News and Reviews > Image Manager Shootout
Newbie on the block looks set to rock the world ...
mouser:
i sincerely hope in the future that we put an end to this Install hell we have now.
"Installing" a program should mean simply copying its directory to a Programs directory, nothing more. It would then automatically appear on whatever kind of start menu is used. Uninstalling should be as simple as deleting it.
f0dder:
i sincerely hope in the future that we put an end to this Install hell we have now.
"Installing" a program should mean simply copying its directory to a Programs directory, nothing more. It would then automatically appear on whatever kind of start menu is used. Uninstalling should be as simple as deleting it.
-mouser (August 25, 2006, 07:57 AM)
--- End quote ---
How do you handle per-user settings, then? There's several ways to go about that, each with different backup strategies as well...
Carol Haynes:
Acorn Computers solved these problems years ago - the RiscOS operating system stored all related stuff for an app in a single special folder (say !Painter for the Painter program - the ! indicating it was an application folder). Double clicking the folder loaded the application and installation was as simple as copying the application folder to your hard disc. Installing plugins or extra setting just meant copying stuff into the folder. When an app started a text file (!Boot) in the folder was executed to start the app (a bit like a DOS batch file) which ensured required modules were installed (equivalent of DLLs) with a simple cammand such as:
RMLOAD 230 Modulename
where 230 is the version required and the modulename is a given module stored in the app folder. If a version of Module name is already loaded in memory the version numbers are compared and if it is older the memory version is replaced, if it is newer it is used without reloading.
It was a very quick and easy way to install programs. To uninstall you just delete the app folder.
mouser:
actually i understand that mac osx is close to this ideal..
Perry Mowbray:
Didn't microsoft announce something like this some time back??? :-\
edit: Found it here ;)
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