ),[128X[104X
    [4X[28X  rec([128X[104X
    [4X[28X    needed := [ ["C", "1.2"] , ["D", "0.1"] ],[128X[104X
    [4X[28X    filename := "gap/fileForCD.gi",[128X[104X
    [4X[28X  )[128X[104X
    [4X[28X],[128X[104X
  [4X[32X[104X
  
  [33X[0;0YWhenever  [2XLoadPackage[102X  ([14X76.2-1[114X) is called, [5XGAP[105X checks for package extensions
  whose conditions now are satisfied, and loads them.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YFor  example, package [10XA[110X can be loaded early in a [5XGAP[105X session, and declare in
  its  [11XPackageInfo.g[111X the availability of an extension that requires package [10XB[110X.
  If [10XB[110X has not yet been loaded then this extension will not be loaded together
  with  [10XA[110X.  However,  as  soon  as  [10XB[110X gets (installed and) loaded later in the
  session, also the extension of [10XA[110X will automatically get loaded.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YThe contents of [10XExtensions[110X in a [11XPackageInfo.g[111X file does not affect the lists
  of  needed or suggested packages. If an extension of [10XA[110X is beneficial for the
  functions  of  [10XA[110X  then  it  makes  sense to list the packages needed for the
  extension among the suggested packages of [10XA[110X, but this may not be the case if
  the extension is beneficial only for the functions of its needed packages.[133X
  
  
  [1X76.14 [33X[0;0YDeclaration and Implementation Part of a Package[133X[101X
  
  [33X[0;0YWhen  [5XGAP[105X  packages  require  each  other in a circular way, a [21Xbootstrapping[121X
  problem  arises  of  defining  functions  before  they  are called. The same
  problem  occurs  in  the [5XGAP[105X library, and it is resolved there by separating
  declarations  (which define global variables such as filters and operations)
  and   implementations  (which  install  global  functions  and  methods)  in
  different files. Any implementation file may use global variables defined in
  any  declaration  file.  [5XGAP[105X  initially  reads all declaration files (in the
  library  they  have  a  [10X.gd[110X  suffix) and afterwards reads all implementation
  files (which have a [10X.gi[110X suffix).[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YSomething  similar  is possible for [5XGAP[105X packages: if a file [11Xread.g[111X exists in
  the  home  directory  of  the  package, this file is read only [13Xafter[113X all the
  [11Xinit.g[111X  files  of  all (implicitly) required [5XGAP[105X packages are read. Thus one
  can  separate  declaration  and implementation for a [5XGAP[105X package in the same
  way  as  is done for the [5XGAP[105X library, by creating a file [11Xread.g[111X, restricting
  the  [2XReadPackage[102X  ([14X76.3-1[114X)  statements in [11Xinit.g[111X to only read those files of
  the  package that provide declarations, and to read the implementation files
  from [11Xread.g[111X.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0Y[13XExamples:[113X[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YSuppose  that  there  are  two  packages [10XA[110X and [10XB[110X, each with files [11Xinit.g[111X and
  [11Xread.g[111X.[133X
  
  [30X    [33X[0;6YIf  package  [10XA[110X suggests or needs package [10XB[110X and package [10XB[110X does not need
        or  suggest  any  other  package  then first [11Xinit.g[111X of [10XB[110X is read, then
        [11Xread.g[111X of [10XB[110X, then [11Xinit.g[111X of [10XA[110X, then [11Xread.g[111X of [10XA[110X.[133X
  
  [30X    [33X[0;6YIf  package  [10XA[110X suggests or needs package [10XB[110X and package [10XB[110X (or a package
        that  is  suggested  or  needed by [10XB[110X) suggests or needs package [10XA[110X then
        first  the  files [11Xinit.g[111X of [10XA[110X and [10XB[110X are read (in an unspecified order)
        and then the files [11Xread.g[111X of [10XA[110X and [10XB[110X (in the same order).[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YIn  general, when [5XGAP[105X is asked to load a package then first the dependencies
  between  this  packages  and its needed and suggested packages are inspected
  (recursively),  and  a  list of package sets is computed such that no cyclic
  dependencies  occur  between different package sets and such that no package
  in any of the package sets needs any package in later package sets. Then [5XGAP[105X
  runs  through the package sets and reads for each set first all [11Xinit.g[111X files
  and  then  all  [11Xread.g[111X  files  of  the  packages  in  the set. (There is one
  exception  from  this  rule:  Whenever  packages  are  autoloaded before the
  implementation part of the [5XGAP[105X library is read, only the [11Xinit.g[111X files of the
  packages  are  read;  as  soon  as the [5XGAP[105X library has been read, the [11Xread.g[111X
  files of these packages are also read, and afterwards the above rule holds.)[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YIt  can  happen  that  some code of a package depends on the availability of
  suggested  packages, i.e., different initialisations are performed depending
  on  whether  a  suggested  package will eventually be loaded or not. One can
  test this condition with the function [2XIsPackageMarkedForLoading[102X ([14X76.3-4[114X). In
  particular,  one  should  [13Xnot[113X call (and use the value returned by this call)
  the  function  [2XLoadPackage[102X  ([14X76.2-1[114X) inside package code that is read during
  package loading. Note that for debugging purposes loading suggested packages
  may have been deliberately disabled via the global option [10XOnlyNeeded[110X.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YNote  that  the separation of the [5XGAP[105X code of packages into declaration part
  and  implementation  part  does  in  general  [13Xnot[113X allow one to actually [13Xcall[113X
  functions  from a package when the implementation part is read. For example,
  in  the  case of a [21Xcyclic dependency[121X as in the second example above, suppose
  that [10XB[110X provides a new function [10Xf[110X or a new global record [10Xr[110X which are declared
  in  the declaration part of [10XB[110X. Then the code in the implementation part of [10XA[110X
  may  contain  calls  to  the functions defined in the declaration part of [10XB[110X.
  However,  the implementation part of [10XA[110X may be read [13Xbefore[113X the implementation
  part  of  [10XB[110X.  So one can in general not assume that during the loading of [10XA[110X,
  the  function  [10Xf[110X  can  be  called,  or that one can access components of the
  record [10Xr[110X.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YIf  one wants to call the function [10Xf[110X or to access components of the record [10Xr[110X
  in the code of the package [10XA[110X then the problem is that it may be not possible
  to  determine  a cyclic dependency between [10XA[110X and [10XB[110X from the packages [10XA[110X and [10XB[110X
  alone.  A safe solution is then to design [10XA[110X in such a way that the code that
  calls  [10Xf[110X  or  accesses  [10Xr[110X belongs to [13Xpackage extensions[113X of [10XA[110X that get loaded
  only after [10XB[110X has been loaded; see Section [14X76.13[114X for details.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YIn the case of cyclic dependencies, one solution for the above problem might
  be to delay those computations (typically initialisations) in package [10XA[110X that
  require  package  [10XB[110X  to be loaded until all required packages are completely
  loaded. This can be done by moving the declaration and implementation of the
  variables that are created in the initialisation into a separate file and to
  declare  these  variables  in  the [11Xinit.g[111X file of the package, via a call to
  [2XDeclareAutoreadableVariables[102X ([14X76.3-10[114X) (see also [14X76.15[114X).[133X
  
