Date: Sun, 13 Oct 1996 20:38:56 +0200 (MET DST)
From: Mark Habersack <grendel AT ananke DOT amu DOT edu DOT pl>
Reply-To: grendel AT ananke DOT amu DOT edu DOT pl
To: DJ Delorie <dj AT delorie DOT com>
cc: eliz AT is DOT elta DOT co DOT il, fighteer AT cs DOT com, djgpp-workers AT delorie DOT com
Subject: Re: Install thingy
In-Reply-To: <199610131831.OAA00077@delorie.com>
Message-ID: <Pine.NEB.3.95.961013203411.5686E-100000@ananke.amu.edu.pl>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII

On Sun, 13 Oct 1996, DJ Delorie wrote:

>I concur.  The whole point of V2 (originally) was to remove the need
>to purchase (and support) a competing compiler just to build djgpp.
>
>If it can be built with/for djgpp, please do it that way.
Well... ok, so maybe I'll do it this way: I'll write the main install
executable in DJGPP and add a small 'loader' utility that would run on every
machine (it might be done in djasm).  I know that there's a stub loader for
DJGPP programs, but it will report only that, say, it cannot find DPMI.  The
RM loader would check for everything that's needed to start up the install:
mainly processor type and free memory.  Such a solution would provide an
elegant way to tell users who have incompatible machines what's wrong with
their computers.  Loader would not be limited to few bytes for messages and
would present users more explanative error messages.

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
Decriminalised genocide provided door to door Belsens. Pandora's box of
 Holocausts gracefully cruising satellite infested heavens.
Waiting, the season of the button, the penultimate migration. Radioactive
 perfumes, for the fashionably, for the terminally insane, insane
Do you realise, do you realise, do you realise?
This world is totally FUGAZI!
_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- http://ananke.amu.edu.pl/~grendel -_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_