[openbeos] Re: on SoftwareValet for OBOS
- From: Peter Moore <peter@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: openbeos@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 29 Nov 2001 20:00:09 +1100
Erik,
it depends on what you are trying to do. EasyInstall is similar in
concept to PackageBuilder which comes with the BeOS developer tools archive.
If you are talking about the Windows Update you mentioned, then i have to
disagree with you about that concept not being a part of OpenBeOS. For now
we'll call it "OpenBeOS Update".
If OpenBeOS Update is to deliver OpenBeOS core components then it should be
part of OpenBeOS.
This opens a can of worms (or a Pandora's Box, if you prefer :-) ) in that:
can we get OpenBeOS Update connecting to the repository and accurately
determining what has been updated so that it can download and install it a la
Software Valet.
EasyInstall might be a great app.....i haven't used it so i don't know, but i
have used PackageBuilder many many times and while it does have a few
failings, it IS IMO an excellent way of building a software installation
package which installs itself in the correct location (yes, if you allow it,
the user can over-ride the defaults....i tend not to allow it in most cases)
So you have to have to ask yourself what you are trying to do:
1) application updates, or
2) OpenBeOS updates.
This will give you your answers. Personally i am quite happy with
PackageBuilder for software installations.
For OS updates you will want that to be on the BeOS/OpenBeOS menu and
therefore it should be part of OpenBeOS.
Just my $AUD0.04 (approx value $USD0.02)
peter
*******************************************
Peter Moore
peter@xxxxxxxxx
http://beos.loved.com/
ICQ 926967 (old) 95022055 (new - Oct 18, 2000)
*******************************************
>
>>>Just looking for folks' opinions on the value of the "software
>>>installer" for OpenBeOS.
>>
>>Opinions are free. :-)
>
>And, like certain body parts, everybody has one. (Sorry, Michael,
>couldn't resist! ;)
>
>Although I have not ever used it, OmicronSoft's EasyInstall suite looks
>fairly spiffy and featureful -- I don't see why this wouldn't be the
>solution of choice for most folks that need something more involved than
>"unzip it whereever you want". =) And at $29.00, it's a hell of a lot
>cheaper than InstallShield is. And OmicronSoft seems like they're in it
>for the long haul.
>
>I'm a little hesitant to take this on as part of OpenBeOS -- it
>represents a great 3rd party opportunity. Having said that, it occurred
>to me that a simple solution (in the way that Poor Man is BeOS's simple
>web server solution) would be a binary file containing a
>developer-provided shell script to direct the install and a zip archive
>with the files to be installed. You could slap a pretty simple GUI on
>top of that and make it fairly Grandma-friendly. =) That certainly
>wouldn't be what you'd call a full-featured installer, but it might do
>as an something in between a plain zip file and truly needing a
>professional installation tool because your installation is so complex.
>
>Something else that was being thrown out was the notion of an install
>tool that can automagically go to the net to find updates. This is a
>cool capability to have, and maybe we could lobby OmicronSoft to add it
>to their EasyInstall. For OpenBeOS, however, I think we could probably
>get away with a made-for-purpose tool similar to OTUpdater (or whatever
>it's called).
>
>Lastly, I'm not very familiar with all the install tools that are
>available for BeOS, so I hope my using EasyInstall in my examples will
>not offend anybody.
>
>e
>
>Data is not information, and information is not knowledge: knowledge is
>not understanding, and understanding is not wisdom.
> - Philip Adams
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