Re: Simplifying package installation.

[Ronald de Man <deman win tue nl>]

On Thu, Aug 26, 1999 at 01:25:50PM -0500, Miguel de Icaza wrote:
> 
> > SGI solved this quite elegantly. The downloadable packages are in
> > the netscrap mime-types to run a binary that guides you through the 
> > decision to install - including needing the root password
> 
> heh.
> 
> Elegantly if you ignore the fact that most IRIX holes come from this
> feature;  And also, I do not want to give root to my 300 users here
>:-)

Probably your 300 users are currently compiling from source into
their own home directory. The only thing they have to know is how to
type ./configure && make. It wouldn't be very hard to make a front end
for that, and it would work practically all the time.

Packages that are used by many people should be installed by root,
when those users ask for it. But when root is not around when a user
needs some particular program, he should have the possibility to
do an install in his home directory. I don't think package registration
is needed in that case. So compiling from source would do, or an
option to rpm that lets you install the package in ~.

Ronald