Re: [Scid-users] precompiled binaries

[Pascal G. <pas...@fr...>]

2008/7/6 Alexander Wagner <a.w...@ph...>:

> Pascal Georges wrote:
>
> Hi!
>
> > - I'd prefer not putting links to pre-built packages on
> > Scid's SF site, simply due to maintenance reasons. But
> > those links are of highest interest to end users, so if
> > someone wants to take care of this, this would be a good
> > thing (for example an external link that could be referred
> > statically from Scid's site)
>
> I do not get how you want to set it up: Scid links to
> http://www.somehwere.org/scid-binaries/
> and the list is maintained there? You think probably of a
> Wiki-like target for this so everybody could hook up links
> to his individual builds?
>
> Or do you think of a page within scid.sf.net/scid-binaries
> that just contains links off-site, that might be broken some
> day and just need to be checked from time to time?
>

All those solutions are ok for me, as none goes through the SF's release
process, which is time consuming.


>
> > - be careful when stripping Scid (books, DB, etc...) as it
> > breaks some features, and I don't like this.
>
> Actually, some parts of scid would plainly not allow it to
> make it into some distributions if it's not removed. I
> learned that Nalimov-code is a problem, books are sometimes
> regarded as "unclear" and for that thrown out. Bases
> similar. For the engines the feedback was: "its better if
> one can use what is there from other sources and keeps that
> part to the absolute minimum."
>

Nalimov code has been included into Scid for a long time and Shane had
received authorisation for the inclusion into Scid. I agree it is not 100%
clear it is GPL, but it seems ok for me (see COPYING file).
Bases were generated by myself, and any license can be applied to them, if
needed.
Some books were generated by myself, and some by others. Generating a book
is easy (simply use polyglot) and I would find a pity not to include at
least a sample book with Scid.


>
> I think, the Bases and Books part could only be overcome by
> a "Scid Referenence Database" (CentriScid was a name for
> this recently) and a "Scid Reference Opening Book" (call it
> ScidBook for the time being). Here also another free book
> could be used e.g.  Harry Schnapps book (if someone has a
> contact there...)
>

HS Book is not free at all. The generation of a "not too bad" book is an
easy task.


>
> The other alternative to cope with "non-free stuff in pure
> GPL distributions" is to set up fetch scripts that notify
> the user that they are installing non-free parts and then
> fetch them from the net. Debian does things like that for
> TTF-Corefonts by M$, Win32-plugins for MultiMedia, some
> hardware drivers that contain closed source components and
> so on. This would then require a centralised fetch URL at
> scids site and mainly come back to a suggestion that I made
> some time ago, namely remove all these packages in question
> from core scid and add a simple fetch function into scid
> itself so it can retrieve these parts upon request. Say,
> the user selects Play/Training/Opening, no suitable database
> is found but a list is offered "you may fetch the follwoing
> predefined DBs from scids website." Which then initiates a
> download and install into userspace. (Jose handles
> opening books that way. One of the few parts that work
> pretty well in Jose I might add.) If scid e.g. first gets
> back some structure of the offerings it could be pretty
> flexible.
>

This complicates things a bit. I prefer the simplest and laziest solution,
where everything is packaged in a monolithic mode. But this is just my
opinion. A good solution is one that works and is garanteed to work for a
long time.

Pascal