  
  [1X76.15 [33X[0;0YAutoreadable Variables[133X[101X
  
  [33X[0;0YPackage  files containing method installations must be read when the package
  is  loaded.  For  package  files  [13Xnot[113X  containing method installations (this
  applies,  for  example,  to many data files) another mechanism allows one to
  delay  reading  such files until the data are actually accessed. See [14X76.3-10[114X
  for further details.[133X
  
  
  [1X76.16 [33X[0;0YStandalone Programs in a [5XGAP[105X[101X[1X Package[133X[101X
  
  [33X[0;0Y[5XGAP[105X  packages  that involve stand-alone programs are fundamentally different
  from [5XGAP[105X packages that consist entirely of [5XGAP[105X code.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YThis  difference is threefold: A user who installs the [5XGAP[105X package must also
  compile  (or install) the package's binaries, the package must check whether
  the  binaries  are indeed available, and finally the [5XGAP[105X code of the package
  has  to  start the external binary and to communicate with it. We will cover
  these three points in the following sections.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YIf the package does not solely consist of an interface to an external binary
  and  if  the external program called is not just special-purpose code, but a
  generally available program, chances are high that sooner or later other [5XGAP[105X
  packages  might  also  require this program. We therefore strongly recommend
  the  provision  of  a  documented  [5XGAP[105X  function that will call the external
  binary.  We  also  suggest  to  create  actually two [5XGAP[105X packages; the first
  providing  only  the  binary and the interface and the second (requiring the
  first, see [14X76.11[114X) being the actual [5XGAP[105X package.[133X
  
  
  [1X76.16-1 [33X[0;0YInstallation of [5XGAP[105X[101X[1X Package Binaries[133X[101X
  
  [33X[0;0YThe  scheme  for  the  installation  of  package binaries which is described
  further on is intended to permit the installation on different architectures
  which  share  a  common  file system (and share the architecture independent
  file).[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YA  [5XGAP[105X package which includes external binaries contains a [11Xbin[111X subdirectory.
  This   subdirectory  in  turn  contains  subdirectories  for  the  different
  architectures  on which the [5XGAP[105X package binaries are installed. The names of
  these  directories  must  be  the  same  as  the  names  of the architecture
  dependent  subdirectories  of  the main [11Xbin[111X directory. Unless you use a tool
  like  [10Xautoconf[110X  yourself,  you  must  obtain  the correct name of the binary
  directory  from  the  main  [5XGAP[105X  branch.  To  help  with  this, the main [5XGAP[105X
  directory  contains  a  file  [11Xsysinfo.gap[111X  which  assigns the shell variable
  [10XGAParch[110X  to  the  proper  name as determined by [5XGAP[105X's [10Xconfigure[110X process. For
  example on a Linux system, the file [11Xsysinfo.gap[111X may look like this:[133X
  
  [4X[32X  Example  [32X[104X
    [4X[28XGAParch=i586-unknown-linux2.0.31-gcc[128X[104X
  [4X[32X[104X
  
  [33X[0;0YWe  suggest  that your [5XGAP[105X package contains a file [11Xconfigure[111X which is called
  with  the  path  of the [5XGAP[105X root directory as parameter. This file then will
  read  [11Xsysinfo.gap[111X  and  set  up  everything  for  compiling  under the given
  architecture  (for example creating a [11XMakefile[111X from [11XMakefile.in[111X). As initial
  templates,  you may use installation scripts of the [5XExample[105X package or files
  generated with the help of [5XPackageMaker[105X.[133X
  
  
  [1X76.16-2 [33X[0;0YTest for the Existence of GAP Package Binaries[133X[101X
  
  [33X[0;0YIf  an  external  binary is essential for the workings of a [5XGAP[105X package, the
  function  stored in the component [10XAvailabilityTest[110X of the [11XPackageInfo.g[111X file
  of  the  package  should  test  whether the program has been compiled on the
  architecture  (and inhibit package loading if this is not the case). This is
  especially important if the package is loaded automatically.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YThe  easiest  way to accomplish this is to use [2XFilename[102X ([14X9.5-1[114X) for checking
  for  the  actual  binaries  in  the path given by [2XDirectoriesPackagePrograms[102X
  ([14X76.3-8[114X)  for  the  respective  package. For example the [5Xexample[105X [5XGAP[105X package
  could  use  the following function to test whether the binary [11Xhello[111X has been
  compiled;  it will issue a warning if not, and will only load the package if
  the binary is indeed available:[133X
  
  [4X[32X  Example  [32X[104X
    [4X[28X...[128X[104X
    [4X[28XAvailabilityTest := function()[128X[104X
    [4X[28X  local path,file;[128X[104X
    [4X[28X    # test for existence of the compiled binary[128X[104X
    [4X[28X    path:= DirectoriesPackagePrograms( "example" );[128X[104X
    [4X[28X    file:= Filename( path, "hello" );[128X[104X
    [4X[28X    if file = fail then[128X[104X
    [4X[28X      LogPackageLoadingMessage( PACKAGE_WARNING,[128X[104X
    [4X[28X          [ "The program `hello' is not compiled,",[128X[104X
    [4X[28X            "`HelloWorld()' is thus unavailable.",[128X[104X
    [4X[28X            "See the installation instructions;",[128X[104X
    [4X[28X            "type: ?Installing the Example package" ] );[128X[104X
    [4X[28X    fi;[128X[104X
    [4X[28X    return file <> fail;[128X[104X
    [4X[28X  end,[128X[104X
    [4X[28X...[128X[104X
  [4X[32X[104X
  
