> From: Stephen McConnell [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Woops - see small correction in line. > > Stephen McConnell wrote: > > > > > > > Tim Anderson wrote: > > > >>> By implication - the README is not an artifact but a feature of a > >>> version. > >>> Is that a reasonable conclusion? > >>> Stephen. > >>> > >> > >> > >> Why make the distinction? I view everything a project deploys as an > >> artifact. Some artifacts will only be useful to end users (e.g, > >> README, LICENSE.txt etc), others will be useful to tools. > >> > > > > Because there is difference between aggregation of files of a > > partiular type as distinct from files that describe a particular typed > > file instance. I view the "artifact" as the principal file held in a > > directory qualifed by a type (e.g. the jar file in a jars directory), > > and that other resources such as READMEs, LICENSEs, MD5s, etc. are > > examples of data that describe features of specific things such as a > > group, version, artifact, etc. > > > > Why make the distinction? When I look at the available artifacts in a > > /jars/ directory I will present these as an list of artifacts. A user > > may select to view the properties/features of one of these items. > > Using the name of an artifact - I can locate additional information > > about the artifact such as the MD5 signature, maybe the license or > > some dependency information - providing there is a convention that is > > predictable. I.e. I need a mechanism to locate information about a > > particular artifact - e.g. > > > I left out the all important principal artifact. > > <artifact-path>.<type> <--------- the principal artifact (e.g. > jars/fred.jar) > <artifact-path>.<something> <------ some metadata > <artifact-path>.<something-else> <-- more meta data > <artifact-path>.MD5 <--------------- artifact signature > <artifact-path>.README <------------ readme about the artifact > > The important thing is the recognition of the difference between a file > that *is* the artifact as distinct from a file that *describes* > an artifact. > > Stephen. > > > > > > > <artifact-path>.<something> > > <artifact-path>.<something-else> > > <artifact-path>.MD5 > > <artifact-path>.README > > > > Etc. > > > > Stephen.
File aggregation is important to tools, less so for end-users. The MD5 is just another artifact - its up to the tools to determine its association with other artifacts. -Tim
