Conda-forge.github.io: What is a recipe ?

[Aaishpra]

• [x] I read the conda-forge documentation and could not find the solution for my problem there.

Issue:

Throughout the conda-forge documentation, there is a mention of the word recipes, How to add a recipe, how to update a recipe,
But no mention about what is a recipe for packages, in my view there should be some sort of small introduction about what is a recipe and it can be added at the homepage.

[Aaishpra]

@viniciusdc if this issue seems legit and needed I can work here or you can close the issue thanks

[beckermr]

A recipe is the set of files needed to build the conda package. This includes at minimum the meta.yaml, but might also include license files, patches, build scripts, test scripts etc. If you look in any feedstock, the recipe is all of the stuff in the recipe directory.

[Aaishpra]

Yes, but can that be included on homepage so someone visiting the website for the first time can directly know what it is.

[beckermr]

Sure. I'd make a glossary entry and add some links

[viniciusdc]

Yes, but can that be included on homepage so someone visiting the website for the first time can directly know what it is.

Even though we don't have a straightforward directly definition of what a recipe is, its contents and uses are well written in the docs. There is still a full example of it (see more here)

[Aaishpra]

Ya, I saw it and it perfectly explained me how a recipe can be created or what it's contents are, but due to the excessive use of the word recipe, i feel there should be some proper definition of this word and this definition should be present at the homepage.

[viniciusdc]

Ya, I saw it and it perfectly explained me how a recipe can be created or what it's contents are, but due to the excessive use of the word recipe, i feel there should be some proper definition of this word and this definition should be present at the homepage.

sure, I totally understand. I think the best answer to this was given by Matt above, also we could adapt the definition from conda-recipes and use this chance to explain what the final structure of the feedstocks will look like, somethin in those lines:

Building a conda package in conda-forge requires a recipe, it is a set/directory of files that contains, but not limited to, the following files:

• meta.yaml---A file that contains all the metadata in the recipe...
• LICENSE file
• Auto generate files from the build process
• build.sh---The script that installs the files for the package on macOS and Linux. It is executed using the bash command.
• bld.bat---The build script that installs the files for the package on Windows. It is executed using cmd.
• run_test.[py,pl,sh,bat]---An optional Python test file, a test script that runs automatically if it is part of the recipe.
• Optional patches that are applied to the source.
• Other resources...
• 
  see for reference qt-feedstock

... @beckermr any thoughts on this?

[beckermr]

Yup. It is anything in the recipe folder in a feedstock. It always has a meta.yaml. It can have a bunch of other things.

[Aaishpra]

@beckermr @viniciusdc can I work on this and add this definition you and @viniciusdc provided under a new heading named "What is a Recipe" on the homepage. Although I am still unsure what could be the best place to add it, but this can be a somewhat better place.

[beckermr]

Please make a glossary entry and link the term to that.