On 26/05/2010 14:23, Andrei Alexandrescu wrote:
On 05/26/2010 05:07 AM, Don wrote:
Bruno Medeiros wrote:
On 24/05/2010 14:05, dsimcha wrote:
== Quote from Bruno Medeiros (brunodomedeiros+s...@com.gmail)'s article
On 23/05/2010 01:45, Walter Bright wrote:
Walter Bright wrote:
Other toolchain problems are things like shared libraries,
installation,
bugzilla bugs, etc.
Installation? What kind of problems are those?
On Linux, DMD can be a PITA to install if you're using an ancient
distribution due
to glibc being a different version than what DMD expects. I use such
a machine
and the only way to get DMD to work is to compile from source.
On Windows there's been some talk of making an installer. Personally,
I think
this should be a very low priority. Unpacking a zip file may not be
the most
friendly installation method for someone who's completely computer
illiterate, but
we're talking about programmers here. Even novice ones should be able
to figure
out how to unpack a zip file into a reasonable directory.
Ah, ok, I've only used DMD windows so far, thus I wasn't aware of
those problems. (in windows its fine)
And I think the zip file installation is fine versus using an
installer, in fact I even prefer it.
Ditto. Windows installers always make me nervous -- you're never quite
sure what they're going to do, and what problems they're about to cause.
Hmmm, that's quite a change of attitude since my Windows days. I
remember I wouldn't look twice at an application that didn't come with
an installer.
Andrei
I may not agree entirely with Don, because I my preference for zip files
was referring to the DMD case only, its not a general preference, it
depends on the application.
I would say an installer makes sense when the application needs to do
other OS tasks other than just extracting its files onto a folder, such
as creating Program menu shortcuts, setting up file associations,
configuring environment variables or OS services. Also if the
application stores data or configuration in user home folders, or in the
registry.
Any of these reasons most likely merit an installer (and uninstaller).
--
Bruno Medeiros - Software Engineer
