Date: Sun, 22 Oct 2000 22:34:15 -0700 From: Tim Kientzle <kientzle@acm.org> To: Alexander Langer <alex@big.endian.de> Cc: libh@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: BOF at BSDCon: FreeBSD Installer, Packages System Message-ID: <39F3CDD7.15B889E7@acm.org> References: <39DCC860.B04F7D50@acm.org> <20001006155542.A29218@cichlids.cichlids.com>
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The installer BOF didn't happen, purely because of my own ignorance. (I didn't know that all BOFs were on Wednesday night, and hence didn't arrive until mid-day Thursday.) However, I did talk to a few people about the installer and came up with at least one very concrete suggestion: The installer must be scriptable. Since installer size is such a major concern, the language needs to be something very compact to implement. I know of three languages that have extremely compact implementations: Forth, Lisp, and BASIC. My favorite is BASIC, because it's generally more accessible than the alternatives. If there's general agreement that a BASIC-like langauge would be appropriate, I might find time to whip up something in the next couple of weeks. This also implies that the installer must be very modular. In particular, the major dialogs need to be script language commands and the primary logic flow needs to be controlled by scripts. That will allow people to completely override the installation sequence. Ideally, the script language would also provide access to a collection of generic dialogs, but I think that's less essential. The primary use for the scripting will be to eliminate dialogs (automated installation), not to add new ones. If anyone agrees this is a good idea, let me know. I don't really have time to build code that nobody wants... - Tim Kientzle Alexander Langer wrote: > > Thus spake Tim Kientzle (kientzle@acm.org): > > > I'll be at BSDCon in Monterey on Thursday evening > > and all day Friday. I'd like to propose a BOF > > meeting on FreeBSD installation and packaging. > > Hello! > > Please summarize what you've discussed, if you have time. > > Thanks > > Alex > > -- > cat: /home/alex/.sig: No such file or directory > > To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org > with "unsubscribe freebsd-libh" in the body of the message To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-libh" in the body of the message
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