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From: Kilgallen@eisner.decus.org.nospam (Larry Kilgallen)
Subject: Ada test example - Linux Software Installer
Date: 2000/05/07
Message-ID: <JpoF4nBx0iQb@eisner.decus.org>#1/1
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 <3913A546.3ADC7EB7@online.no>
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Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada
Date: 2000-05-07T00:00:00+00:00
List-Id: <comp.lang.ada>

In article <3913A546.3ADC7EB7@online.no>, "Tarjei Tj�stheim Jensen" <tarjei@online.no> writes:
> Ted Dennison wrote:
>> 
>> Thanks. I had almost forgotten this one (an InstallShield-like app) from
>> my list of needed OpenSource programs that could be done in Ada.
>> 
> 
> Let me suggest a test case for such a thing: A Linux installer.
> 
> If one can keep the dependencies right and show the consequences of
> choices in real time it will be very hard to avoid Ada on the Linux
> installation CDs.
> 
> Current Linux installers tend to want to install too much too soon. They
> don't try to establish whether the basics works before trying to install
> the whole caboodle.

That sounds like a worthwhile project, but if you want to increase
acceptance, please do _not_ license it in such a way that anyone
who distributes the installer (such as, with their software) has
to distribute the source to the software.  Muddying the waters of
Ada Advocacy with Open Source Advocacy would not increase adoption.

Software vendors are sometimes faced with a customer demand to
explain every single file on their CD, and while for some markets
the proper response might be to add more files (source) for many
it is not.

I believe a software installer is a problem domain where a
distributed set of diverse developers can do much better than
a single organization, and thus the "risk" of somebody making
a "better" installer (and keeping the source of their change
secret) is minimal.