Re: Request for feature: more flexible setup routine

[Christopher Faylor <cgf-use-the-mailinglist-please@cygwin.com>]

On Sat, Jul 24, 2010 at 07:10:08PM -0500, Marshall Abrams wrote:
>I *love* Cygwin.  I use it to get my work done every day.   I am grateful to 
>everyone who has contributed to it over the years and continues to do so. 
>Thank you.  That bears repeating: Thank you!
>
>I have one suggestion: I wish that the setup routine was better for... users 
>like me who mainly want to get work done, don't care necessarily care 
>whether we have the latest versions of every package (honestly, most of 
>package changes are irrelevant to most people most of the time (OK, until 
>you need it...)), and more than anything else, don't want to break anything 
>that works.
>
>One of the beautiful things about Cygwin's setup.exe is that when--perhaps 
>in the middle of trying to get something done before a deadline--I realize 
>that a Cygwin package I didn't think I'd need would help.  If it hasn't been 
>*too* long since I last installed, I go and mark the package to install, 
>carefully make sure that I mark all other new packages as "keep", and hit 
>next.  Great.  The 1.7 upgrade has made that a pita.  I am *not* going to 
>install 1.7.  Not now.   I'm in the middle of a project.  I just wanted one 
>little tool.

Well Cygwin 1.7.x has been out for 7+ months now so it is you can't
really consider it "new".  But if you don't want to install it you don't
have to.  Just look for the word "legacy" on the web site and use that
to install.

Otherwise, what you are really asking for is a change to Cygwin's release
model.  If you were using Ubuntu or Fedora, you could just download one
package from the "Cute Animal Name" release and choose only the one you
want.  Since we do rolling upgrades of all packages that isn't an option
with Cygwin.

*Although* you should be able to set everything to "keep" and just
update the one package that you want, even with setup.exe as it stands.

cgf

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