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Re: Is the Cygwin installation process likely to change significantly anytime soon?


At 04:20 PM 7/25/2005, you wrote:
>Hi,
>
>I'm writing a little bit about the Cygwin platform for an O'Reilly C++ book, scheduled for release later this year. Since I've found package selection using setup.exe to be a little tricky, I've written a detailed decription about how to install everything, how to install just the development tools, and how to install just g++, make and their prerequisites. I'd like the book to be useful for several years, however, so I'm a little nervous about providing information that is likely to change soon. Therefore I'd like to know if there are plans to change the installation process in the near future. For example, it would be very helpful to know how stable the following features of the current installation process are:


I actually have no say on when any of this could change but given the 
history and recent conversations on some of these topics, I think I 
can help you develop a better sense of what could happen here.


>  - Name of setup utility: setup.exe


I doubt this will change.  It was chosen ages ago in the hopes that it 
would be a well understood name for the Windows crowd.  So far, there's 
been no real complaint about the name and, better yet, no indication
that someone can't install because they can't figure out what executable
to run.  I'd say the name 'setup.exe' is here to stay.


>  - Link to setup.exe from cygwin.com: "Install Cygwin Now"


Pretty much the same response here.  This seems to work well so it's
likely this will not change.


>  - Link to setup help page from cygwin.com: "get help on using setup.exe"


Sorry, I'm not sure what you're referring to here.


>  - URL of setup help page: http://cygwin.com/cygwin-ug-net/setup-net.html


I expect this is also unlikely to change any time soon.  If documentation
needs change, it could but that's really up to the maintainer for the 
User's Guide.


>  - Tree view for package selection, including toggling between "Default", "Install", "Reinstall" and "Unistall" and the "Bin?" label above the column of checkboxes for binary packages.


Traditionally, development of 'setup.exe' moves pretty slowly, or in bursts
at best.  Obviously, this could change at any time but if you're a betting
man, you may want to lay your money down on a relative status-quo here.  
That said, there has been much more development going on in the last 6
months than the previous 6 (or even year) and much talk about the package
selection control.  So of all the things you've listed, I think this 
control is the one thing that is less likely to be stable than all the 
others.  It's hard to say whether it would retain exactly the same UI, even
if the internals were changed.  My guess is that the UI would change at 
least some, since usability is one of the major concerns about this control.
I would expect that there will always be some kind of tree control here but
the options for binary and source packages has been some cause for 
confusion and, as a result, may change.  Even the widget for cycling 
between the options you listed (and others) may be replaced.  And there is
the occasional "radical" suggestion that the current program be junked
and replaced with a completely new variant, which obviously may bear little
resemblance to the current one.  But I wouldn't expect any major changes 
between now and the end of the year.  Beyond that is less clear both in 
scope and timing.

HTH,




--
Larry Hall                              http://www.rfk.com
RFK Partners, Inc.                      (508) 893-9779 - RFK Office
838 Washington Street                   (508) 893-9889 - FAX
Holliston, MA 01746                     


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