R: R: R: [GRASS-dev] WinGRASS-6.3.0RC5 Self Installer

[Marco Pasetti]

Hi Glynn,

>Please note that, if you provide binaries which are covered by the GPL, you
must provide the corresponding source code for download *from the same
place*. It isn't sufficient to point to the source on a different site.

>Alternatively, you can provide a written offer to supply the source code
upon request, but that means that you have to keep those exact versions of
the source code handy for the next 3 years (the website where you obtained
it may cease to provide it when a new version is released).

I think that this is a problem I should don't care, actually. I asked the
list if there were problems about that and I had the green light... If you
don't agree, I think you should discuss the matter with other persons, I
don't have the knowledge to neither reply nor discuss it.

>What's the problem with spaces? If any part of GRASS can't handle spaces in
filenames, that's a bug which should be fixed.

I would like to fix the problem too. Actually I spent some time on the
installer script to configure GRASS in order to let it work also in dirs
with spaces (in the first edition, in fact, installer used
%PROGRAMFILES%\GRASS-6.3.0 as standard install dir, that means, for english
versions of Windows, C:\Program Files\GRASS-6.3.0); but, after completing
the installer with success, I discovered that there are many things in GRASS
that definetely don't work because that "spaced" intallation directory: no
help pages, no NVIZ...

I think that forcing users to install GRASS in a "space free" dir is, at the
moment, the only solution to let us distribute winGRASS with a simple
"one-touch" installation procedure. BTW you can consider that if you (user)
have administrative limitations, you can ask your Administrator to let you
install GRASS in C:\GRASS... You're not installing Pacman ;-) ... And then
you can always store and access your data from GRASS in a usual C:\Documents
and settings\Glynn\Documents\Whatever You Want With Lots Of Spaces folder...
It works, I swear :-)

Marco


-----Messaggio originale-----
Da: Glynn Clements [mailto:glynn at gclements.plus.com] 
Inviato: mercoledì 12 marzo 2008 20.34
A: Marco Pasetti
Cc: 'Michael Barton'; grass-dev at lists.osgeo.org
Oggetto: Re: R: R: [GRASS-dev] WinGRASS-6.3.0RC5 Self Installer


Marco Pasetti wrote:

> In the pure MS style, installer includes all: tcl/tk, sqlite, 
> postgresql (the last only dll) built from source, and prebuilt msys 
> from sourceforge project.

Please note that, if you provide binaries which are covered by the GPL, you
must provide the corresponding source code for download *from the same
place*. It isn't sufficient to point to the source on a different site.

Alternatively, you can provide a written offer to supply the source code
upon request, but that means that you have to keep those exact versions of
the source code handy for the next 3 years (the website where you obtained
it may cease to provide it when a new version is released).

> Moreover, the installer procedure forces the user to install GRASS in 
> a path without spaces, to let it wotk properly,

What's the problem with spaces? If any part of GRASS can't handle spaces in
filenames, that's a bug which should be fixed.

Also, some users may not be able to satisfy that requirement. The normal
location for installing software often has spaces in the pathname (e.g.
"C:\Program Files" on English language versions of Windows), as does the
user's data directory (e.g.
"C:\Documents and Setttings\<username>").

All users can create files in their data directory, while the "Program
Files" directory is normally writable by members of the "Power Users"
group. OTOH, creating a new directory outside of those two locations may not
be possible if the user isn't in the Administrators group.

--
Glynn Clements <glynn at gclements.plus.com>