Date:	Mon, 7 Feb 2000 20:34:16 +0600 (LKT)
From:	Kalum Somaratna aka Grendel <kalum AT newmail DOT net>
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To:	djgpp AT delorie DOT com
Subject:	Re: DJGPP Setup Utility in the making.
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On Mon, 7 Feb 2000, Eli Zaretskii wrote:

> 
> On Mon, 7 Feb 2000, Kalum Somaratna aka Grendel wrote:
> 
> > Actually it would be even better if there was a help button associated
> > with the packages that would give additional info about the package (ie-
> > what it does, is it necessary to get DJGPP up and running.. etc).
> 
> I agree it would be nice, but I'm not sure whether it's possible.
> Explanations of such kind usually require that the user already knows
> quite a lot of background material.  Without that, the explanation
> won't be understood.
> 

Actually Eli, I was thinking along the lines of the Linux kernel config
utility using X "make Xconfig". It has a help button for every
customisable option which gives a good idea of what the option (say
something like Kernel Hacking) is about and what is the recommended
setting.  


> For example, try to write a simple but comprehensive explanation of
> Make or Fileutils. 

IMHO A small description should be enough. 

Make -: This utility processes makefiles and is necessary for compiling
most source distributions. It is highly recommended that you download this
utility and install it as it is used very frequently.

Fileutils-: This is the DJGPP port of GNU Fileutils. It contains the
utilities like "ls", "rm" etc. This package is not essential to get DJGPP
up and running, however please note that some makefiles need "rm" to
remove files. 


> As another data point, consider the descriptions
> of the packages in section 4.4 of the FAQ.  Do you really think that
> clueless newbies will understand from this which packages do they
> need?  I sincerely doubt that, although I did make every effort to
> supply such explanations in the FAQ.
> 

Although you have done a superb job in compiling the FAQ Eli , IMHO I
really think that clueless newbies won't bother to read the FAQ in the
first place. IMHO the trend is that users expect everything to work 
automagically and be very intuitive and user friendly. I also find that
most users are pretty reluctant to browse among docs.

IMHO we really must try to make things easier for newbies because they are
the people that matter. One satisfied newbie will tell a lot more of his
friends about what a great compiler DJGPP is and they  will tell more
people  etc..



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:)

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