[ESS] Version currently available in ELPA?

[Martin Maechler]

>>>>> Chris Evans <chrishold at psyctc.org>
>>>>>     on Tue, 5 Feb 2013 19:02:59 +0000 writes:

    > Interestingly M-x ess-version gets me: "[No match]"
    > (immediately after the "ess-version" in the minibuffer)
    > I'm using stock Emacs on Debian squeeze
    > ("23.2+1.7+squeeze" according to Synaptic) and also the
    > stock ESS (says "5.11-1")

    > Am I way behind the cutting edge with ESS then?  
    > I suspect I am.  

Indeed, you definitely are.
I don't know the current names of the 
   (stable, testing, unstable, experimental) 
{is the terminology above correct ?} versions of Debian.

But I think you cannot reasonably stay with 'stable' if you want
to be anywhere close to 'cutting edge'.

What I think you *can* do however {but I no longer recall how exactly}
is to decide to use some (small! preferrably) parts of say
Debian unstable, but for the rest stay with Debian stable.
.. and then do that exactly with ESS ..

Thanks to Dirk Eddelbuettel (CC'ed now, so he can correct all my
fuzzy/inaccurate statements :-), a new release of ESS is almost
immediately "merged into" to Debian, however, 
typically 'unstable' only, IIRC.

    > What is the easiest way for me to stay nearer the
    > edge if not right on the github (or whatever) bleeding
    > edge ... or is that a safe place to be?

It's a matter of taste if you use svn (my preference) or github
here.  But really I'd think that's often too bleeding edge to
recommend for regular use.

    > TIA and thanks to all who make ESS so good and contribute
    > so generously and politely here: wonderful list.

:-)

    > Chris

Martin Maechler, 
ETH Zurich (& ESS core )

    > ----- Original Message -----
    >> From: "Vitalie Spinu" <spinuvit at gmail.com> To: "Ribonous"
    >> <ribonucleico at gmail.com> Cc: ess-help at r-project.org Sent:
    >> Tuesday, 5 February, 2013 12:33:48 AM Subject: Re: [ESS]
    >> Version currently available in ELPA?
    >> 
    >> >> Ribonous <ribonucleico at gmail.com> >> on Mon, 4 Feb
    >> 2013 19:24:58 -0500 wrote:
    >> 
    >> > I just installed ESS through M-x package-install in
    >> Emacs 24.2.1.  > This downloaded and compiled ESS to a
    >> folder > ~/.emacs.d/elpa/ess-20130119.1705/
    >> 
    >> > How do I know which version is it? (can 20130119.1705
    >> be > interpreted > as 2013-01-19 17:05?)
    >> 
    >> Yes, this is a date-time stamp. It is from MELPA, not
    >> ELPA, and it is a snapshot of the ESS git development
    >> repository. So it is pretty much the most recent version
    >> of ESS that you can have.
    >> 
    >> > According to the website, the official stable version
    >> should be > 12.09-2 > (2013-01-12). Which version have I
    >> installed?
    >> 
    >> M-x ess-version should tell you the release version.
    >> 
    >> Vitalie