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Date:	Sat, 20 May 2000 20:50:11 +0100
To:	cygwin AT sourceware DOT cygnus DOT com
From:	Alexander Anderson <lists AT almide DOT demon DOT co DOT uk>
Subject:	Re: CygWin user tools (B20): help with installing extras
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In article <p+i1kCAxOCJ5IwrM AT almide DOT demon DOT co DOT uk>, Alexander Anderson
<lists AT almide DOT demon DOT co DOT uk> writes

>    I think the chief problem is that the binaries are compiled with as-
>sumptions about defaults hardwired into them.  For instance, the config-
>uration  file  this compilation of man uses is hardwired into the binary
>and is by default an absolute pathname: "/usr/local/lib/man.conf".  How-
>ever, there's a "-C" override for it, which I used successfully.


    I use NT4 (ServicePack 3) for texty, webby design stuff.


    Pierre  Humblet  wrote  to  me  and mentioned the idea of setting up
one's Cygwin installation as root /, by use of the "mount" command.


    I have followed his suggestion and -- after a great  deal  of  trial
and error -- got my Cygwin Unix console to work reliably, AND in a state
to be extended with extra commands from the Cygwin FTP site(s).


    In the process, I've learnt quite a bit about  the  concepts  behind
the unix "shell".


    I believe that non-guru users like myself aren't given nearly enough
of a firm foundation when trying to install  Cygwin  off  the  Net.   By
"firm  foundation", I mean where everything just works, without you hav-
ing to know anything.  There is an assumption, I feel,  that  if  you're
going to use Cygwin, you ought really to be a levitating guru -- able to
leap tall buildings in a single bound.


    So nowhere is it stated (in the READMEs at the FTP mirrors) that  in
order  to  get precompiled binaries to work, you really ought to arrange
the cygwin filestructure along Unix traditions, which includes having  a
/bin  directory in the root / folder.  Now, this is a matter of philoso-
phy so I'll stop elaborating on it for the moment.


    ...Except to include, for the benefit of other novice users like my-
self,  my  Cygwin.bat and .bashrc files that I modified to get my Cygwin
installation to readily accept new commands and extensions.


    Here's my Cygwin.bat file.  This file is used to set Cygwin going:



        CYGWIN.BAT
        ==========


        @ECHO OFF
        SET CYGWIN="title tty"
        SET CYGWIN32="title tty"
        SET MAKE_MODE=UNIX
        SET HOME=J:\Source.my\Programming\Unix
        SET MYCYG=C:\Program_Files\cygnus\cygwin-b20
        
        SET PATH=%MYCYG%\bin;%MYCYG%\usr\local\bin;.
        
        bash



    And my .bashrc, which I believe, must reside in the folder  referred
to  by  the $HOME environment variable. The .bashrc is automatically in-
voked by the bash shell program when it starts up:



        .bashrc
        =======


        PS1='\w\$ '
        PS2='> '
        
        alias ls='ls --color=auto --classify -X'
        
        export MYCYG=C:/Program_Files/cygnus/cygwin-b20
        
        # note that the following 3 commands are all _absolute_ paths...
        $MYCYG/bin/mount --reset
        $MYCYG/bin/umount /
        $MYCYG/bin/mount -f $MYCYG /
        
        export PATH=/bin:/usr/local/bin:.



                            - - -  X  - - -


    OK, so I have my grumbles about there being very little in  the  way
of  reassurance  or  support  for naive users of Cygwin unix, or "a firm
foundation for beginners" as I call it.  The reason, I suppose, is  that
there are an enormous number of college CS students who fit that catego-
ry.  Four years ago, back in 96, 97 I saw them in droves at my  college.
They're  all running Windows 95 on college computers, and never get into
Unix except in the last year -- and even then they don't end up  knowing
much  more than cd and ls.  I believe that making Cygwin a doddle to in-
stall and play with at a college "Windows" terminal is a  really  impor-
tant  manoeuvre.   And having man pages and info pages -- reams of it --
and the tools that make them can be hugely influential.


    Having said that, I just have to admit that the functionality of  my
"Cygwin Unix Shell" is INFINITELY better and more usable than the MS-DOS
"Command Prompt".  Since getting my Cygwin installation to work perfect-
ly  (about  an  hour  ago now) I'm only just beginning to realize that I
don't ever need to use the "Command Prompt" again, and let me tell  you,
that's  a  very good feeling!  Thank you very much, everyone, for Cygwin
and the user tools.


    Keep up the good work!


With kind regards,


Sandy


P.S.  Technical note:

      I got rid of the sub-directory "H-i586-cygwin32",  and pulled  all
      it's  folders  up  a  level to make the filestructure more in line
      with unix tradition.
-- 
Alexander Anderson

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