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https://github.com/abo-abo/make-it-so

Transform files with Makefile recipes
https://github.com/abo-abo/make-it-so

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Transform files with Makefile recipes

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README 

        
# make-it-so



**GNU Emacs package for transforming files with Makefile recipes**



## What and why



### Terse description



Curry command line tools with Makefiles and select a Makefile to call

from `dired` dispatching on selected files' extension.



### Long story



I'm sure you've encountered your share of "How do I transform X to

Y?"-type questions on the web. I know I have. A lot of answers involve

using kitchen-sink tools like `ffmpeg` or `convert`. These tools are

great: they can transform almost anything into anything else.  But

they come with a price of a gazillion switches that are hard to

remember (and to type in, for that matter).



This package solves this problem by moving the complex command to a

Makefile with customizable literate parameters at the top.

Additionally it catalogs all available Makefiles by the file extension

that they work on.

It also creates a Makefile template for you when a selected action

doesn't exist.



### Advantages



1. You write the command only once. All the other times, you just

   customize the literate switches.



2. It's possible to not have to write the command at all if it's

   available in the repository.



3. Since the command is meant to be written just once, you can have a

   more complex and optimized command, compared to the one that you

   would normally enter in the terminal.



4. In case of multiple files, `make` allows to use multiple cores

   without the actual command knowing about it. This means that people

   with different processors can use the same Makefile to the most

   efficiency, calling `make -j8` or `make -j2` where appropriate.



5. The Elisp layer of this package solves the problem of Makefiles

   and file names with spaces.



## Installation



### From here:



Clone this repository:



    $ cd ~/git/

    $ git clone https://github.com/abo-abo/make-it-so



Add to `.emacs`:



    (add-to-list 'load-path "~/git/make-it-so")

    (require 'make-it-so)

    (mis-config-default)



This method means that any Makefile that you create will be under

version control.



### From MELPA:



If you install from MELPA, you only need this:



    (mis-config-default)



However beware that your recipes will be in your `package-user-dir`

and will be **wiped** when you update the package.  Which is fine if

you just want to give it a quick go or don't plan on creating your own

recipes. But if you do, move your recipes directory to a different place

and configure `mis-recipes-directory` properly.



## The workflow for using existing recipes



As a sample scenario, assume you want to trim (change running time)

one or more *.ogv files.



So you navigate to their location with `dired` and [mark][dired-mark]

them in case there's more than one.



Next, you call `make-it-so` (bound to **,**). It recognizes the "ogv"

extension and offers `crop`, `to-gif` and `trim` actions. You can

navigate with **C-n**/**C-p**, select with **RET** and cancel with **C-g**.



After you've selected `trim`, the selected files and the corresponding

[Makefile][trim-makefile] will be moved to a *staging* directory within

your current directory. The staging directory will be named after the

action and the first selected file.



The Makefile will be opened for you to customize switches which start out as:



    from = 00:00:01

    to   = 00:00:23



The actual command called will be:



    ffmpeg -i $< -ss $(from) -t $(to) -c copy $@



but this complexity is distanced from you, and you can just select

`from` and `to` if you want.



Next you call `mis-save-and-compile` (bound to **f5** for `make-mode`)

and test your result.



After this you can:



1. Call `mis-abort` (bound to **C-M-,**): the staging directory will be deleted and all

   files restored to their places. Basically, this is just an undo

   with respect to `make-it-so`.

2. Call `mis-finalize` (bound to **C-,**): in addition to `mis-abort` the generated files will be

   moved to the original directory.

3. Call `mis-replace` (bound to **C-M-.**): in addition to `mis-finalize` the source files will be

   moved to trash.



Note that in all three cases any modifications to the Makefile

template *will be lost*, along with all files in the staging directory

except those that were copied when you first called `make-it-so` and

those registered by the Makefile in "provide" file.



There's also *mis-dispatch* (bound to **C-.**) that allows to call the

above three commands by name and remind you their shortcuts.



### Screencast for transforming *.svg to *.png



![gif][svg-png]



## Available recipes



1. cue-spit

2. flac-to-mp3

3. ogv-trim

4. ogv-crop

5. ogv-to-gif

6. svg-to-png

7. md-to-html

8. mp4-to-mp3

9. m4a-to-mp3

9. chm-to-pdf

10. pdf-to-txt



## The workflow for adding new recipes



As a sample scenario, assume you want to convert *.svg to *.png.



1. An internet search lead to [Stack Overflow][stack] and this command:



        inkscape -z -e test.png -w 1024 -h 1024 test.svg



2. Navigate to the file(s) in `dired` and call `make-it-so` with **,**.

No default actions are available, so just type "to-png" and hit **RET**.

The "to-" prefix signifies that this is a conversion, adapting the Makefile to this form:



        # This is a template for the Makefile.

        # Parameters should go in the upper half as:

        #     width = 200

        # and be referenced in the command as $(width)



        # ______________________________________________________________________________



        DIRSVG = $(shell dir *.svg)



        DIRPNG = $(DIRSVG:.svg=.png)



        all: clean Makefile $(DIRPNG)



        %.png: %.svg

        	echo "add command here"

            echo $@ >> provide



        clean:

        	rm -f *.png provide



        # Insert the install command here.

        # e.g. sudo apt-get install ffmpeg

        install-tools:

        	echo "No tools required"



        .PHONY: all install-tools clean



If the action name doesn't have a "to-" prefix, the transformation is assumed to be

e.g. "svg" -> "out.svg". You can change this of course by editing the Makefile.



3. In case the command name and package name don't coincide, or the

command needs additional packages in order to work you might want to

change `echo "No tools required"` to `sudo apt-get install inkscape`.

This should serve as a reminder of what you should install when you're

on a new system in order for the Makefile to work. And you can call `make install-tools`

to install them of course.



4. Replace `echo "add command here"` with `inkscape -z -e $@ -w $(width) -h $(height) $^`.

The parameters `width` and `height` will go to the top of the Makefile, where they

can be customized. `$@` refers to the output file, `test.png` in this case.

`$^` refers to the input file, `test.svg` in this case.



5. That's it. You can see the final Makefile [here][to-png-makefile].

Test if the command works with **f5** from the Makefile.  If you're

happy with it, call `mis-finalize` with **C-,** from `dired`.  The

Makefile will be saved for all future calls to `make-it-so`.



## Usage Tips



- Remember to use `dired-jump` command to jump from any file (or even

  the compilation buffer) to the associated directory.

- Remember `dired-mark-files-regexp` (bound to Shift 85) that will mark all files

  of specific type in directory. This is much faster than **m** when you want

  to convert a bunch of files.

- Until you're sure that the command and the Makefile work properly

  make backups. In fact, make backups period.



## Contributing



As you can see, the list of Makefile recipes is quite scarce at the

moment.  So new Makefile contributions are most welcome.



[dired-mark]: https://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/manual/html_node/emacs/Marks-vs-Flags.html#Marks-vs-Flags

[trim-makefile]: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/abo-abo/make-it-so/master/recipes/ogv/trim/Makefile

[to-png-makefile]: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/abo-abo/make-it-so/master/recipes/svg/to-png/Makefile

[stack]: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/9853325/how-to-convert-a-svg-to-a-png-with-image-magick

[svg-png]: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/abo-abo/make-it-so/gh-pages/svg-png.gif