[squeak-dev] Installer cleverness (was Re: The Inbox: Installer-Core-tpr.434.mcz)

tim Rowledge tim at rowledge.org
Sat Aug 31 17:30:31 UTC 2019


Outside the general discussion about HelpBrowser etc, I've just noticed the extremely clever parts of Installer that use the methods in the 'package-definitions' protocol. 

It's a whole parallel set of ways to load packages that wasn't mentioned in the pbwiki doc I was originally looking at and stealing from. It means of course, another tranche of stuff to try to describe ;-)

Take a look at, for example, 
`Installer new merge: #osProcess`

a) I'd say adding a class side #merge: to avoid the #new is worth it
b) way easier to tell someone to use than the whole open monticello, find the repository, click on... etc etc
c) possibly easier to describe even than 
`Installer ss package: 'OSProcess'; install`
and its relatives, since you don't need to know where packages live once they are specified.
d) it does make another place that needs checking as part of release to make sure the package definitions are up to date etc

There are also a bunch of utilities that I suspect are primarily aimed at supporting PersonalSqueakSource usage and that manipulate repository connections and locality. I have read the swiki page (http://wiki.squeak.org/squeak/6366) but honestly it's just too succinct to  work for me. More explanation would certainly help!

This yet another example of how we collectively manage to hide so much stuff under bushels; there's loads of seriously cool things we ought to be using more and making more noise about.

tim
--
tim Rowledge; tim at rowledge.org; http://www.rowledge.org/tim
Useful Latin Phrases:- Fac ut gaudeam = Make my day.




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