On Tuesday, May 5, 2020 at 12:00:28 AM UTC-4, David A. Wheeler wrote: > > > We could continue to post Metamath-exe with a precompiled binary > and have people store it in C:\metamath. That's not how software > is usually installed on Windows, and it's clunky, but it *works*.
There are many Windows programs, especially small utilities, that consist of the .exe file only. For example, one that I use frequently for temperature and other system monitoring is called speccy.exe, and it runs as a standalone program. It doesn't matter what directory you put the file in - you double-click on it, and it runs. It does not mess with the registry or require an installer/uninstaller or put tons of files scattered throughout the system or anything else. To uninstall it, you just delete it. (OK, if you change a configuration setting from inside the program, it does create a file called speccy.ini in the same directory as the program, but that's the only thing it touches on your system.) I can put it on a thumb drive and use it immediately on a different computer with no installation, running it directly from the thumb drive. Simple and beautiful. I like programs like that. As for metamath.exe, no one has ever complained that its "installation" on Windows is clunky or awkward, nor has anyone asked for a Windows setup.exe type installer and uninstaller. It is no different from speccy.exe in that regard. The directory C:\metamath is just a suggestion; it can go anywhere. I can put the two files metamath.exe and set.mm on a thumb drive, and I'm ready to start using the program immediately on any Windows computer. So I'm wondering if creating an installer package for metamath.exe on Windows is something there is an actual demand for. If not, it seems like a lot of work with little benefit, in addition to future work of keeping it all maintained. mmj2 may be a different story, since its installation is less trivial, and it might benefit from being released for Windows as a setup.exe file. Norm -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Metamath" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/metamath/6c9f9626-d9ca-4e26-9e2c-28affa14071c%40googlegroups.com.
