Re: "local install"?

[Charles Wilson <cwilson@ece.gatech.edu>]

Randall R Schulz wrote:

> Chuck,
> 
> I cannot get setup.exe to permit multiple selection of mirrors, so how 
> is this magical seamless multi-mirror integration achieved? Can it be 
> done without running setup.exe more than once? 


Yes -- you should be able to shift-click or ctrl-click select multiple 
items in the mirror list (assuming you are using the NEW setup snapshot 
20020225).

> If not, what's the 
> advantage over separate download and install?
> 
> Furthermore, why doesn't the multi-mirror technique, however effected, 
> work for separated download and install, too?


Because there is no 'remote site selection' step if you are not 
installing/downloading.  Sure, you could do a multi-site non-install 
download using setup, and then run setup in 'local dir' mode to install. 
  But setup is NOT meant to be an archiving/mirroring tool.  It is an 
installation tool.  If you want a local mirror -- USE a mirroring tool. 
  Good grief, wget has special mirroring options -- that's what I use...


> Lastly, am I correct in believing that if one wants to download anything 
> but not install it (source, e.g., or packages used by some at one's site 
> but not by all) that separate download and install is the only way to 
> accomplish this?


if the remote site provides a local version of setup.ini that accurately 
describes the contents of that remote site, then you should be able to 
select the (non-standard) site as a 'download location' and setup.exe 
will merge all selected sites, and download (or dl/install) the most 
recent copy of each selected package, from whatever location has the 
most recent version  (incl. packages from the non-standard site).


> It still seems to me that control freaks are going to do as I do: 
> Separate download and install.

Sure.  And some people (incl. me) still boot their linux boxen into 
console mode and only run X when required.  But that's still no reason 
not to develop xdm/gdm/kdm graphical logon managers.

Currently, there are no sites that provide cygwin packages in 
setup-approved format, that are not part of the official cygwin mirror 
system.  (Because until now, you couldn't use setup to install from 
ANYPLACE other than localdir or an *official* mirror site).  Now that 
you can enter custom URLs and do multi-site selection, I imagine that 
many uses will be found for the new functionality.

Perhaps the Emacs folks (NOT XEmacs -- they already have a different 
solution) will create a cygwin-setup dirtree once their cygwin port is 
complete.  Perhaps folks who have ported a package and want to make it 
available, but do NOT want to accept the maintainership responsibilities 
that go with *official* package inclusion, will create 
cygwin-setup-compatible distribution sites with custom setup.ini's. 
These are all great things, and are reason enough for the multi-site 
selection capability -- regardless of whether YOU actually use that 
particular feature.

--Chuck


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