Software installation opinions needed

[F. L. Charles Seeger III]

In article <MOORE.90Sep21091732 at terra.srl.mew.mei.co.jp> moore at srl.mew.mei.co.jp (W. Phillip Moore) writes:
| 
| However, I see one minor point overlooked.  The reason many of these
| installations are simple and over-automated is because not all sites have
| UNIX gurus ...

Which is a fine justification for providing an automated installation
script.  It is in no way a justification for assuming that this idiotic
installation script should be the only way to install the package.  Most
binary distributions that I have had the misfortune to wrestle with
provide little or no indication of how to install the package other than
the script itself.  Of course, the script will often fail because of the
assumptions that it makes, even if one were to try executing it.

In article <929 at mwtech.UUCP> martin at mwtech.UUCP (Martin Weitzel) writes:
|
| The more knowledgable administrator can have a look at the script
| before he or she runs it.

This is feasible when the script is, in fact, a script.  There are
instances where the installation "scripts" are executable binaries.
SunOS 4.1 is a non-unique example of this.  Even when the scripts are
readable, my feable mind sometimes has a little trouble remembering all
the shell variables along the way.  I (gasp) sometimes resort to a pencil
to keep track of them.  Why should I have to waste time reverse engineering
such a script in the first place?

Please, if you are doing "release engineering" (or whatever it is called),
send out a *specification* of what needs to be done during the installation
process and how the installed system is supposed to operate.  Then make
sure that the scripts (or example command lines) are kept in sync with the
specification (or vice-versa).  This should also make it easier to debug
the installation if there are problems.  I think that this would would
reduce the load on the support phone lines as well.

--
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