R: R: R: [GRASS-dev] WinGRASS-6.3.0RC6 Self Installer

[marco.pasetti at alice.it]

Hi Benjamin,
 
>I think it is a good idea to encourage people to test-drive the
>Python GUI. So go ahead as you suggested.
 
OK. Thanks
 
>The main decision to make is:

>Should we go for an all-inclusive WinGRASS that has every
>format/capability which GDAL and GRASS provide?

>Or should we keep it lean and stick to the most important
>things, only adding small pieces at user-demand?

>We also need to keep in mind that there should be some
>serious testing of every driver added to the binary distribution.

That's a very interesting issue. That's  my point of view:

All, I think, starts from a deep difference between Linux and Windows users: while *X user are used to easily download and compile packages reflecting their actual needs (even a beginner user can easiliy do that), it's unthinkable to ask the same to Windows users (even if not beginners!); they need a precompiled, possibly selfcontained package (*possibly* only if other needed *stuffs* are already available as Win32 precompiled binaries). This said, I think that:

1) Even if we could provide precompiled binaries of the needed stuffs, without the need of reinventing the wheel every time (compiling sources by ourselves), I would highly prefer to provide WinGRASS packages including only stuffs directly compiled by ourselves. Currently WinGRASS package contains only 3 *not compiled* stuffs: MSYS, Bison and Flex. MSYS is the only application I would provide as precompiled binary, while I would prefer (in the future) to provide self-compiled versions of both Bison and Flex.

2) I think that, as you said, a *serious testing of every driver added to the binary distribution* is actually the main thing we should pay attenction to, before to consider to *release* any new driver support whitin GRASS and GDAL. This said, as it seems to be in contrast with what I recently did within WinGRASS packaging, I decided to add SQLite, PostgreSQL and Expat* support to GDAL and GRASS because they are needed for QGIS, and I don't have enough time and *machines* to prepare different MSYS environment for both GRASS and QGIS projects.

* Expat support is for GDAL only

3) because, as I said in the preamble, Windows users cannot download and compile by themselves extra-needed drivers and *supports* (in fact, they could, but it's realistically unthinkable), I think that we should consider to add any possible *extra* stuff in WinGRASS packages, according with their consistency (they *must* definitely work) and with actual users needs (it's a nonsence to add *pieces* not actually used or requested by users)

IMHO, that's *a possible* point of view :-)

Marco



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