[Pythonmac-SIG] Re: Which installer to use for MacPython-OSX?

[bill fancher]

On Wednesday, August 21, 2002, at 07:17  AM, Schollnick, Benjamin wrote:

>
>>> I could enable the folder selection option, but that would allow them
>>> to install anywhere (meaning they could install in lots of locations
>>> where stuff simply won't work).

Make a nice "Welcome.txt" that explains the common options that work. 
Installer will display it for you. Then let people do what they like. 
Least effort, maximum flexibility. (There may be good reasons to install 
in "odd" places.)

>
> Rudo,
> | these two remarks are in contradiction: there are exactly three
> | locations where the user can install Python so that it will work: /,
> | /Network or $HOME. All other locations will result in a non-functional
> | installation.

This isn't strictly true: You could install to some other home directory 
and stuff would work for that account. You could be bad and install to 
/System/Library. You could set DYLD_FRAMEWORK_PATH so that the framework 
would be found in odd places. It might even be useful to do so in some 
circumstances (not that I can think of any convincing examples).

> | You shouldn't really think of these as locations, but more as answers
> | the the question "For whom do you want to instal the software?": for
> | everyone on the machine, for everyone on the network or for yourself
> | only.

Or for someone else (or one of your other accounts) only. Or (generally a 
bad idea) as part of the system. Or...

> Then quite simply there is your answer....
>
> When the "installer" starts, you ask simply that
> question with three radio buttons.  One Radio button
> corresponding to "Global for this machine", "Everyone on the
> network", "For this local user only".  Depending on which
> radio button is chosen, you place it in that location.

AFAIK, there's no way to do that with Apple's Installer. And, as pointed 
about above, allowing only three choices might be unnecessarily 
restrictive. (Of course, you can drag the framework wherever you like, so 
it's not THAT restrictive.)

> If memory serves me correctly, that is very similar to the
> method that TinkerTool uses for it's installer...

He wrote an installer for Preference Panes. A custom installer is a 
possibility, but that wasn't under discussion in the quoted context. 
Python would require something considerably more general.

--
bill

>
> 		- Benjamin
>
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