[bt-devel] Some thoughts...

[Brad]

As a committed Christian, while I am supportive of what you are doing in 
trying to create some Bible software for Linux, I find that the install 
process is "typically Linux" ie there are 101 traps for the unwary, 
there are little quirks that need to be overcome, and documentation is 
cryptic at best for a newbie.

In most Windows installations, the user gets a single executable that 
they double-click on and it does everything necessary to get the 
software working. Sometimes there may be an additional package, but 
mostly it all gets wrapped up in one installer and "just works". So many 
times I have tried to install a Linux package and then had to manually 
edit configuration files, ensure that such and such a utility or library 
is installed, some other setting is set correctly etc etc etc. This is 
very often way beyond the skills of a standard user, and hence Windows 
is the platform of choice for many.

While I do understand some of the complexities of Linux, I do feel that 
many of these mundane tasks like editing config files etc could be 
automated and not require user input to get the system working. For 
example, would it be possible to bundle Sword with Bibletime, so 
everything gets installed together? And for the standard Linux install, why:

*./configure --prefix=<your KDE directory>*
*make*
*make install*
					

Would it be so difficult to run these in a script and wrap it in a GUI 
icon? One that would prompt you for a root password if required and then 
your desired install directory and let you browse for it? And a pretty 
progress bar? Surely this is pretty basic stuff compared to the 
complexity of Bibletime itself. And would it be so difficult for the 
installer to check to see if all the required libraries or any other 
requirements are present, and then prompt for locations for the missing 
ones? Or better still, have an intelligent installer that had everyting 
required to get it to run and just supplied the components that were 
missing?

As the majority of the world of computer users is familiar with a 
point-and-click GUI, it seems amazing to me that you still insist that 
users go back to an arcane CIF and TYPE COMMANDS IN. This is VERY 
FOREIGN for Windows or new Linux users.

I have been working professionally with computers since 1983 and with 
Linux since 1997, and I have not been able to easily get it to work. 
What chance a Windows-only user who wants to try Linux?

It is exciting that Novell and Sun have seriously entered the desktop 
Linux space, as we may at last see a push (read: competition) for a 
user-friendly experience. Even Red Hat have now agreed to try and 
develop a Linux desktop. It's amazing what a little competition can do! :-)

And I think that I can safely say that very soon installation procedures 
like the one above will have no place in a modern Linux distribution.

Is this food for thought, or do you feel that with Linux we will always 
try and force users to use the CIF and try and find the missing software 
components on the WWW by themselves?

Regards,
Brad