Date:	Mon, 7 Feb 2000 05:44:19 +0600 (LKT)
From:	Kalum Somaratna aka Grendel <kalum AT newmail DOT net>
X-Sender:	root AT darkstar DOT grendel DOT net
To:	djgpp AT delorie DOT com
Subject:	Re: DJGPP Setup Utility in the making.
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On Sun, 6 Feb 2000, Eli Zaretskii wrote:

> 
> On Sun, 6 Feb 2000, J.W. Mays wrote:
> 
> >     I've started on a package called DSU (DJGPP Setup Utility) which does
> > the first time install of DJGPP packages onto a users system VIA the web(ftp
> > sites).  It's a GUI for Windows95+, which means it contains DLL's and OCX
> > files.
> 
> IMHO, the dependence on Windows is quite a limitation: there are DJGPP 
> users who don't want Windows on their machines.  What exactly did force
> you to depend on Windows?

Maybe it can be ported to dos using Turbo Vision?


> 
> > I want to have a "zip-picker" style form with all the different
> > sections like functionality, IDE's, Extras and such with all the packages
> > listed in their section, Or should I just list out all the packages in one
> > listbox and have the user "check" which package they want?
> 
> Many users won't know what they want, so it's a good idea to advise
> them.
> 

Actually it would be even better if there was a help button associated
with the packages that would give additional info about the package (ie-
what it does, is it necessary to get DJGPP up and running.. etc). 

I am sure that this feature will be appreciated by quite a lot of newbies
who aren't sure about what exactly to install etc.

Just imagine how often we have wished that there was some additional help
available with a "obfuscated" option when we were installing a
package. And when we also weren't sure whether not selecting it would mean
a whole reinstallation.


> 
> Changing AUTOEXEC and rebooting are among the most problematic aspects
> of the setup, because there are so many different ways to configure
> (and break ;-) your system.  Watch out for cases which won't boot after
> you modify CONFIG.SYS and/or AUTOEXEC.BAT...
> 

IMHO this is a risky thing to do, considering the different
configurations available, but IMHO  if this modification can be
limited to adding a extra PATH setting, and/or extra command to be
executed then it would be reasonably safe.

If it would be possible to get about without rebooting the OS it would be
much better. But on the other hand rebooting only once isn't a bad idea. I
once bought a new computer which had a installation program that had to
reboot the PC 6 (six!!) times to get a program manager clone up and
running.
Needless to say one of the first things I did was to remove it from my
system...



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