Date:	Thu, 8 Apr 1999 14:26:33 +0200 (IST)
From:	Eli Zaretskii <eliz AT is DOT elta DOT co DOT il>
X-Sender:	eliz AT is
To:	Andris Pavenis <pavenis AT lanet DOT lv>
cc:	Laurynas Biveinis <lauras AT softhome DOT net>, djgpp-workers AT delorie DOT com
Subject:	Re: Announce: LBInstDJ the DJGPP installer v0.2
In-Reply-To:	<B0000082522@stargate.astr.lu.lv>
Message-ID:	<Pine.SUN.3.91.990408141738.12956B-100000@is>
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Reply-To:	djgpp-workers AT delorie DOT com
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On Thu, 8 Apr 1999, Andris Pavenis wrote:

> With some DJGPP (written by me) program I merged 
> them (all 3 layers in a single file) into j-36-122.bil. As the result one of the original 
> files was overwritten if NameNumericTail=1.

We don't really have an argument.  We both agree that disabling numeric 
tails requires some vigilance on the part of the user.  Even the FAQ says 
that.

Note that disabling numeric tails is only required if the user wants 
his/her installation to work both in plain DOS and in Windows.  If you do 
NOT disable the tails, your installation will be broken in DOS.  People 
who want to work in both modes need to pay some price for that.  
Personally, I think that's a small price, but YMMV.

I do agree that, for casual users, the numeric tails should be disabled 
only if the user wants to work in plain DOS as well.

Whether DJGPP developers should or should not disable numeric tails and 
pay that price, is another matter.  I think they should, because 
otherwise they will not be able to produce distributions that work for 
everybody.

> Therefore I still think best would be enabling NameNumericTails=1 when 
> installing DJGPP and disabling it after that. 

That is another option, also mentioned in the FAQ.  However, it means 
that every time you want to install something, you need to change the 
registry and reboot.  Also, some packages, like TeX/METAFONT, produce 
files constantly as part of their operation, and those files are then 
used by subsequents runs of those programs.  So this method adds to 
inconvenience and makes the chances of error higher.

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