  [33X[0;0YHowever,  if  you  look  at  the  actual  [11XPackageInfo.g[111X  file of the [5Xexample[105X
  package,  you  will  see  that  its [10XAvailabilityTest[110X function always returns
  [9Xtrue[109X, and just logs the warning if the binary is not available (which may be
  later  viewed  with  [2XDisplayPackageLoadingLog[102X ([14X76.2-6[114X)). This means that the
  binary is not regarded as essential for this package.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YYou  might  also have to cope with the situation that external binaries will
  only  run  under  UNIX (and not e.g. under Windows), or may not compile with
  some  compilers  or default compiler options. See [14X3.4[114X for information on how
  to test for the architecture.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YPackage using a kernel module (see [14X76.3-11[114X), one may use a test like this:[133X
  
  [4X[32X[104X
    [4X...[104X
    [4XAvailabilityTest := function()[104X
    [4X    # see if example.so exists and is a loadable kernel extension[104X
    [4X    if not IsKernelExtensionAvailable("example") then[104X
    [4X      LogPackageLoadingMessage( PACKAGE_WARNING,[104X
    [4X          [ "The kernel extension `example' is unavailable,",[104X
    [4X            "perhaps it needs to be recompiled?",[104X
    [4X            "See the installation instructions;",[104X
    [4X            "type: ?Installing the Example package" ] );[104X
    [4X      return false;[104X
    [4X    fi;[104X
    [4X    return true;[104X
    [4X  end,[104X
    [4X...[104X
  [4X[32X[104X
  
  [33X[0;0YLast  but  not least: do not print anything in the [10XAvailabilityTest[110X function
  of   the   package   via   [10XPrint[110X   or   [10XInfo[110X.   Instead   one   should  call
  [2XLogPackageLoadingMessage[102X  ([14X76.2-6[114X)  to  store  a message which may be viewed
  later  with [2XDisplayPackageLoadingLog[102X ([14X76.2-6[114X) (the latter two functions have
  been introduced in [5XGAP[105X 4.5)[133X
  
  
  [1X76.16-3 [33X[0;0YCalling of and Communication with External Binaries[133X[101X
  
  [33X[0;0YThere  are  two  reasons for this: the input data has to be passed on to the
  stand-alone  program  and  the  stand-alone  program  has to be started from
  within [5XGAP[105X.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YThere are two principal ways of doing this.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YThe first possibility is to write all the data for the stand-alone to one or
  several  files,  then  start  the  stand-alone with [2XProcess[102X ([14X11.1-1[114X) or [2XExec[102X
  ([14X11.1-2[114X)  which then writes the output data to file, and finally read in the
  standalone's output file.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YThe second way is interfacing via input-output streams, see Section [14X10.8[114X.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YSome  [5XGAP[105X  packages  use  kernel  modules  (see [14X76.3-11[114X) instead of external
  binaries.   A  kernel  module  is  implemented  in  C  and  follows  certain
  conventions  to  comply  with  the  [5XGAP[105X  kernel  interface, which we plan to
  document  later. In the meantime, we advise you to look at existing examples
  of such packages and get in touch with [5XGAP[105X developers if you plan to develop
  such a package.[133X
  
  
  [1X76.17 [33X[0;0YHaving an InfoClass[133X[101X
  
  [33X[0;0YIt  is  a good idea to declare an [10XInfoClass[110X for your package. This gives the
  package  user  the opportunity to control the verbosity of output and/or the
  possibility  of  receiving debugging information (see [14X7.4[114X). Below, we give a
  quick overview of its utility.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YAn  [10XInfoClass[110X  is  defined with a [10XDeclareInfoClass( [3XInfoPkgname[103X[10X );[110X statement
  and  may  be  set  to  have an initial [10XInfoLevel[110X other than the zero default
  (which means no [10XInfo[110X statement is to output information) via a [10XSetInfoLevel(
  [3XInfoPkgname[103X[10X, [3Xlevel[103X[10X );[110X statement. An initial [10XInfoLevel[110X of 1 is typical.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0Y[10XInfo[110X statements have the form: [10XInfo( [3XInfoPkgname[103X[10X, [3Xlevel[103X[10X, [3Xexpr1[103X[10X, [3Xexpr2[103X[10X, ...);[110X
  where  the expression list [10X[3Xexpr1[103X[10X, [3Xexpr2[103X[10X, ...[110X appears just like it would in a
  [10XPrint[110X  statement.  The  only  difference is that the expression list is only
  printed  (or  even  executed)  if  the  [10XInfoLevel[110X of [3XInfoPkgname[103X is at least
  [3Xlevel[103X.[133X
  
  
  [1X76.18 [33X[0;0YThe Banner[133X[101X
  
  [33X[0;0YWhen  the  package  is  loaded,  [5XGAP[105X  will display a default package banner,
  constructed from the package metadata provided in the [11XPackageInfo.g[111X file.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YAlternatively,  the package may establish its own banner by assigning either
  a  string to the [10XBannerString[110X field of the record argument of [10XSetPackageInfo[110X
  in  the  [11XPackageInfo.g[111X file or a function to the [10XBannerFunction[110X field, which
  takes  this  record  as  its  unique argument. The latter possibility can be
  useful  if  the  banner  shall  show  information  that is available only at
  runtime.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YIf  you  will  be  designing a banner for your package, it is a good idea to
  suggest  there  how to access package documentation. For example, the banner
  of the [5XExample[105X package says:[133X
  
  [4X[32X  Example  [32X[104X
    [4X[28XFor help, type: ?Example package[128X[104X
  [4X[32X[104X
  
  [33X[0;0YIn  order  for  this  to display the introduction of the [5XExample[105X package the
  index-entry  [10X<Index>Example  package</Index>[110X was added just before the first
  paragraph  of  the  introductory  section in the file [11Xdoc/example.xml[111X of the
  [5XExample[105X package.[133X
  
