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Re: Possible Cygwin setup regression with --prune-install


Hi Achim,

On 29/8/19 4:02 pm, Achim Gratz wrote:
Shaddy Baddah writes:
  -Y --prune-install Prune the installation to only the requested
packages

My reading of that is that this should defeat any packages from being
(automatically added). However, even with this option, the base packages
are still autoselected.

I've originally implemented that option and the Base packages and
dependencies are explicitly exempted.  This is not an option to allow
you to create broken installations, mind you.


But it's not an installation really. The only potential "breakage" that
I could see is that the attempt to create desktop icons would break.

But there's nothing to "postinstall", so having no shell, no anything
isn't an issue.

OK, I should expand a bit, to give some better understanding. For more
than a decade, I have employed an installation technique I'll call an
alternative root. See this for example:

https://sourceware.org/ml/cygwin/2009-07/msg00904.html

The setup allows me to have an install of Cygwin on a host system, and
reuse that in a guest VM, over the VM implementations shared FS. Much
like the concept of a "zone" in Unix, I setup in the guest an
alternative root, with its own etc, var, etc.. and of course fstab
for a /tmp away from the one with the limitations of the VM shared FS.

Before Cygwin 1.7, I achieved the alternative root through the registry
key. After Cygwin 1.7, I have maintained a local patch that works of an
environment variable to point at an "alternative root".

There are other non-VM applications to this too.

To bootstrap the "alternative root", I used to run setup as above. I
then could be sure that all the required directories under root were
created, with the right Windows ACL, etc.

I'd then fill in /etc, setup my launching batch file, and away I go.
It's worked very well for me for years.

I'd never expect the support of the list to continue this practice. I
just lament losing what I see as the "elegant" approach I had to
"bootstrap" the alternative root. I might look into maintaining another
local patch for Cygwin setup.


But can someone talk to what --prune-install is exactly supposed to do?
And can any consideration be given to a "skeleton/template" install?

I use that option to make sure that whenever I remove packages from my
install (or downgrade them), the clients pick the exact set of packages
up that I give them.  It's also used to shrink installations (i.e. from
a developer installation to user) without leaving lots of cruft behind.

Thank you for that. That is different to what I expected. And I can see
good uses for this option.

--
Regards,
Shaddy

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