skel

The skel tool can be configured at runtime using the CLI flags, or via local configuration files. The configuration files are in the skelfile format and are assigned the following locations by default:

*default-user-skelrc*

$HOME/.skelrc

*default-system-skelrc*

/etc/skel/skelrc

Both files are optional and the user skelrc takes precedence over system.

Example ~/.skelrc:

cat ~/.skelrc

Projects are the highest-level objects int the skel system. A project consists of a list of slots which are populated automatically or by the user. Once a project is initialized the slots can be accessed and a set of high-level operations can be performed.

The easiest way to initialize a project is with a skelfile. These files are parsed as a simplified Lisp dialect and generate sk-project objects based on their contents.

The simplest project looks like this:

:name hello-world

Don't worry, this is still lisp - the parentheses are implied. All we actually need is a name to generate an object, and we can fill in the blanks later as the project develops.

Here is a more verbose example, still with only metadata:

;;; skelfile --- core skelfile -*- mode: skel; -*-
:name "core"
:author "Richard Westhaver <ellis@rwest.io>"
:version "0.1.0"
:license "MPL"
:description "The Compiler Company Core"
:vc :hg
:tags ("core")
:docs ((:org "readme") (:org "install") (:org "tests") (:org "todo"))
:import ("lisp/lisp.sk" "rust/rust.sk")

Another example with rules and components:

;;; skelfile @ 2023-10-08.02:37:25 -*- mode: skel; -*-
:name skel
:author "ellis"
:version "0.1.0"
:description "a hacker's project compiler"
:license "MPL"
:vc :hg
:tags ("lisp")
:rules ((build () (print (asdf:make :skel/cli)))
        (clean () #$rm -rf */*.fasl$#))
:docs ((:org "readme"))
:components
((:elisp "sk"))
:stash "~/dev/comp/stash"

skel integrates closely with our Version Control System which is built on Mercurial, but we also interact with and host many Git repositories.

The skel tool helps us abstract away the differences between git/hg and make maximum use of their utility. When you run a skel vc command the currently active sk-project and configuration are used to determine the appropriate VC backend to call. New backends can of course be added as extensions.

• State "TODO" from [2023-12-09 Sat 19:28]

One of the most unusual features of skel is the compiler set. With the skel CLI you can compile the following types of files for your project directly from a skelfile:

• Makefile (.mk)
• Lisp system defs (.asd)
• Cargo.toml
• Containerfile
• .hgignore/.gitignore

We treat skelfiles as the mother of all build formats and consolidate different formats into our own project DSL. This helps reduce complexity while increasing capability and portability.

Project compilation occurs on demand with the sk compile command.

• State "TODO" from [2023-12-09 Sat 18:55]

  skel offers a mechanism for generating and running Virtual Machines (VMs) and Containers. Under the hood we depend on podman for our container runtime as well as QEMU for some functionality.

• State "TODO" from [2023-12-09 Sat 19:30]

sk.el is the Emacs support package for skel. It contains a skel-mode for working with skelfiles and will soon contain additional built-in integrations for project.el, vc.el, and more.

• State "TODO" from [2023-12-09 Sat 19:37]

• State "TODO" from [2023-12-09 Sat 19:37]