[RULE] Spreadsheet/DB of the SW, part 2

[M. Fioretti]

Hello,

I have read all the messages in the original thread, and probably now
have understood what the question is. Several comments:

GENERAL/INTRO

1) I like a lot how it is coming along: I really hope we can make it
   happen!

2) Yes, there is already a MySQL database of sw already online, which
can be dumped and replicated locally (just ask for a copy): the DB
must be populated with many more data, but the structure is there.

3) I agree with Colin's observations about network installs
   especially the "download once, then serve over LAN": some potential
RULE users contacted me off list to ask for a tarball of the whole web
site (which is very tiny, as you know) because they only have dial-up,
*LONG DISTANCE*, internet connection, and browsing the whole site like
that would be much more expensive and slower


SPECIFIC:

4) Let's specify very well what we need, why and how to use it. After
that, writing it down, between Eugene, me, and whoever else is
available, is another issue

5) We talked about something related to this at the beginning of the
   project: let's all read again
	http://www.rule-project.org/en/sw/app_db.php
   and see if and how it fits or can be merged with the current
   subject

6) When I said scripts I meant "a series of wget/rpm commands,
   automatically generated on the website thanks to the SW database/
   spreadsheet": such commands are saved into a local file, and used
   when needed (even on a local CDROM, for example)

7) Why should this script/spreadsheet thingy happen just during the
install, or be limited by busybox/floppy space constraints? In many
cases, I want to know and tune the possible package list (days?)
*before* installation (maybe working on it ten minutes at a time in
the office during lunch breaks, see URL above again), so that, when I
actually start the install, I can walk away or take a nap.

In the second place, the script using the db/spreadsheet can be run
automatically *after* the install: you install the very base packages,
then (automatically) reboot and run that script with full availability
of wget, Perl, ssh, whatever. As long as it can be automated, and
takes almost the same total time, what difference does it make?

	Ciao,
		Marco
 
-- 
Marco Fioretti                 m.fioretti, at the server inwind.it
Red Hat for low memory         http://www.rule-project.org/en/

Non � il concetto di intelligenza extraterrestre a essere difficile da
afferrare. E' il concetto opposto che incontra resistenze. I. Asimov.


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