Re: multiple / parallel installations of gnumeric on one system?

[John Denker <jsd av8n com>]

On 7/1/21 1:43 AM, b. via gnumeric-list asked:

> to be able to run two independent different installations in
> parallel. have one window open with 'old' and one with 'new' and
> switch between them as i need or like.

1) Yes, this is possible. I have it set up that way. Rationale:
-- This allows testing of new features, including comparing the
various versions.
-- Users not involved in testing see only the standard version and are
not bother by the testing.
-- Root privileges are not required for routine development work.

2) This requires a lot of steps, some of which are not obvious and not
documented anywhere AFAICT. I have a directory 'gnome' which contains
the following scripts, which automate (and implicitly document) the
steps that I found necessary:
  https://www.av8n.com/gnumeric/WHENCE
  https://www.av8n.com/gnumeric/confect

Some features (e.g. introspection) I have never gotten to work at all.

The WHENCE script has a usage message that gives a terse outline of
what's going on.

The confect script controls the configuration settings.

The development versions can be invoked via simple scripts that you
can put in your $PATH:
  https://www.av8n.com/gnumeric/GG
  https://www.av8n.com/gnumeric/SS

This comes with absolutely no guarantees, but it may give you a start
in the right direction.