Subject: Installation, Configuration and Installation Instructions... for absolutely everything.
From: Patrick Callahan (pac1@tiac.net)
Date: Sat Jan 01 2000 - 16:58:16 MST
Basic Idea: Put actual instructions into a relational database organized
by package, let the database drive html pages of instructions, applications
that actually perform the instructions, while clueing you in as to what's
going on.
Extended Idea. Use the data in RPM files, web sites, ftp directories, your
plans and ambitions to drive the web page building or an installer
application.
My first crack at this is going to be a set of web pages devoted to
recipies for installing/upgrading, starting at a particular distribution
with references to original sources.
Later a tcl/tk application to download.
Sound like fun?
Write back to my e-mail personally if you're interested in working on
this. I would like working with others via IRC.
-Pat
Step 1: Get postgresSQL configured and running on my system and get some
instructions recorded as table entries.
Step 2: Write some Perl scripts to write out web pages using the database
as input (no Query)
Step 3: Figure out what step 4 is.
What It might look like:
Inputs:
The RPM database on your machine,
a database of available upgrades on the net somewhere (ties together
.rpm, website & archive data I guess.)
archive mirror sites
kernel source mirrors
your personal kernel source mirrors
a database of instructions as a directed graph for getting from point a
to point b with
explanations of each step
variations on steps for various hardware
variations on steps for various configuration options
variations on steps for various pre-requisites
A list of your personal favorite things that might need upgrading
installing or configuring
Where to put downloads
Where you stand on various installs.
Processing:
Scripts
Queries
Installer Application:
Outputs:
Step by step instructions
Explanation of each command needed,
what the command does
why the command is needed,
how the command does its work,
what files and parts of files the command reads for input,
what files and parts of files it produces as output
This archive was generated by hypermail 2a24 : Sun Jan 02 2000 - 12:12:59 MST