User forums > General (but related to Code::Blocks)
New unofficial installer for Code::Blocks available for testing!
mandrav:
--- Quote from: Pharaoh Atem on March 26, 2006, 09:29:41 pm ---...
--- End quote ---
A bit off-topic, but you really should learn to press this big key at the right of your keyboard (usually having a left-pointing arrow <- and/or the letters "Return").
It would make your posts much more readable...
Conan Kudo:
Sorry! It is a force of habit :?
Anyway, if you really believe that my system that I am developing is worthless to the Code::Blocks community, consider this: Windows Vista will enhance filelocking to the point where only installation programs registered may be able to modify program files, in order to keep spyware out. This feature is a part of Windows Defender for Vista, and is in prototype stages now. It will not be incorporated into Windows XP until it reaches final version.
thomas:
Hmm... I think you still don't get the point. You're talking about features that Windows Vista may possibly have some day (or may as well not). It's nice if Vista will (maybe) have this or that feature, but nobody is interested in it. We're not programming for Vista. The same is true for NSIS. Indeed, NSIS is a mighty fine installer, but it does not support Linux (or any other OS). Thus, it is absolutely out of the way to use it for such a purpose - we would have to invent a separate solution for non-Windows systems.
Patching sounds like a good idea at first, but it has its shortcomings. I have been experimenting on this in the past. Using Larsson/Sadakane style suffix sorting, it is indeed possible create diff files for nightly builds which are typically on the order of 200 kB. However, a usable solution implies a massive amount of development and administrative work and it reduces reliability. Furthermore, it is only really interesting for someone who downloads each and every nightly build.
The problem is that differencing becomes less attractive the more differences are found, obviously. Thus, it works best if you build your difference files from one release to the next. That, however, means that you have to download and apply the whole chain of updates in sequence to update to current. The chain is as strong as the weakest link.
If, on the other hand, you build diffs relative to certain milestone releases, differencing loses a lot of its potency, and you still have to work out a reliable system to retrieve the correct base revision (which is a full-sized download).
Who is going to answer to the 50 users that failed to successfully apply a patch every day?
The complexity is not in relation to the benefits. It is a lot easier and cheaper to provide complete packages (even more so as bandwidth is not a concern).
Finally, whether or not there will be a all-in-one pack in the future is not certain yet (as Yiannis already said). It is quite possible that we will rather separate things that don't really belong together.
takeshimiya:
Fully agreed with thomas.
Binary diffs can be nice, but that would be in a long term future (btw, I've used xdelta/bdiff before, it's good stuff).
Let's give the Firefox example, until 1.5 version the updates in reality was a full 4MB installer, which was ok (altrough people with dial up perhaps don't think the same). But as Firefox reached a mature state and perhaps the developers got more stability in the file-changes (and time), the feature was done.
As been said, binary diffs between milestones, or even nightly builds would not be worth the effort.
The only (perhaps) case where it makes real sense is in Security Updates and Hot Fixes (just downloading the update Firefox 1.0.6 to 1.0.7 which was 4MB was a lot -to 56k users- to say the least).
Not on the short-term todo list.
Conan Kudo:
Alright, I have finished my beta5 of my installer, and I decided to release it today, and it is available for 7 days. It contains Code::Blocks 1.0 April 1st nightly. By the time the seven days are up, I hope to have a new version, which will contain the latest nightly... Well, here it is!
Link: Installer updated - Click here to go to post with newest build!
Featureset:
* Code::Blocks transparent logo at startup
* Code::Blocks banner logo made by using new C::B logo
* Variable directory paths and start menu folders
* Solid LZMA compression, effective on large sized distributions
* Componentization of C::B nightly based on RC2
* Quick, speedy installation
* Code::Blocks application logo used as icon for installer
Problems/Planned Features/Unfortunate Side-effects:
* MSI-like functionality being written in, rewrite required
* InstallShield-style look, ultrahigh solid LZMA compression
* Repair functionality, allows repairing of installation if corrupt; requires total rewrite of script
* Componentized uninstallation, requires total rewrite of script
* MinGW included, either by web or within package, within package required for componentized uninstallation
* Splash is dithered to 256 colours, working on getting it to work properly
* NEW Components selection space is too small, additional space will be added with the new installer look
* NEW System key identifies wrong program as Codeblocks, fix in place, will be used in next release
* NEW Installer incorrectly identifies all Windows OSes as Windows 2000, permitting installation of unicode version; investigating
* Due to overwhelming opposition, hotpatching will NOT be included
THIS IS NOT THE OFFICIAL INSTALLER OF Code::Blocks!!! I just need some people to try it beforehand.
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