Re: next net release preliminary info

[pepper at netscape dot com (J Shane Culpepper)]

I would suggest using rpm.  Its been ported to cygwin and a great tool for
modular installation.  Write an installer based on the rpm development libs
which can query for available packages much like redhat does.  You could also
leverage from  the up2date redhat modules written in perl and python (i
believe) for redhat distributions.  Maybe this is too much work but it would
be a great distribution scheme.  That way you can always get the latest
greatest modules for install.  I'm a proud owner of the official 1.0 CD but
I'd love to be able to get certain things updated without having to always
build the modules I want.

-Shane

DJ Delorie wrote:

> OK, it's my turn to do a cygwin net release, and I've talked Chris
> into letting me try doing it a different way (hopefully this will
> benefit the net community in the long run).  So, here's my ideas.
>
> First, we'll split up the release into separate tarballs for each
> package (cygwin, gcc, gdb, etc).  That way, (1) users can download
> just what they want, and (2) we can update individual packages as
> they're released instead of waiting forever to release everything all
> at once.
>
> Second, each "package" gets its own directory.  Thus, there will be a
> top-level "make" directory that contains the latest binaries, sources,
> patches, old versions if needed, etc.  ftp.gnu.org does this, and it
> makes for a much cleaner top-level directory.
>
> We're still trying to figure out what to do about a setup/install
> program.  I've got dreams of an "ideal" program, but it would take too
> long to do.  I've cobbled together a zip of the minimum startup files
> (tar and gzip) for now.
>
> If anyone has any comments, opinions, or requests, now's the time to
> post them.
>
> Meanwhile, I do have the beginnings of a README, attached for review.
>
> DJ
>
> ---
> Jan 24 2000  DJ Delorie  dj@redhat.com
>
> This is the README for the Cygwin download area.
>
> What is Cygwin?  See http://sourceware.cygnus.com/cygwin/
>
> How do I install cygwin?  Get the files that end in .tar.gz and don't
> end in -src.tar.gz.  Pick the ones with the highest version number.
> Use "tar xvfz <whatever>.tar.gz" to install (untar) them.  Or, wait
> for us to write a setup.exe program ;-)
>
> Note: to develop software, you'll need *at least* gcc, binutils, and
> cygwin.  You'll probably end up needing gdb, make, and a few others
> (like ash and *utils) if you're porting existing software.
>
> Untar everything from your chosen "cygwin root" directory.
>
> But I don't have a tar program!  Get startup.zip instead.  Choose a
> directory to be your "cygwin root" directory, and unzip it there.  It
> should create a "tmpbin" directory with three files in it.  One of
> them is tar (you need the others also, of course).  Just run it right
> from that directory (or move it to some other random directory, but
> NOT to your system32 directory) like "tmpbin\tar xvfz <whatever>.tar.gz".
>
> How do I build from source?  You need the <whatever>-src.tar.gz files.
> Some packages require other packages (cygwin/*-src.tar.gz is a common
> requirement, as is common/*-src.tar.gz).
>
> Where do I get help?  http://sourceware.cygnus.com/cygwin/ has docs,
> or send email to cygwin@sourceware.cygnus.com (which is a
> general-purpose public discussion forum for cygwin users).