  
  [1X76.19 [33X[0;0YVersion Numbers[133X[101X
  
  [33X[0;0YVersion  numbers  are  strings  containing nonnegative integers separated by
  non-numeric  characters. They are compared by [2XCompareVersionNumbers[102X ([14X76.3-9[114X)
  which  first  splits them at non-digit characters and then lexicographically
  compares  the  resulting  integer  lists.  Thus version [10X"2-3"[110X is larger than
  version [10X"2-2-5"[110X but smaller than [10X"4r2p3"[110X or [10X"11.0"[110X.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YIt is possible for code to require [5XGAP[105X packages in certain versions. In this
  case,  all  versions,  whose  number  is  equal or larger than the requested
  number  are  acceptable.  It  is  the  task of the package author to provide
  upwards compatibility.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YLoading  a  specific  version  of  a package (that is, [13Xnot[113X one with a larger
  version  number)  can  be  achieved  by  prepending [10X=[110X to the desired version
  number.  For  example,  [10XLoadPackage(  "example",  "=1.0" )[110X will load version
  [10X"1.0"[110X  of  the  package  [10X"example"[110X, even if version [10X"1.1"[110X is available. As a
  consequence, version numbers must not start with [10X=[110X, so [10X"=1.0"[110X is not a valid
  version number.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YPackage  authors  should choose a version numbering scheme that admits a new
  version  number  even  after  tiny  changes  to the package, and ensure that
  version  numbers  of  successive  package  versions  increase. The automatic
  update  of  package  archives  in  the  [5XGAP[105X distribution will only work if a
  package has a new version number.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YIt   is   a   well-established   custom   to   name  package  archives  like
  [11Xname-version.tar.gz[111X, [11Xname-version.tar.bz2[111X etc., where [10Xname[110X is the lower case
  name,  and  [10Xversion[110X  is the version (another custom is that the archive then
  should extract to a directory that has exactly the name [11Xname-version[111X).[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YIt is very important that there should not ever be, for a given [5XGAP[105X package,
  two  different  archives  with  the same package version number. If you make
  changes  to  your  package  and  place a new archive of the package onto the
  public  server,  please  ensure that a new archive has a new version number.
  This should be done even for very minor changes.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YFor  most of the packages it will be inappropriate to re-use the date of the
  release as a version number. It is much more obvious how big are the changes
  between  versions  "4.4.12",  "4.5.1"  and  "4.5.2"  than  between  versions
  "2008.12.17",  "2011.04.15"  and  "2011.09.14". The concept of using version
  numbers  to  convey the meaning of the status of the code and the way it has
  been  modified  is known as [21XSemantic Versioning[121X, see [7Xhttps://semver.org/[107X for
  further recommendations on its use.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YSince  version  information  is  duplicated in several places throughout the
  package  documentation,  for [5XGAPDoc[105X-based manuals you may define the version
  and  the  release  manual in the comments in [11XPackageInfo.g[111X file close to the
  place where you specified its [10XVersion[110X and [10XDate[110X components, for example[133X
  
  [4X[32X  Example  [32X[104X
    [4X[28X##  <#GAPDoc Label="PKGVERSIONDATA">[128X[104X
    [4X[28X##  <!ENTITY VERSION "3.3">[128X[104X
    [4X[28X##  <!ENTITY RELEASEDATE "12/09/2017">[128X[104X
    [4X[28X##  <!ENTITY RELEASEYEAR "2017">[128X[104X
    [4X[28X##  <#/GAPDoc>[128X[104X
  [4X[32X[104X
  
  [33X[0;0Ynotify  [2XMakeGAPDocDoc[102X ([14XGAPDoc: MakeGAPDocDoc[114X) that a part of the document is
  stored  in [11XPackageInfo.g[111X (see [11Xexample/makedocrel.g[111X), read this data into the
  header  of the main document via [10X<#Include Label="PKGVERSIONDATA">[110X directive
  and then use them via &VERSION; and &RELEASEDATE; entities almost everywhere
  where  you  need  to  refer  to  them  (most commonly, in the title page and
  installation instructions).[133X
  
  
  [1X76.20 [33X[0;0YTesting a [5XGAP[105X[101X[1X package[133X[101X
  
  [33X[0;0YThere are several aspects of testing a [5XGAP[105X package.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YFirst,  one  should ensure that the package functionality works as expected.
  Below  we give an advice on creating test files for automated tests that may
  be  run  by  package  authors,  by  [5XGAP[105X  developers  as  part of the release
  preparation,  and  by  package users interested in checking that the package
  works.  Such  tests  should be included in the package distribution, and the
  responsibility for ensuring that they pass stays with package authors.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YSecond,  the  package should cleanly integrate into the [5XGAP[105X system and other
  packages, and should not break their functionality. In particular, all tests
  from  the  standard  [5XGAP[105X testing suite should pass if the package is loaded.
  This  is  more  comprehensive  and time consuming test, which [5XGAP[105X developers
  regularly  run  using  special  tools.  They will report to you any detected
  issues.  Below  we  explain how to do several simple and less time consuming
  checks which package authors are recommended to perform themselves.[133X
  
  
  [1X76.20-1 [33X[0;0YTests files for a GAP package[133X[101X
  
  [33X[0;0YThe  (optional)  [11Xtst[111X  directory of your package may contain as many tests of
  the  package  functionality  as  appears  appropriate. These tests should be
  organised into test files similarly to those in the [11Xtst[111X directory of the [5XGAP[105X
  distribution as documented in [14X7.10[114X.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YFor  a  deposited package, a test file with a basic test of the package (for
  example,  to check that it works as expected and/or that the manual examples
  are correct) may be specified in the component [10XTestFile[110X in the [11XPackageInfo.g[111X
  to  be included in the [5XGAP[105X standard test suite. This file can either consist
  of  calls  of  [2XTestDirectory[102X  ([14X7.10-3[114X) or [2XTest[102X ([14X7.10-2[114X) (in this case, it is
  common  to  call  it [11Xtestall.g[111X) or be itself a test file having an extension
  [11X.tst[111X  and  supposed  to  be  read  via [2XTest[102X ([14X7.10-2[114X). It is assumed that the
  latter case occurs if and only if the file contains the substring[133X
  
