Message-ID:	<35383194.235@cs.com>
Date:	Sat, 18 Apr 1998 00:52:36 -0400
From:	"John M. Aldrich" <fighteer AT cs DOT com>
Organization:	Two pounds of chaos and a pinch of salt.
MIME-Version:	1.0
To:	DJGPP Workers Mailing List <djgpp-workers AT delorie DOT com>
Subject:	DJVERIFY v0.4a released!

On advice of counsel <g> and with a great deal of thought, I've finally
decided to release the latest version of DJVERIFY.  I just finished
uploading it to DJ's /incoming directory; it should be in its permanent
home on ftp://ftp.delorie.com/ shortly.  In the meantime, you can
download it from my own web site, at
http://www.cs.com/fighteer/files/vrfy04a.zip.

I'm somewhat paranoid about making a general announcement on
djgpp-announce until I am sure that any last-minute bugs are ironed out,
particularly considering that the interaction between gcc2721 and gcc280
could turn up problems I haven't previously considered.  I also haven't
quite decided on the final format for the package information files. 
Any suggestions along this line would be appreciated; whether you think
DJVERIFY is ready to go as-is or you think it still needs more work,
please speak up!  :-)

I've made a huge number of changes and improvements to the program since
the last published version; most of the time I spent in development was
in soliciting user advice.  A full list of features and version changes
can be found in 'readme.djv' and 'djverify.doc'; here are the most
fundamental:

 - I completed the diagnostics menu and implemented a full range of
comprehensive checks.  I made lots of refinements based on user
suggestions and reported problems.  Diagnostics include:  CPU, memory,
DJGPP variable (omitted, misspelled, points to directory instead of
file, points to nonexistent file, etc.), DJDIR variable (exists, matches
DJGPP variable), presence of required executable files and their
location in the PATH, and more.

 - Diagnostic system detects errors and displays a series of screens
listing the problems and possible solutions, with FAQ references where
applicable.

 - The system report feature allows instantaneous preparation of a
system report, a la chapter 6.12 of the FAQ.  It even allows the user to
specify a program to test-compile and includes the output of gcc in the
report.

 - An interactive package detection system tells the user which DJGPP
packages are installed and tests for certain types of incorrect
installation.  The packages are sorted by name and category (required,
language-specific, recommended, optional, source) and include a brief
description and list of other required packages.  The system also allows
users to type in the name of a file and search the manifests for the
package to which the file belongs.  Included are the latest available
versions of all DJGPP packages that have manifests; however, I have
omitted a few package descriptions.

 - There's a known potential problem with this system; it is unable to
distinguish between different versions of a package that have similar
manifests.  I'm working on a solution to this which will go into the
next version; for now, it should suffice for all _new_ users who
download only the latest packages.

 - The package detection system also works in conjunction with the
system report, appending a list of files that DJVERIFY detects to be
installed.

 - Because of the format I use, package updates can be distributed as a
separate zipfile; I will make this available on my web site and possibly
on SimTel in the future.

Thanks for taking the time to read this.  I'm very interested in what
everybody thinks.

l8r

-- 
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| John M. Aldrich, aka Fighteer I  |     mailto:fighteer AT cs DOT com     |
|      ICQ UIN#:  7406319          |   http://www.cs.com/fighteer/  |
|    ObJoke:  If Bill Gates were a robber, not only would he        |
|     shoot you, but he'd send you a bill for the bullets.          |
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