"Robert Mathews" <rmathews@envoyww.com> wrote in message news:d74j5c$7v6$1@sea.gmane.org...
I'm glad to see this thread starting, I definitely think this is a good idea.
[snip]
As far as JAM interacting with the installer program, why don't you have boost.JAM build the installation program? That way this installer isn't a red-haired bastard stepchild, but just another target in the Boost.build environment. Boost.build is certainly powerful enough!
I'm somewhat confused here, isn't building what we're trying to simplify with this installer?
Basically, I'd add a target after "install" that could grab the source and built libraries and feed those files into the installer script, creating a single installer output file (say, "boost_1.32.msi"). Then the boost maintainers could publish just that file on the web.
While I think that writing .msi files isn't trivial, I think it's worth considering before going any further.. I'll take a look once more at installer programs available.
The reason I chose not to do it as an installer, is because I'm far more comfortable with developing GUIs with say, BCB, than I am with the installer programs I've tried.
Well .. the commercial installers take care of a lot of common issues that occur, adding a layer of reliability and tested code for the common tasks of installing files, editing paths, registry, and displaying a familar user interface. Are you really sure you'd want to stray off the beaten path here?
Well, like I said in my reply to David Abrahams, I didn't quite intend something as an installer, but rather a configuring utility. Very much along the lines of what Reece Dunn posted on the other thread, namely autodetecting available compilers, allowing on-demand building of libraries with varying configurations, and registering/unregistering the include and library paths for each of the target IDEs. I strongly urge you to look at the utility for Win32GUI, as it represents a special-case version of what I had in mind. Do you think an installer (as opposed to a tool like I describe) would be the best way to go? If so, and many others believe it that way, I'll redirect my effort into something like that. [snip] Pablo Aguilar