  [33X[0;0Y [10X"gap> START_TEST("[110X[133X
  
  [33X[0;0Y(with exactly one space after the [5XGAP[105X prompt).[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YFor deposited packages, these tests are run by the [5XGAP[105X Group regularly, as a
  part  of  the  standard  [5XGAP[105X  test  suite.  For  the efficient testing it is
  important that the test specified in the [11XPackageInfo.g[111X file does not display
  any output (e.g. no test progress indicators) except reporting discrepancies
  if such occur and the completion report as in the example below:[133X
  
  [4X[32X  Example  [32X[104X
    [4X[25Xgap>[125X [27XTest("tst/testall.tst");[127X[104X
    [4X[28XExample package: testall.tst[128X[104X
    [4X[28Xtrue[128X[104X
  [4X[32X[104X
  
  [33X[0;0YTests  which  produce extended output and/or require substantial runtime are
  not  supposed  to be a part of the [5XGAP[105X standard test suite but may be placed
  in the [11Xtst[111X directory of the packages with further instructions on how to run
  them elsewhere.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YBecause  of  different approaches to testing, used by different packages, it
  is  not  always easy to identify whether an automated test passed or failed.
  Presently,  automated  detection  works fine if a package uses a single [11X.tst[111X
  file  or  uses [2XTestDirectory[102X ([14X7.10-3[114X) with the [10XexitGAP[110X option set to [9Xtrue[109X to
  run  a  collection  of  tests  and  then  exits  [5XGAP[105X in a way that allows an
  automated test setup to determine whether the test passed or failed:[133X
  
  [4X[32X  Example  [32X[104X
    [4X[28XTestDirectory(DirectoriesPackageLibrary("packagename", "tst"), rec(exitGAP := true));[128X[104X
  [4X[32X[104X
  
  [33X[0;0YIf  one  needs  a  more  sophisticated test file, then it should end with an
  invocation  of  [2XForceQuitGap[102X ([14X6.7-4[114X) with an argument that indicates whether
  the  tests  overall passed ([9Xtrue[109X) or failed ([9Xfalse[109X or [9Xfail[109X). For example, if
  the test result is stored in a variable [10Xtestresult[110X then you can do this:[133X
  
  [4X[32X  Example  [32X[104X
    [4X[28XForceQuitGap(testresult);[128X[104X
  [4X[32X[104X
  
  
  [1X76.20-2 [33X[0;0YTesting [5XGAP[105X[101X[1X package loading[133X[101X
  
  [33X[0;0YTo  test  that  your package may be loaded into [5XGAP[105X without any problems and
  conflicts  with  other  packages,  test  that  it  may  be loaded in various
  configurations:[133X
  
  [30X    [33X[0;6Ystarting  [5XGAP[105X  with  no  packages  (except needed for [5XGAP[105X) using [10X-r -A[110X
        options and calling [10XLoadPackage("packagename");[110X[133X
  
  [30X    [33X[0;6Ystarting  [5XGAP[105X  with  no  packages  (except needed for [5XGAP[105X) using [10X-r -A[110X
        options and calling [10XLoadPackage("packagename" : OnlyNeeded );[110X[133X
  
  [30X    [33X[0;6Ystarting  [5XGAP[105X  in  the  default  configuration  (with  no options) and
        calling [10XLoadPackage("packagename");[110X[133X
  
  [30X    [33X[0;6Ystarting  [5XGAP[105X  in  the  default  configuration  (with  no options) and
        calling [10XLoadPackage("packagename" : OnlyNeeded );[110X[133X
  
  [30X    [33X[0;6Yfinally,  together  with  all  other  packages  using  [2XLoadAllPackages[102X
        ([14X76.20-3[114X)  (see  below)  in four possible combinations of starting [5XGAP[105X
        with/without  [10X-r  -A[110X  options  and  calling  [2XLoadAllPackages[102X ([14X76.20-3[114X)
        with/without [10Xreversed[110X option.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YThe  test  of  loading  all  packages is the most subtle one. Quite often it
  reveals  problems  which  do  not occur in the default configuration but may
  cause difficulties to the users of specialised packages.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YAdditionally,  we  recommend  using  [2XShowPackageVariables[102X  ([14X76.3-17[114X)  to see
  information  about  variables  created  by your package to check if any have
  either  short  names  (no  more  than  three characters) or names breaking a
  recommended  naming  convention  that the [5XGAP[105X core system. [5XGAP[105X packages also
  should  not  use  global  variables  starting  in the lowercase (see Section
  [14X76.10[114X).[133X
  
  [1X76.20-3 LoadAllPackages[101X
  
  [33X[1;0Y[29X[2XLoadAllPackages[102X( [3X:[103X [3Xreversed[103X ) [32X function[133X
  
  [33X[0;0Yloads  all [5XGAP[105X packages from their list sorted in alphabetical order (needed
  and  suggested  packages  will be loaded when required). This is a technical
  function  to  check  packages compatibility, so it should NOT be used to run
  anything  except  tests;  it  is known that [5XGAP[105X performance is slower if all
  packages  are  loaded.  To  introduce  some variations of the order in which
  packages will be loaded for testing purposes, [2XLoadAllPackages[102X accepts option
  [10Xreversed[110X to load packages from their list sorted in the reverse alphabetical
  order.[133X
  
  
  [1X76.20-4 [33X[0;0YTesting a [5XGAP[105X[101X[1X package with the [5XGAP[105X[101X[1X standard test suite[133X[101X
  
  [33X[0;0YThe [11Xtst[111X directory of the [5XGAP[105X installation contains a selection of test files
  and scripts such as [11Xtestinstall.g[111X and [11Xteststandard.g[111X which are a part of the
  [5XGAP[105X standard test suite.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YIt  is  important  to  check  that  your package does not break [5XGAP[105X standard
  tests.  To  perform  a clean test and avoid interfering with other packages,
  first you must start a new [5XGAP[105X session and then read either [11Xtestinstall.g[111X or
  [11Xteststandard.g[111X as demonstrated below.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YThe  quicker  test, [11Xtestinstall.g[111X, should run in about a minute depending on
  your hardware speed. It may be started with the command[133X
  
