From: j DOT aldrich6 AT genie DOT com
Message-Id: <199606120349.AA024051375@relay1.geis.com>
Date: Wed, 12 Jun 96 03:46:00 UTC 0000
To: djgpp AT delorie DOT com
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Subject: Re: Installer

Reply to message 3680841    from LEE_B AT CELESTI on 06/10/96  8:35PM


>I'm just wondering if anyone has thought of doing an installer for
>DJGPP programs in a standard DOS compiler like TurboC (so that the
>installer is stand-alone) ?

Well, if the idea for the inline DPMI stub works out, it would in fact be
possible to make an installer with DJGPP.  And yes, it would be a neat
thing to have.  However, I can see a couple of arguments against:

1) The instructions for installing DJGPP are all there and quite complete
if anybody would ever bother to read them.

2) DJGPP is made up of lots of separate files, and you don't have to install
all of them, but only the ones that you need.  Since installing them is a
simple
matter of moving them to the correct directory and unzipping them, a simple
batch file might even suffice.  The things that kill most people are the system
configs, like the DJDIR environment variable and the DPMI host.  We've only
had one person so far who tried unzipping without '-d'.  :)

3) It would have to be somebody other than our poor, overworked
developers.  :)

>What I'd like to see is something that presents a nice
>screen-orientated interface (maybe even with graphics and messages
>while installing  - microsoft installer style =), and a good script
>language, to allow installation of complex programs and suites (like
>DJGPP =).

Lemme see... you want an installer AND a complete script language
for writing your own installers?  Hmm... I'd be willing to take a crack
at the former, but the latter boggles the mind...  DJGPP is not professional
commercial software, remember!  Its developers have lives and real
jobs of their own.  :)

[snip]

>Anyone wanna make it for me ? =)

I could see using one of the DJGPP windowing libraries together with
some basic hardware checking routines to do a basic installer program,
or at least one that checks system configs, makes necessary changes,
and recommends which files to download and install.  The problem is
that I don't know enough about hardware analysis to do it.  It would be
a fun way to learn, though...

>Also, maybe we need to define standard installation dirs for files, so
>that installed progs can check if any files are already installed
>without scanning the entire disk and making assumptions about
>filenames, etc..

Hold on... are you talking about writing a DJGPP installer, or an
installer in DJGPP?  Do you mean that if you should happen to run
the installer twice, it will detect this and abort without having to
search the entire disk first?  That could be done with a simple
check for the DJDIR environment variable.  Besides, as I well know,
people love to install things in other directories than the standard
ones.  However, the DJGPP directory tree is imbedded in the zipfiles,
and unless the poor schmuck forgets to use '-d', everything gets put
in the right place without any work from the user.

Despite these problems, it might be a fun project to undertake -- both theDJ
installer and the script language.  Anybody else interested?  Maybe
working together on it?

John