Re: [PLUG] One app, one directory, no install/uninstall...

On Wed, May 20, 2020 at 12:18 PM Fred Stluka via plug <plug@lists.phillylinux.org> wrote:

Starting a new thread to avoid hijacking the Gobo Linux thread...

Let's talk about "one app, one directory" and why do we need to
"install" programs at all.

On 5/17/20 2:25 PM, Mail List via plug wrote:
> I've been reading about Gobo Linux and it's very unique file system
> layout. I find the idea very intriguing.

On 5/17/20 9:33 PM, Steve Litt via plug wrote:
> I was very excited
> about the prospect of one application, one directory, because I
> remember MS-DOS and how easy it was to walk an application from one
> computer to another just by transferring one directory tree.

On 5/17/20 10:10 PM, brent timothy saner via plug wrote:
> (For those seeking clarification, instead of e.g. putting software
> FooBar's docs in/usr/share/doc and binaries in e.g. /usr/bin/, it puts
> *all* of them under /Programs/FooBar.)

Yeah, the idea of "one app, one directory" is VERY appealing.
That's pretty much how the Java world works, and DOS and
VMS before them.

Windows is the worst. Run an EXE to do an install, let it do
whatever it wants to your computer, hope for the best. When,
you're done, run the uninstall EXE, if there is one, hope it
doesn't break anything by deleting a shared file that another
app needs. Welcome to "DLL Hell" and registry corruption.
My rule of thumb: never install or uninstall anything on
Windows, unless you're prepared to wipe the disk clean and
start over if something goes wrong.

I just uninstalled MS SQL Server from a Windows cluster, and then just re-installed it (easiest way to fix a wrong server-wide collation method), and none of the above happened at all. I did have to reboot each node after uninstallation, which can be a pain, but nothing like what you've written above. I haven't seen a "DLL Hell" or registry corrupt situation from an uninstall in years, and my work is in a primarily Windows shop.

Can it happen? Sure, anything can happen. Advise people to never install or uninstall anything on Windows? Ludicrous. That's like advising people to never drive, because they might break down.

Yes, I prefer an application to install everything it needs in one folder.