Re: Install program

["Ben 'The Con Man' Kahn" <xkahn mail cybersites com>]

On 19 Apr 1998, Tom Tromey wrote:

> Ben> But what if you're not root?  As far as I'm concerned, there are
> Ben> deep issues involved in installing software.  As far as I'm
> Ben> concerned, software should be compiled and tested by a user, but
> Ben> installed by root.
> 
> Ben> How is this problem being solved?
> 
> What is the problem exactly?  This GUI won't give a user the ability
> to do anything he can't already do.  Or are you saying that the
> program will be useless because most users won't have permissions to
> do RPM installs?

	There is a problem deciding who is allowed to install software.
Users will want to download and install software.  They should be able to
do this to a LIMITED extent in their home directories.  (They will
anyway.)  However, I should be able to double-click on an RPM and have it
install on the system.  This can be accomplished if the program asks me
for the root password.  (This is how SGI handles the problem.)  So a
dialog box might look like this:

 ----------------------------------------
| Install gome-core 1.2.5-5435326?       |
|----------------------------------------|
|..... ..........                        |
|Root | Yourself |                       |
|----------------------------------------|
| To install as root:                    |
|                                        |
| Enter Root Password: [               ] |
|                                        |
|     [Ok]                   [Cancel]    |
 ----------------------------------------
 ..........
| Yourself |
 ----------------------------------------
| To install as yourself:                |
|                                        |
| Directory to install in: [/home/xkahn ]|
|                                        |
|     [Ok]                   [Cancel]    |
 ----------------------------------------

	or something like that anyway...  I can imagine a disk space
required vs. disk space available display.  (Taking quota into account.)
Etc.  Anyway, I think this can solve a lot of the problems I envision a
instalation program causing.


						-Ben

------------------------------------ |\      _,,,--,,_  ,) ----------
Benjamin Kahn                        /,`.-'`'   -,  ;-;;'
(212) 924 - 2220                    |,4-  ) )-,_ ) /\
ben@cybersites.com --------------- '---''(_/--' (_/-' ---------------
 If you love something, write it in C; if it compiles, it is yours; 
                     if it doesn't, it never was.