Package management history

Just sharing a use-cases for having some kind of history log/tracking of
packages loaded.  (I don't know if there is something already existing)

1. I have a production image and a playground image.  I am now
interested in moving into production something that I loaded into the
playground image 6 months ago - but I don't remember if I got it from
the default platform-specific repository or used an override to get it
from squeaksource project or elsewhere.   I want to be able to review
the command that was executed to 6 months ago.

2. I am helping a friend to load this package I've been using for 6
months.  I want to be able to tell them exactly what I did to load it 6
months ago.

3. A client has discovered some errors with an application I wrote and
am supporting.  They can trace it back to a certain date.  I want to be
able to review what packages were updated around that date.

cheers, Ben

Ben,

Metacello already "logs" quite a bit of information.

In Pharo, the messages go the Transcript, which doesn't keep the messages for 6 months...

In GemStone, the Transcript messages are intercepted and added to the Object Log (a collection of ObjectLogEntrys) where a lot of system information is logged ... In GemStone I _can_ tell you exactly what packages were loaded and which versions of configurations, as long as the logs are kept ...

Obviously I like the idea logging, but I would hope that writing to the Transcript would be enough ... there should be a way to preserve Transcript output like there is in GemStone ...

If it turns out that there is an official logging scheme for Pharo that is available that doesn't involve the Transcript, then I'd be glad to route my Transcript messages to that mechanism...

Dale

----- Original Message -----
| From: "Ben Coman" <[hidden email]>
| To: [hidden email]
| Sent: Wednesday, February 8, 2012 6:03:38 PM
| Subject: [Metacello] Package management history
|
|
| Just sharing a use-cases for having some kind of history log/tracking
| of
| packages loaded.  (I don't know if there is something already
| existing)
|
| 1. I have a production image and a playground image.  I am now
| interested in moving into production something that I loaded into the
| playground image 6 months ago - but I don't remember if I got it from
| the default platform-specific repository or used an override to get
| it
| from squeaksource project or elsewhere.   I want to be able to review
| the command that was executed to 6 months ago.
|
| 2. I am helping a friend to load this package I've been using for 6
| months.  I want to be able to tell them exactly what I did to load it
| 6
| months ago.
|
| 3. A client has discovered some errors with an application I wrote
| and
| am supporting.  They can trace it back to a certain date.  I want to
| be
| able to review what packages were updated around that date.
|
| cheers, Ben
|
|

On Feb 9, 2012, at 7:54 PM, Dale Henrichs wrote:

Yes I would like that too but no time.

Stef