  [4X[32X  Example  [32X[104X
    [4X[25Xgap>[125X [27XRead( Filename( DirectoriesLibrary( "tst" ), "testinstall.g" ) );[127X[104X
  [4X[32X[104X
  
  [33X[0;0YYou  will  get a large number of lines with output about the progress of the
  tests, for example:[133X
  
  [4X[32X  Example  [32X[104X
    [4X[28XYou should start GAP4 using `gap -A -x 80 -r'.[128X[104X
    [4X[28X[128X[104X
    [4X[28XArchitecture: SOMETHING-SOMETHING-gcc-default64[128X[104X
    [4X[28X[128X[104X
    [4X[28Xtesting: ..../gap-4.X.Y/tst/testinstall/alghom.tst[128X[104X
    [4X[28X      84 ms (55 ms GC) and 2.90MB allocated for alghom.tst[128X[104X
    [4X[28Xtesting: ..../gap-4.X.Y/tst/testinstall/algmat.tst[128X[104X
    [4X[28X     839 ms (114 ms GC) and 219MB allocated for algmat.tst[128X[104X
    [4X[28X[ further lines deleted ][128X[104X
    [4X[28Xtesting: ..../gap-4.X.Y/tst/testinstall/zmodnze.tst[128X[104X
    [4X[28X     127 ms (119 ms GC) and 1.29MB allocated for zmodnze.tst[128X[104X
    [4X[28X-----------------------------------[128X[104X
    [4X[28Xtotal     62829 ms (24136 ms GC) and 8.61GB allocated[128X[104X
    [4X[28X              0 failures in 252 files[128X[104X
    [4X[28X[128X[104X
    [4X[28X#I  No errors detected while testing[128X[104X
  [4X[32X[104X
  
  [33X[0;0Y(optionally,  you may start [5XGAP[105X with the command line options which you will
  see in the test output, to run it in a more conservative settings).[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YThe  more  thorough  test  is  [11Xteststandard.g[111X  which exercises more of [5XGAP[105X's
  capabilities,  also  including  all  test files from [11Xteststandard.g[111X. It runs
  quite  a  bit longer, maybe 10-20 minutes, and produces an output similar to
  the  testinstall.g  test.  To  run it, also start a new [5XGAP[105X session and then
  call[133X
  
  [4X[32X  Example  [32X[104X
    [4X[25Xgap>[125X [27XRead( Filename( DirectoriesLibrary( "tst" ), "teststandard.g" ) );[127X[104X
  [4X[32X[104X
  
  [33X[0;0YYou  may  repeat the same check loading your package with [10XOnlyNeeded[110X option.
  Remember to perform each subsequent test in a new [5XGAP[105X session.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YAlso  you  may  perform  individual  tests from the [11Xtst[111X directory of the [5XGAP[105X
  installation loading them with [2XTest[102X ([14X7.10-2[114X).[133X
  
  
  [1X76.21 [33X[0;0YAccess to the [5XGAP[105X[101X[1X Development Version[133X[101X
  
  [33X[0;0YWe  are  aiming  at  providing a stable platform for package development and
  testing with official [5XGAP[105X releases. We also invite everyone to contribute by
  submitting  patches,  pull  requests, and bug reports. We would like to make
  the contributing process as easy as possible.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YThe   main   GAP   development   repository   is   hosted   on   GitHub   at
  [7Xhttps://github.com/gap-system/gap[107X.   Many  [5XGAP[105X  packages  also  have  public
  repositories  and issue trackers, and we are keeping a list of such packages
  at [7Xhttps://gap-packages.github.io/[107X.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YFor  further  information  about contributing to the GAP development, please
  see [7Xhttps://github.com/gap-system/gap/blob/master/CONTRIBUTING.md[107X.[133X
  
  
  [1X76.22 [33X[0;0YVersion control and continuous integration for [5XGAP[105X[101X[1X packages[133X[101X
  
  [33X[0;0YAs  we  have mentioned above, many [5XGAP[105X packages have public repositories and
  issue  trackers  on  GitHub,  and  we are keeping a list of such packages at
  [7Xhttps://gap-packages.github.io/[107X. We welcome establishing public repositories
  for  new packages and migrating existing package repositories there as well.
  Such  repositories  may be hosted under their authors' accounts or under the
  gap-packages organisation ([7Xhttps://github.com/gap-packages/[107X). The latter has
  the  benefit that while the authors will preserve their deciding role on all
  aspects of the package development, the package will become more visible for
  potential  collaborators  and  [5XGAP[105X  developers may help to set up [13Xcontinuous
  integration[113X  for  your  package  so that every commit to the repository will
  trigger  automated  running  of  package tests and reporting any failures to
  package maintainers.[133X
  
  
  [1X76.23 [33X[0;0YSelecting a license for a [5XGAP[105X[101X[1X Package[133X[101X
  
  [33X[0;0YAs  it was mentioned in the description of the [11XLICENSE[111X file in Section [14X76.5[114X,
  it is advised to make clear in the documentation of the package the basis on
  which  it is being distributed to users. [5XGAP[105X itself is distributed under the
  GNU Public License version 2 (version 2 or later). We would encourage you to
  consider  the  GPL  license for your packages, but you might wish to be more
  restrictive  (for  instance  forbidding  redistribution  for profit) or less
  restrictive  (allowing  your  software  to  be  incorporated into commercial
  software).  See [21XChoosing a License for the Distribution of Your Package[121X from
  [7Xhttps://www.gap-system.org/Packages/Authors/authors.html[107X       and      also
  [7Xhttps://choosealicense.com/[107X for further details.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YIn  the  past  many  [5XGAP[105X  packages  used  the  text  [21XWe  adopt the copyright
  regulations  of [5XGAP[105X as detailed in the copyright notice in the [5XGAP[105X manual[121X or
  a  similar  statement. We now advise to be more explicit by making the exact
  reference to the GPL license, for example:[133X
  
  [33X[0;0Y[13X  [5Xpackagename[105X  is  free  software;  you can redistribute it and/or modify it
  under     the     terms     of    the    GNU    General    Public    License
  ([7Xhttps://www.fsf.org/licenses/gpl.html[107X)  as  published  by the Free Software
  Foundation;  either  version 2 of the License, or (at your option) any later
  version. [113X and also including a copy of the full text of the license.[133X
  
