Re: [Mingw-users] New installer - Unstable versions

[John E. / T. <td...@td...>]

Keith Marshall wrote:
> My own ideas on this led me to consider a `package catalogue' with XML 
> entries of the form, (and including additional attributes as required):
>
>   <package name="foo">
>     <description lang="en" title="The MinGW FOO Utilities">
>       ...
>     </description>
>     <release version="1.0.1" status="stable" />
>     <release version="1.1.0" status="alpha" />
>     <release version="1.1.1" status="beta" />
>   </package>
>
> With that in place, and limiting the set of values for the `status' 
> property for `releases' to a small well defined set, the user can be 
> offered a selection dialogue, with check boxes for those categories he 
> is willing to consider for installation, and a per package list control 
> displaying all available releases which conform to his selection 
> criteria, from which he may select any version to install.
>
>   
>> I have a question: does 
>> it make sense to provide for the possibility of more than one
>> *unstable* release of a package? To my mind, the answer is no -- any
>> release that reaches the stage in user testing of being tracked as a
>> mingw-get package should supersede any previous unstable versions.
>> What say you?
>>     
>
> Given that all releases we ever provide are retained indefinitely on 
> SourceForge FRS, and with a selection strategy such as I've outlined 
> above, why would there be any need for such a restriction?
>   

There wouldn't be, of course. But the selection strategy is not a given, 
it's what I was asking about; and allowing for only a stable version and 
an unstable version of any given package means a simpler UI (and thereby 
less work for me).

Nevertheless, if this is what's needed, I'll code it.

-John E.