[Qt-interest] [OT] Politically Correct way to release an Open Source Qt Project

[Kustaa Nyholm]

>> On the other hand, on Windows (in my experience) the users are
>> conditioned to need/expect an installer even if one is not actually
>> needed and even though  the whole concept of an installer is faulty.

>
> You mean as faulty as the concept of Mac *not* having an "installer infrastructure", 
> which basically makes it impossible to cleanly uninstall an application 
> (including all config/cache/whatever entries it ever did during its lifetime)?
>  Which leads to the "standard task" of googling "Uninstall app Foo" 
> (which then comes up with e.g. http://www.skype.com/intl/de/support/user-guides/upgrading/skype-for-mac/uninstall/) and requires then manual steps to cleanly > uninstall Foo?

>Ah no, *now* I got it: the user should *not care* what the app does (and does not) on a Mac, right Steve...

Nice flame bait, thanks ;-)

What I meant was that the application should be able to do whatever the installer does because otherwise
 I need to keep the installer around to 'repair' the installation when things go wrong.  And they often go
wrong because the installer contains logic to figure things out about the environment of the program 
which of course keeps changing as programs are installed / uninstaller etc etc. Not to mention
upgrading the OS or emigrating to a new computer. 

So the application should be self sufficient to figure out how to run / configure itself in the given instance without an installer. 

As to uninstalling, that too could / should be included in the application IMO. 

Uninstalling config files? Mostly I could not care less if they are left hanging around, they are typically small
and unless they contain sensitive information, who cares? And if they do the application should have
an option to delete them.

Uninstalling cache files? These should be stored in directory that is periodically or on demand (of free disk space)
gets cleaned up. And again if there is a *real* need to get rid of them the application could/should
have an option to delete them.

So seriously I think installer as a concept is faulty.  And most installer are even faultier in their
implementation leaving wreckage and broken things behind them, installing mysterious things all over the
place. That of course is not only the fault of the installer concept but application architects that
structure their applications in dysfunctional ways. Skype is a case in point!

As a user all I want is a single file that I can put where ever I like, run and get rid of by trashing it.

Should not be that difficult should it? Two clicks to download and run, one drag to get rid of it.

Instead on Windows most applications seem to take about a dozen clicks to install, with often a reboot
thrown in for good measure. 

About Steve: while I like my Mac but dislike Apple, indeed Steve is right in insisting that the user
should not care *how* the application does what it does, only that it does what is required and 
in general just works.

br Kusti