  
  [1X76.24 [33X[0;0YReleasing a GAP Package[133X[101X
  
  [33X[0;0YThe [5XGAP[105X distribution provides archives in several different formats.[133X
  
  [8X[11X.tar.gz[111X[108X
        [33X[0;6Ya standard UNIX [10Xtar[110X archive, compressed with [10Xgzip[110X[133X
  
  [8X[11X.tar.bz2[111X[108X
        [33X[0;6Ya standard UNIX [10Xtar[110X archive, compressed with [10Xbzip2[110X[133X
  
  [8X[11X.zip[111X[108X
        [33X[0;6Yan archive in [10Xzip[110X format, where text files should have UNIX style line
        breaks[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YFor convenience of possible users it is sensible that you provide an archive
  of your package in at least one of these formats.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YFor example, if you wish to supply a [11X.tar.gz[111X archive, you may create it with
  the command[133X
  
  [33X[0;0Y [10Xtar -cvzf packagename-version.tar.gz packagename[110X[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YBecause the release of the [5XGAP[105X package is independent of the version of [5XGAP[105X,
  a  [5XGAP[105X  package  should be wrapped up in separate file that can be installed
  onto  any  version  of  [5XGAP[105X. In this way, a package can be upgraded any time
  without  the  need to wait for new [5XGAP[105X releases. To ensure this, the package
  should  be  archived  from  the  [5XGAP[105X  [11Xpkg[111X  directory,  that is all files are
  archived with the path starting at the package's name.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YThe  archive  of  a  [5XGAP[105X  package should contain all files necessary for the
  package  to  work.  In  particular there should be a compiled documentation,
  which  includes  the  [11Xmanual.six[111X,  [11Xmanual.toc[111X  and  [11Xmanual.lab[111X  file  in the
  documentation  subdirectory  which  are  created  by [5XGAPDoc[105X while TeXing the
  documentation.  (The  first two files are needed by the [5XGAP[105X help system, and
  the  [11Xmanual.lab[111X  file  is  needed  if the main manuals or another package is
  referring  to  your package. Use the command [10XGAPDocManualLab( packagename );[110X
  to create this file for your help books if you use [5XGAPDoc[105X.)[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YNote  that  wrapping the [5XGAP[105X distribution as a single archive containing the
  core  system  and  all  currently  redistributed  packages, will change file
  timestamps, so one should not rely on them anywhere in the package.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YFor  packages  hosted  on GitHub publishing package release and establishing
  its  website can be very efficiently automated using two tools: ReleaseTools
  ([7Xhttps://github.com/gap-system/ReleaseTools[107X)      and      GitHubPagesForGAP
  ([7Xhttps://github.com/gap-system/GitHubPagesForGAP[107X).[133X
  
  
  [1X76.25 [33X[0;0YThe homepage of a Package[133X[101X
  
  [33X[0;0YIf  you  want  to  distribute  your  package  you should create its homepage
  containing  some  basic  information, archives for download, the [11XREADME[111X file
  with  installation  instructions,  and a copy of the package's [11XPackageInfo.g[111X
  file.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YThe   responsibility   to   maintain  this  homepage  is  with  the  package
  authors/maintainers.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YIf   you   tell   the  [5XGAP[105X  Group  about  your  package  (say,  by  mail  to
  [7Xmailto:support@gap-system.org[107X) we may consider either[133X
  
  [30X    [33X[0;6Yadding a link to your package homepage from the [5XGAP[105X website (thus, the
        package will be an [13Xundeposited contribution[113X);[133X
  
  [30X    [33X[0;6Yor redistributing the current version of your package as a part of the
        [5XGAP[105X distribution (this, the package will be [13Xdeposited[113X), also ;[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YPlease  also  consider submitting your package to the [5XGAP[105X package refereeing
  process  (see  [7Xhttps://www.gap-system.org/Contacts/submit.html[107X  for  further
  information).[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YFor  packages  hosted  on GitHub publishing package release and establishing
  its   website   can   be   very   efficiently  automated  using  two  tools:
  GitHubPagesForGAP    ([7Xhttps://github.com/gap-system/GitHubPagesForGAP[107X)   and
  ReleaseTools ([7Xhttps://github.com/gap-system/ReleaseTools[107X).[133X
  
  
  [1X76.26 [33X[0;0YSome things to keep in mind[133X[101X
  
  [30X    [33X[0;6YSome  packages  still  use  for their manuals the old [21Xgapmacro[121X format,
        support  for  which  may  be  discontinued in the future. We encourage
        authors  of  those  packages to eventually convert their documentation
        [5XGAPDoc[105X.  New  packages  are  recommended  to  use  [5XGAPDoc[105X,  which, for
        example,  is  capable  of  creating  HTML  documentation  with MathJax
        support,  allows  easy  extraction  of examples from documentation for
        testing,  etc. One could also use the [5XAutoDoc[105X which simplifies writing
        documentation by generating most of the [5XGAPDoc[105X code automatically.[133X
  
  [30X    [33X[0;6YThe  concept  of  an autoloaded package, which existed before [5XGAP[105X 4.5,
        has  been  integrated  with  the  [13Xneeded[113X  and [13Xsuggested[113X mechanism that
        exists  between  packages.  [5XGAP[105X itself now [21Xneeds[121X certain packages (for
        instance [5XGAPDoc[105X) and [21Xsuggests[121X others (typically the packages that were
        autoloaded).  The  decisions which packages [5XGAP[105X should need or suggest
        are made by developers based on technical criteria. They can be easily
        overridden by a user using the new [11Xgap.ini[111X (see [14X3.2[114X). The default file
        ensures  that  all  formerly  autoloaded  packages are still loaded if
        present.[133X
  
  [30X    [33X[0;6YOptional  [11X~/.gap[111X directory for user's customisations which may contain
        e.g.  locally  installed  packages  (see [14X9.2[114X). If package installation
        instructions  explain  how  to  install  the package in a non-standard
        location, they should mention this.[133X
  
