Re: [OctDev] Distribution costs [WAS: Re: Regarding the MSYS installer]

[Bogdan <lov...@ya...>]

Hi,

Let me address your concerns in order.

1. Developer focus. As you've suggested later in the post, I could prepare the package myself.

2. User perception. I think you are not only underestimating your target audience but also grossly exaggerating the difficulty of this task; if anything, it should make their lives easier, not more difficult. First of all, they are Windows users and thus should know how to use an installer. Secondly, I'm pretty certain people who are interested in using numerical analysis software are capable of pulling though.

Recently, hooks were added to mingw-get so that its GUI wrapper can list packages in a similar fashion to Cygwin. For people who prefer to use mingw-get directly, there is documentation on it on MinGW's website. Octave-Forge could also provide the command line required just in case anyone is interested. 


3. Intended gain. I think it's the other way around. If it makes almost no difference for the vast majority of users, why not also make the lives of MinGW users easier? (Also consider point 2 when answering this.) Let me explain the difference it would make by taking my example. I use the MinGW environment for software development and use Octave because it helps me develop and analyse complex algorithms. That means I always need to keep two MSYS sessions open.

Let me know whether the above arguments have persuaded you so we can decide what the best course of action is (there is a bit more to talk about if I have succeeded).

Cheers,
Bogdan