On 10 Oct 2000 at 18:51, Jason L Tibbitts III wrote about "Re: Installation...":
> BR> But, I think, it most definitely needs to be done.
>
> It would be nice to have a volunteer here who understands the needs of the
> packaging systems. I can do the work, but I'm not sure exactly what you
> can and can't do. I have made RPMs but I wouldn't call myself an expert.
Packages need the ability to "pre-compile" the software. That is, many
systems (especially Debian) will take the software, patch it to follow
it's own structure of directories, and then install it. Some may ask
configuration questions afterwards and apply that.
Actually, this really means that configuration has to be separate from
installation. Naturally, you can't expect it to work without configuration
-- but it just has to be a separate "job".
Debian has introduced the "debconf" software which could, interactively,
handle the configuration of Mj2 for Debian users and output a config file
at the end of the process.
I think Mj2 having the ability to accept a config file and act upon it
would be a great thing. I remember talk about this as well.
> BR> Otherwise we're unneedlessly making installation and usage too
> BR> hard...
>
> Is it really hard now, though? I can't imagine anything easier than the
> current Q&A installation setup. I think it needs to be preserved.
I haven't checked any changes that might have been made recently (past few
months) -- but consider adding a new domain. My memory says you had to go
through the installation process again.
Certainly, that could be easier?
> Hand-editing config files is really not the best thing to inflict on
Agreed. And that's why I suggested a config utility. It could be within
the shell utility or through email -- but it needs to exist.
Perhaps the installation could ask for the "master" domain, through which
all following configuration could happen via email (like "create system")
> folks. Moving this until after a make install step really changes very
> little but allows packages to work; the installer wouldn't see much change
> (an extra step) but if what we have now makes installation and usage too
> hard then what we'll have afterwards won't really make it any easier. (You
> can actually add domains on the fly now, but nobody's written the code to
> do it. It would still have to be written after any of these changes.)
Adding domains on the fly, I believe, seems to be the one main hinderance
to proper installation and usage.
And moving the configuration until after a `make install` might mean one
more step, but it means that for many users who use packages the whole
process just got a lot easier!
When I said the process is `hard`, I was really referring to the fact that
you can't add domains on the fly and that to do that you had to go through
the install process again. That is `hard`. Running "make", "make test" and
"make install" is not hard in and of itself -- but having to do it for new
domains is! :)
Thanks!
--
Brock Rozen brozen@torah.org
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