Arch Linux User Repository

@alub I've added you as a maintainer to the task-spooler pkg.

Hi @m040601 and @jneidel, thanks for contributing, I agree with you both. I've updated this package's description and opened a request to merge ts into task-spooler.

@jneidel,

What I meant by “merging” was actually merging the repos: When clicking the “Submit Request” link under “Package Actions” it is possible to choose “Merge”, whereby two packages will be merged into one, and holding comments and votes for both repos. Thus it goes much deeper than just editing a PKGBUILD and deciding that task-spooler is the canonical package name. (Tread carefully when requesting which package should merge with which package, or we may end up with ts being the canonical package.)

However, requesting a merge usually takes time — weeks, or even months — so until such a merge has taken place, I suggest that the ts package “announces” an upcoming merge (as a comment in its PKGBUILD + an emitted message from the pre_install() and pre_upgrade() functions + a pinned comment on the package page itself) so that as many users as possible can switch to task-spooler before the merge.

(Perhaps there are better ways of doing it, but the above is how I visualize it.)

Having “task spooler” in both packages' description, and having “task-spooler” as keyword will probably also help.

Yeah @kseistrup, thats exactly what I was thinking.

Theres even no need to merge PKGBUILDs, let just go with ts's :)

Hi, I'm the new maintainer of the task-spooler package referenced by @m040601. I wasn't aware of this package since it didn't show up when I searched for "task spooler" some years back.

I'd be willing to go along with unifying these packages, let's continue that conversation here.

I do like the "task-spooler" package name better. ts is too short and non-specific. And even confusing since the name of the binary is tsp.

Shorthands are all good and nice but for packages a clear, longer name is better. If everyone knows what you're talking about a shorthand can save time, but in other contexts and if you search for it the longform might be better. Examples: typescript/ts, clang/c, golang/go, javascript/js, etc.

How about the maintainers of ts and task-spooler became co-maintainers and merged their works under the most logical package-name: task-spooler?

It's true that ts has been around roughly four years longer than task-spooler, but the package name has always been a poor choice. Even if task-spooler is abandoned and taken offline, somebody else will resurrect it and history will repeat.

The two packages could live door by door for some time (3 months, 1 year, …) and ts, on install/upgrade, could tell its users to migrate to task-spooler, now. And even after this sun-setting period, it always takes significant time to have a Trusted User merge ts into task-spooler.

Also, the final PKGBUILD of ts could hold a comment about task-spooler so that if someone accidentally makes the poor choice to make a package named ts, they will see the old PKGBUILD with the comment.

@jneidel

I perfectly understand your point of view.

Please read my new comments about this situation there, in the "ts" PKGBUILD page. And leave yours too. Maybe things will change. Hope we all can work together and make the wise decision benefiting everyone on the AUR.

Request:

Please change,

pkgdesc="A Unix batch system where the tasks spooled run one after the other"

to something like,

pkgdesc="Task spooler is a Unix batch system where the tasks spooled run one after the other"

Just 2 words that dont cost nothing. Sounds silly ?

The reason is simply this tool was and is damm hard to find on the AUR.

The too short simple name of the PKGBUILD, "ts" doesnt help either.

Unfortunately it was the stupid too short name the original developer chose for the instaled binary "ts". That we, on Archlinux, have to change to "tsp".

In addition, most people searching for "task spooler" will just simply enter those 2 words on the search field of the AUR web page. Or using an AUR helper like "yay -S task spooler"

And when they do that, they wont find this "ts" PKGBUILD as a result. It doest have the word "spooler" in the description. It has the word "spooled".

Well today it happened again.

I already mentioned in a previous comment that there was another duplicated PKGBUILD on the AUR doing the same thing as this one ("ts").

That was the "task-spooler" PKGBUILD. https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/task-spooler

Yesterday the previous maintainer abandoned the PKGBUILD. Actually he didnt just abandoned and leave it orphan. It removed it from the AUR entirely. Good thing finally, so I thought ...

But no. Well today, and because it probably a lot of people care and need this tool, someone else ressuscitated it and put it back online.

I'm 99% sure he also didnt know this "ts" PKGBUILD already exists. I left a comment there. Hope he could join us here.

Would be nice having everyone cooperating and working together in the AUR, instead of reduplicating and wasting work.

Best outcome, IMHO, would be to have this "ts" PKGBUILD renamed to "task-spooler". That should have been its baptize name from the start some years ago. I'm talking about the PKGBUILD name. Not the installed binary. That stays the same, "tsp". Hope the person that took over the "task-spooler" name agrees to that. And join us here.

But I cant force anyone to. Just my two cents as an Arch user seeing a lot of unnecessay waste.

Otherwise it's just a matter of time. Sooner or later, someone else will once again, create yet another PKGBUILD for "task-spooler". Or "task-spooler-git".

Hi @m040601, I was not aware of the ts package. Somebody recommended task spooler to me and this package here was the one and found I've been using for years.

ts as a package name has terrible searchability, you have to know the package. "yay -Ss task spooler" will only show you this package. So even if I just copy their PKGBUILD file, keeping this package up-to-date for the people using it and discoverable for people looking up "task spooler" has some worth.

@jneidel

Thanks for caring about this tool and being willing to take the work to maintain the PKGBUILD.

I got confused today when the package dissabpeared from the AUR.

However, your work might not be necessary.

As there is already a PKGBUILD for task-spooler in the AUR, https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/ts.

It is much older and appeared long before this, "task-spooler" PKGBUILD. It is currently well cared and maintained.

They are exactly the same. Maybe you didnt find it because it is simply called "ts"

It is a sad situation that people keep creating different PKGBUILD for exactly the same tool, without searching first if it already exists.

You might want to join them, instead of reduplicating and wasting unnecessary work.