From:	jsturm AT sigma6 DOT com (Jeff Sturm)
Subject:	Re: CD-based distribution (was Another website....)
16 Aug 1998 10:43:57 -0700 :
Message-ID:	<35D43FD1.558C5FAF.cygnus.gnu-win32@sigma6.com>
References:	<C0B7E1B3BE9CD111B6F000A0246DBB9B16EF AT softech DOT mke DOT etn DOT com>
Mime-Version:	1.0
To:	Geoffrey Noer <noer AT cygnus DOT com>
Cc:	Marcus Brown <Brown AT sw DOT mke DOT etn DOT com>, Robert Read <rread AT datarithm DOT com>,
	Robert DOT Cross AT scottish-newcastle DOT co DOT uk, gnu-win32 AT cygnus DOT com

Geoffrey Noer wrote:
> 
> On Wed, Aug 12, 1998 at 01:49:44PM -0500, Marcus Brown wrote:
> >
> > Well, I couldn't really say anything about the Debian tools since I've
> > never used the Debian distribution, only RedHat and Slackware.  The rpm
> > port to cygwin32 that I have seen is solid, and works fine with source
> > rpms (haven't tried binary so don't quote me on this :).  If there is a
> > better or more convenient way to package distributions I'd be glad to
> > take a look at it, rpm is the first thing that came to mind.  A more
> > pressing issue would seem to be what would actually be included in this
> > distribution...
> 
> In principle, I would prefer InstallShield-based distributions but
> obviously that causes a lot of problems -- it's proprietary and isn't
> very scalable to 100s of packages.  So maybe rpm is the way to go...
> 
> Overall, I think it is best if the system promotes compatibility with
> Windows.  (We'd all be much better off running Linux if all we wanted
> was a UNIX box).  If there is a good way to package things that is
> more in keeping with normal Windows ways of existance other than
> Installshield that might be a better choice.  Dunno.

Packaging each and every component with InstallShield would be a
mistake.  I would prefer to use rpm, since it is flexible and
well-supported, but still use InstallShield (or a similar utility) to
build a graphical front-end.  A SETUP.EXE program can automatically
invoke rpm for the core components, and a custom install may prompt the
user with a list of optional components, similar to the glint tool with
Redhat distributions.

I hope to get some time in the following weeks to try this out.  If
anyone knows good alternatives to InstallShield (preferably free) I'd
like to hear them.  We own and use InstallShield here but I'm not too
sure about the legal implications of using a proprietary installer with
a GPL distribution...

-- 
Jeff Sturm
jsturm AT sigma6 DOT com
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