[Registry] Re: LinuxRegistry in Freedesktop & KDE

[Kevin Krammer]

On Wednesday 21 April 2004 14:08, Daniel M. Lambea wrote:

>   Do we have such a thing like "InstallShield" for Linux? No, we don't,
> AFAIK. Does a company benefit from writing such a software that provides
> installation routines to third party vendors? No, simply because this is
> a configuration mess, and no one wants to move a finger to solve this.

Ah, the installer myth again :)
The system provided installer is IMHO far better than to require every 
applictation o have its own.
Installers on Windows are a mess, they almost alsways fail to uninstall 
cleanly, very seldom have the ability for update (applications need to have 
that built in)
The windows XP's update engine is finally at a point where Linux package 
managers have been for ages, we will see how long it takes Microsoft to get 
there in the application sector.

>   Does it mean that, let's say, Macromedia, Adobe, etc. will want to
> directly jump on Linux by porting their code? No, of course. They have
> to do *tons* of things, apart from porting their code. What about
> updates? What about end-user ability to install-and-try their products?
> By now, impossible unless that end-user is good enough in administering
> his/her Linux box.

Clicking on a package file is soooo hard.
You have to know how a mouse works and which button activates the install 
option.
And oh boy, to update you have to click an update button in you software 
manager.
Oh dear!

Surely manually downloading a newer version, (uncleanly) uninstall a previous 
version and installing a new version (and answering all the same configuratin 
question again) is far easier.

>   Much like I do. I am an active Linux Evangelizer here, in my small
> Canary Islands. I have tenths of people willing to jump on Linux and
> forget their Windows box forever. I prepare a sample Linux box, they try
> it, they want it for their office, and then they ask the inevitable: How
> can I try that book-keeping software?

Installing it, testing it, removing it.

> How can I upgrade the Gimp? How
> can I upgrade OpenOffice? How can I...?

Have the software manager check for updates, select the ones you want to 
update, start update?
Can't be so bad, otherwise Micrsoft woulnd't have copied that principle for 
ther Windows updater

>   LR would give you no difference in this case, unless you wanted to
> participate in some kind of global system integration project (like the
> imaginary "Linux InstallShield"), where you will quickly find that
> you're lost in the configfile-formats-and-locations nightmare.

Ok, how often do you change configuration options in the installer.
I haven't installed much software on non-linux system lately, but usually 
their installers ask for path and where to put starter icons.
Everything else is handled in the applications' configuration dialogs.

Cheers,
Kevin
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