asdf-install on clisp + windows

Update 3 July 2007: Chris Done has provided a new guide.

Since clisp is the only viable free common lisp on Windows at the moment, and asdf-install is the most vibrant of all lisp distributed library solution, we need clisp and asdf-install to run properly. Lots of people have hit problems trying though:

This google groups thread suggests that a patch is available but didn’t clarify what.

http://wiki.alu.org/ASDF_Universality has a project going.

This more recent thread suggests avoiding asdf-install altogether.

Resolution steps

• Check in asdf-install.lisp that *cygwin-bash-program* and *gnu-tar-program* points to the correct path. You need the former if you are running the cygwin-compiled version, and the latter if you are running the mingw version.
• This thread from 2004 has patches from Alex Mizrahi which still hasn’t been applied. I believe these identify the critical errors in CLISP/MingW distribution. Specifically:

  i don't know whether it works for cygwin version, but for native one version
  that is
  #+(not :win32) works fine except :wait nil - in this case it can
  capture no output. with :wait t all is well. 

• There is a misplaced parenthesis in asdf-install/port.lisp:

  #+(and :clisp :win32)
  (defun return-output-from-program (program args)
    (unless (probe-file program)
      (error "External program not found ~A" program))
    (with-output-to-string (out-stream)
      (let ((stream
              (ext:run-shell-command
               (format nil "~A~{ ~A~}" program args)
               :output :stream
               :wait t)))
        (loop for line = (ignore-errors (read-line stream nil))
              while line
              do (write-line line out-stream)))))

• Download distribution manually
• Save the distribution into this directory *default-pathname-defaults*
• change it’s file name to the name of the package. eg. rename cl-ppcre.tar.gz to cl-ppcre.

• (asdf-install:install "cl-ppcre")

  should work now

• asdf-install is broken in cvs. You need to set your *features* so that the following keywords are true in asdf-install/defpackage.lisp

  (pushnew :old *features*)
  (pushnew :old-asdf-behavior *features*)

• (asdf-install:install "http://weitz.de/cl-ppcre.tar.gz")

  should work now