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Postings from June 2006
>> You might be surprised to learn how close to being no longer true this >> is. Once the next release of WxPerl is out, you should be able to just >> do the following (for Vanilla, which is my testing platform) on Windows. >> >> 1. Install Vanilla Perl. >> 2. > cpan App::GUI::Notepad >> >> And it will install properly, Wx and all. > > That's your idea of installing "properly"? How out of touch with > everyday end users can you be? What you're describing is a perfect way > to limit the audience for your app to other Perl hackers. The moment you > start adding prerequisites, and speaking of typing arcane (to Joe > Sixpack) commands, you lost just about everyone else. > > To Windows users, a proper install is running install shield. Then they > click on Start/Programs/Whatever to run the app. To Mac users, it means > copying the .app bundle to wherever they want it to be. Sherm I suspect you have made an incorrect mental association of "properly" to "... for newbie end-users". Firstly, Vanilla Perl DOES come as an Install Shield type .exe, even though it is explicitly an "experimental" distribution and not intended for the user of ANYBODY. Strawberry will do also, and may well move up to a .msi installer, and that STILL is not intended for newbie end users. By "properly" I mean it installs via standard CPAN mechanisms. Do not underestimate how important this is. Once you can get a package to install properly through the CPAN, there are a number of different systems that can take that package and convert it to an executable PAR, or a potentially an Install Shield type installer, or what have you. The installation mechanism I described is intended for the P5P audience, namely extremely experienced Perl developers. My assumption was anyone on this list would understand that once you reach a clean CPAN install, the rest of the way to something end-usery is a separate matter. Further, there IS no archetypal newbie end-user. Rather, users sit on an axis with the members of this list at one end of the axis, and my 85 year old grandmother who can't watch movies any more since they all moved to DVDs, since she's incapable of navigating the always-different DVD menus. We were luckier with music, because I was able to find her a CD player where she only had to learn the Play button, and Eject. Conversely, my father who is by no means technical but works in an office job and uses Windows and Office would certainly be able to deal with the Vanilla install process and selecting Start->Programs->Vanilla->CPAN Shell, then typing "install App::GUI::Notepad". My mother and sister probably would not. Please remember this is an extremely technical mailing list about porting the Perl internals between different operating systems (and other miscellaneous conversation). Please don't be under any impression that anything discussed here is relevant to people who don't know Perl already, unless stated otherwise. Adam K