Date: Sun, 25 Apr 1999 12:06:26 -0400 Message-Id: <199904251606.MAA09688@envy.delorie.com> From: DJ Delorie To: djgpp-workers AT delorie DOT com In-reply-to: <000601be8f2e$860fc2c0$86033bd4@default> (lauras@softhome.net) Subject: Re: Script language for installer - opinions needed References: <000601be8f2e$860fc2c0$86033bd4 AT default> Reply-To: djgpp-workers AT delorie DOT com X-Mailing-List: djgpp-workers AT delorie DOT com X-Unsubscribes-To: listserv AT delorie DOT com Precedence: bulk Some thoughts... The zip picker doesn't cover all the zips, so you'd still need some way to select additional zips. The 00_index.txt files on Simtel have one-line descriptions of the zips. DJGPP zips are *supposed* to have a manifest/*.ver file that contains a one-line description of the packages. These can be used for zips you don't recognize. We could extend the *.ver file, or add another file, that could be designed specifically for the installer. That way, the installer itself wouldn't have to "know" about each zip. Not sure how well this would work for .tgz files, we'd have to make sure those special files are at the beginning to avoid uncompressing the entire archive just to read one file. Same for zips, but you can skip around in zips if you need to. I don't think a generic installer is needed. A djgpp-specific (or at least djgpp-aware) one is best. If you want to do a generic one, find out what InstallShield uses for their "input" script, and do it that way. That will let us build IS versions of djgpp in the future with the same set of parameters. We could have a text-based installer and an IS installer on the same CD, for example, or use the text-mode installer as the stub for the GUI one, so it "just does the right thing".