Possible changes to setup.exe interface and name

[Michael Benford]

On Thu, 20 Sep 2012 19:39:50 +0200, Christopher Faylor wrote:
> On Thu, Sep 20, 2012 at 06:26:01PM +0200, Michael Benford wrote:
>> On Thu, 20 Sep 2012 17:58:42 +0200, Eric Blake wrote:
>>> On 09/20/2012 09:11 AM, Michael Benford wrote:
>>>> I would like to change the setup.exe so that it loads the package
>>>> selection page when it starts.  And only runs the wizard when a  
>>>> current
>>>> installation of the current version is not detected.
>>>
>>> Indeed - having the ability to skip past the 6 'Next' buttons for a
>>> repeated run after cygwin is already installed seems useful; but you
>>> still have to make it possible for the user to rerun the intro screens
>>> rather than hard-coding it to only start at the package selection page
>>> (since the intro screens are necessary for things like choosing a
>>> different mirror).  Probably the easiest approach is to add a new
>>> command line option that can be used to skip the intro screens, and
>>> then users can script things with a batch file or by modifying the
>>> Windows shortcut to the actual setup.exe binary to add the option,
>>> although that will still require some user intervention rather than
>>> happening automatically.
>>>
>> I would implement a configuration panel that is accessible from the
>> package selection page.(i have developed a button table mini
>> application for launching other application with hard coded
>> command-line arguments using only win32)
>
> I'd rather just start with a command-line option than adding a whole new
> screen to setup.exe.
>
I'm basically offering to turn setup.exe into a package manager. setup.exe
would need to auto detect the current state of installation and should
have a command line argument to force a new install.

>>>> The file name setup.exe is ambiguous if stored in a folder with other
>>>> application installation files.  I suggest using the file name
>>>> cygpac.exe and application name Cygwin package manager.
>>>
>>> Won't happen.  You are free to download the file and rename it
>>> yourself, but people have come to expect the name of the file that they
>>> download to originally be named setup.exe, and every time this topic
>>> has come up in the past, it has been rejected.
>>>
>> I would like to put it to a vote.  If you vote please state why you
>> chose that position.
>
> Sorry.  This isn't a democracy.  We're not changing the name.  This has
> come up before.  I'm sure you can find past discussions on this issue if
> you search.
>
> cgf
I will search the mailing lists. If you could also send me a specific  
email, mailing list and/or
date to look at it would be appreciated.