#666175 Typing "guile" at the shell prompt should get readline

Package:
guile-3.0
Source:
guile-3.0
Description:
GNU extension language and Scheme interpreter
Submitter:
Ian Jackson
Date:
2025-02-21 19:09:03 UTC
Severity:
wishlist
#666175#5
Date:
2012-03-29 13:23:57 UTC
From:
To:
If I type "guile" at the shell prompt (or "guile-1.8"), I get an
interpreter that does not use readline.  This is quite primitive.
It would be better to somehow enable readline by default if (a) it's
available and (b) the input is from a terminal.

Another user tells me they have this in ~/.guile-1.8:

  ;;; Guile configuration -*-scheme-*-

  (use-modules (ice-9 readline) (ice-9 history))
  (activate-readline)

I have no idea how close this is to the required general solution.

Thanks,
Ian.

#666175#10
Date:
2012-03-29 13:43:38 UTC
From:
To:
#666175#15
Date:
2016-05-18 12:07:25 UTC
From:
To:
Dear submitter,

as the package guile-1.8 has just been removed from the Debian archive
unstable we hereby close the associated bug reports.  We are sorry
that we couldn't deal with your issue properly.

For details on the removal, please see https://bugs.debian.org/760986

The version of this package that was in Debian prior to this removal
can still be found using http://snapshot.debian.org/.

This message was generated automatically; if you believe that there is
a problem with it please contact the archive administrators by mailing
ftpmaster@ftp-master.debian.org.

Debian distribution maintenance software
pp.
Scott Kitterman (the ftpmaster behind the curtain)

#666175#28
Date:
2016-06-15 12:37:43 UTC
From:
To:
Debian Bug Tracking System writes:
...

Interesting.  Was a patch dropped when moving from 1.8 to 2.0 ?

Thanks,
Ian.

#666175#35
Date:
2016-08-13 01:44:01 UTC
From:
To:
Ian Jackson <ijackson@chiark.greenend.org.uk> writes:

As far as I know, readline support has never been automatic, either
upstream or in the Debian packages.

I'm inclined toward following the upstream defaults (though I think it'd
be nice for them to change), but I'll think about it.  In any case, for
now I'll leave it wishlist.

Thanks

#666175#40
Date:
2021-02-13 13:22:12 UTC
From:
To:
Dear submitter,

as the package guile-2.0 has just been removed from the Debian archive
unstable we hereby close the associated bug reports.  We are sorry
that we couldn't deal with your issue properly.

For details on the removal, please see https://bugs.debian.org/949400

The version of this package that was in Debian prior to this removal
can still be found using http://snapshot.debian.org/.

Please note that the changes have been done on the master archive and
will not propagate to any mirrors until the next dinstall run at the
earliest.

This message was generated automatically; if you believe that there is
a problem with it please contact the archive administrators by mailing
ftpmaster@ftp-master.debian.org.

Debian distribution maintenance software
pp.
Joerg Jaspert (the ftpmaster behind the curtain)

#666175#45
Date:
2021-02-13 18:38:11 UTC
From:
To:
reopen 666175
reassign 666175 guile-3.0
found 666175 3.0.5-2
thanks

Hi, Rob.

I have repro'd this with the guile-3.0 in sid.

In 2016 you wrote (sorry for not replying sooner).

Upstream presumably cannot assume that readline is available.  One of
the things we in Debian can do for our users is make things work
nicely by default.  But of course it is your decision.

Regards,
Ian.

#666175#60
Date:
2024-06-29 20:15:31 UTC
From:
To:
Ian Jackson <ijackson@chiark.greenend.org.uk> writes:

I imagined they may also have it disabled by default for reasons related
to the licensing.  I'll plan to ask.

Thanks

#666175#65
Date:
2025-02-21 19:07:09 UTC
From:
To:
Rob Browning <rlb@defaultvalue.org> writes:

So I believe that's the primary reason.  Readline is GPL and Guile
itself is not, and so enabling it by default involves affected programs
with a that license.

I have the impression that Guix may add activation to the user "skel"
files (or their equivalent)[1].  I'm not sure whether that would be
feasible/appropriate for us, but that approach would only affect new
users, and presumably only users created after guile was installed.

But first we'd have to decide whether we should, and wanted to be
automatically entangling other code with the GPL to whatever extent that
does.

[1] This looked likely: https://git.savannah.gnu.org/cgit/guix.git/tree/gnu/system/shadow.scm?id=dfabaa8a6faa58612a069eb47ee3f35a94b146fb#n234