On 7/13/2010 5:35 PM, Casey Ransberger wrote:
> So I guess what I'm wondering is, does what we have support this approach with a bit of extra work, or do we need to scrap it and implement something else, which knows to load (for example) Metacello when loading up Seaside? I doubt we really want to load Seaside differently than the Seaside developers do... Right?

Right. The "current approach" (which is really more like "the initial 
proposal") was to include the Metacello configurations verbatim in the 
configuration package. What I'm proposing as a refinement is an 
indirection before that - instead of a Metacello configuration in the 
image you have "something else" which provides enough information to 
display and install the desired features.

What exactly the "something else" might be is open for debate but I 
think I'd like to drive it from the UI side, i.e., what do you want to 
see and specify when you install a piece of software? (think app store)

This approach doesn't invalidate the work that has been done; it puts a 
(hopefully) prettier face in front of it to make it easier and more 
obvious what you're about to get.

Cheers,
   - Andreas

> On Jul 13, 2010, at 5:31 PM, Andreas Raab<andreas.raab at gmx.de>  wrote:
>
>> On 7/13/2010 4:57 PM, David T. Lewis wrote:
>>> I like the idea of *encouraging* use of Metacello, but not requiring it
>>> for simple things. The ConfigurationOfWhatever classes are lightweight
>>> and they do document the targets of the configuration nicely, but they
>>> still require loading a good deal of infrastructure before a package can
>>> be loaded.  So I think it is good for the stuff that comes with the image
>>> to be as thin as possible.
>>>
>>> As an example fresh from today's postings, consider German Arduino's
>>> SimpleLogger package on SqueakSource. It is admirably small, it seems
>>> useful, and it would work fine on any Squeak/Pharo variant. The
>>> ConfigurationOfSimpleLogger might well be larger than the package
>>> itself. It would be good to permit loading things like this through
>>> the simplest (and fastest) available mechanism.
>>
>> Yes, that is exactly the kind of package I had in mind.
>>
>> Cheers,
>>   - Andreas
>>
>
>