  [30X    [33X[0;6YPackages  loading  mechanism  allows  to  make  loading  packages more
        informative,  while avoiding confusing the user with warning and error
        messages for packages they didn't know they were loading. For example,
        many  messages  are  stored  but  not  displayed  using  the  function
        [2XLogPackageLoadingMessage[102X    ([14X76.2-6[114X)   and   there   is   a   function
        [2XDisplayPackageLoadingLog[102X  ([14X76.2-6[114X)  to  show  log  messages that occur
        during   package   loading.  Packages  are  encouraged  to  use  these
        mechanisms to report problems in loading (e.g. binaries not compiled),
        rather than printing messages directly.[133X
  
  
  [1X76.27 [33X[0;0YPackage release checklists[133X[101X
  
  [33X[0;0YThe   following   checklists   should  be  useful  to  package  authors  and
  maintainers,  as  well  as  to  everyone  involved  in  the  depositing  and
  refereeing of [5XGAP[105X packages.[133X
  
  
  [1X76.27-1 [33X[0;0YChecklist for releasing a new package[133X[101X
  
  [30X    [33X[0;6YTest that the package:[133X
  
        [30X    [33X[0;12Ydoes  not  break  [11Xtestinstall.g[111X and [11Xteststandard.g[111X, and does not
              slow them down noticeably (see [14X76.20-4[114X);[133X
  
        [30X    [33X[0;12Ymay be loaded in various configurations (see [14X76.20-2[114X);[133X
  
        [30X    [33X[0;12Yfollows the guidelines of Section [14X76.10[114X about names of functions
              and variables;[133X
  
  [30X    [33X[0;6Y[11XPackageInfo.g[111X file:[133X
  
        [30X    [33X[0;12Ycorrectly  specifies  package version, release date, and package
              authors;[133X
  
        [30X    [33X[0;12Ypasses validation using [2XValidatePackageInfo[102X ([14X76.3-16[114X);[133X
  
        [30X    [33X[0;12Ybesides   mandatory  components,  which  are  required  to  pass
              validation,  also has relevant optional components (such as, for
              example,  URLs  of  public  source  code  repository  and  issue
              tracker;  hints  to distinguish binary and text files in case of
              non-standard file names and extensions, etc.);[133X
  
  [30X    [33X[0;6YPackage documentation:[133X
  
        [30X    [33X[0;12Yis  built  and included in the package archive together with its
              source files;[133X
  
        [30X    [33X[0;12Ystates  the  same  version,  release date and package authors as
              specified in the [11XPackageInfo.g[111X file;[133X
  
        [30X    [33X[0;12Yhas  the  same version, release date and package authors details
              as stated in the [11XPackageInfo.g[111X file;[133X
  
        [30X    [33X[0;12Yis  searchable  using  the [5XGAP[105X help system in all formats (text,
              HTML and PDF);[133X
  
        [30X    [33X[0;12Yis   clear   about  the  license  under  which  the  package  is
              distributed,  and  refers  to  the  [11XLICENSE[111X file which should be
              included in the package;[133X
  
  [30X    [33X[0;6YPackage archive(s):[133X
  
        [30X    [33X[0;12Yhave  correct  permissions  for  all files and directories after
              their  unpacking  (755  for directories and executables, if any;
              644 for other files);[133X
  
        [30X    [33X[0;12Ycontain files with correct line breaks for the given format (see
              Section [14X76.24[114X);[133X
  
        [30X    [33X[0;12Ycontain  no  hidden  system  files  and directories that are not
              supposed  to  be  included in the package, e.g. [11X.gitignore[111X, [11X.git[111X
              etc.;[133X
  
  [30X    [33X[0;6YPackage availability:[133X
  
        [30X    [33X[0;12Ynot  only the package archive(s), but also the [11XPackageInfo.g[111X and
              [11XREADME[111X files are available online;[133X
  
  
  [1X76.27-2  [33X[0;0YChecklist  for  upgrading the package for the next major release of[101X
  [1X[5XGAP[105X[101X[1X[133X[101X
  
  [33X[0;0Y[5XGAP[105X  ecosystem  is  not  static:  both  the  core  [5XGAP[105X  system  and packages
  redistributed  with  [5XGAP[105X  are in constant development. [5XGAP[105X has a policy that
  changes that may have a disruptive effect on packages redistributed with [5XGAP[105X
  should  only  be  introduced  in major [5XGAP[105X releases. When the next [5XGAP[105X major
  release  is  prepared,  a  beta  version  for  package  authors will be made
  available  in  order  to  give  them  an opportunity to check and update, if
  necessary,  their  packages for the public release of the next major version
  of [5XGAP[105X.[133X
  
  [33X[0;0YThe  following  checklist  will  help  you to check how well your package is
  ready to work with the next major release of [5XGAP[105X[133X
  
  [30X    [33X[0;6YCheck  that the package functionality works as expected, package tests
        run  with  no  discrepancies,  and  manual  examples correspond to new
        version  of  [5XGAP[105X.  This is a convenient opportunity to polish existing
        and add new tests, and improve manual examples.[133X
  
  [30X    [33X[0;6YRevise  package  dependencies:  check  that the [11XPackageInfo.g[111X file has
        correct list of needed and suggested packages (see Section [14X76.11[114X).[133X
  
  [30X    [33X[0;6YRevise  licensing  information:  check that the package states clearly
        under which conditions it is distributed and includes a [11XLICENSING[111X file
        with the text of a license (see Section [14X76.23[114X).[133X
  
  [30X    [33X[0;6YRebuild  the  package documentation to update cross-references to main
        [5XGAP[105X  manuals  and,  if  relevant,  to  the  documentation of other [5XGAP[105X
        packages.  This  will  ensure  that  cross-references from the package
        manual  to  the  main  [5XGAP[105X  manuals  are correct and that the [5XGAP[105X help
        system  will  be  able to navigate to the more precise location in the
        package  manual.  This  will  also  improve  the layout of the package
        documentation by picking up the changes in documenting tools.[133X
  
  [30X    [33X[0;6YCheck  if  the  package  still  relies on some obsolete variables (see
        Chapter  [14X77[114X)  and  replace their usage by the new commands. To perform
        such check, start [5XGAP[105X with `-O` command line option to disable loading
        obsoletes, and then load your package.[133X
  
  [30X    [33X[0;6YCheck  for  any  specific advice in release notes for the beta release
        for package authors.[133X
  
