Re: Some things GNOME really needs

[Alan Shutko <ats acm org>]

"Fox, Kevin M" <KMFox@mail.bhi-erc.com> writes:

> Use the webfind feature of gnorpm... it does everything for you... You click
> ok, Yes I want to download, and install... simple. :)
> Dependancies are handled automaticly by gnorpm.

That's not quite what I was talking about.  What if you have one large
program, with lots of optional parts.  For example, word perfect.  On
Windows, you get the installer which will show a tree of different
features, explain what they are if you don't know, and let you select
what to install.  How would you do this with RPMs?

Well, you'd start by separating the components into different RPMs.
You'd have the spell-checker, install filters, grammar checker,
languages in different RPM.  That would probably get you around 30
different RPMs for one package.  If you wanted to duplicate the
functionalidty of the existing installer, allowing you to choose which
printer drivers to install, you'd have a few hundred.  Ouch.

So, the user pops in a CD, sees a directory with tons of RPMs, and a
readme.  User has to choose what RPMs to install by hand.  (Sure, they
can query the info of the packages, but still, not as easy.)  That's
very intimidating, and there's nothing else you can do.  That's why
some packages (KDE, I think) have an install script which wraps around
the RPMs, so you can choose what to install.

> Use a runlevel editor for that. Besides, if it is a program that needs
> runlevel setup, it needs to be done as root. And being a root situation, I
> would not trust it to a normal user.


Most installs are done as root.  Surely, RPM installs (on redhat, at
least) have to be done as root, since users don't have access to rpm
database.  And if there's extra configuration to be done, it's polite
to ask the user to do it now, rather than relying on them to find out
for themselves.  Windows users dont' expect to have to run lots of
different apps after installation to make their program work.

> One of the main conserns is downloading a bunch of gnome rpms and haveing a
> user install them. That is too ugly for the target "normal user" audience.
> The solution is, let the distribution handle the details. For example,
> redhat 6. You plop in the cd, hit install, and you have gnome. 

Sure, that works for programs a distribution includes.  That doesn't
work for commercial apps or apps which dists don't include.  

An install app doesn't _have_ to suck.  There's no reason it couldn't
work with rpm, for instance.  


-- 
Alan Shutko <ats@acm.org> - Looking for a job in Long Island!
Check http://rescomp.wustl.edu/~ats/ for a resume.
Hacking's just another word for nothing left to kludge.