On Fri, Jun 18, 2010 at 1:58 PM, arthur <[email protected]> wrote: > > > On Jun 18, 3:25 pm, kcrisman <[email protected]> wrote: >> > > But sounds like, as with a big buffet, too much of a good thing is >> > > just too much. >> >> It's worth pointing out, though, that most of the optional packages >> are databases, packages for some very specific research use, >> additional graphics, or computer internals, in which case perhaps the >> user could download his/her own copy of Sage to use them? What sort >> of context are you envisioning this for? >> >> - kcrisman > > Well, I'm a SysAdmin, not a mathematician, hence my knowledge of what > our various mathematicians might need is limited. > > I'm working on standardized disk images that will be distributed on a > few dozen Macs. I'm trying to install the broadest, most useable > version of SAGE possible, so it will be most useful for the broadest > swathe of mathematicians who use those disk images. For individuals > I'd be happy to install specific packages if they're not already > installed, but I'd much prefer to have the needed packages already > available on their installation so they don't have to figure out what > they need, tell me, wait for me to have the time to install it, etc. > Most of our users don't have root on their desktop machines: not being > able to change system level software and configs allows me to push out > new software, updates, etc. without breaking what they're used to, but > it also means I have to give them what they need, hopefully > anticipating it before they need it.
Fair enough. I'll post a list of "highly recommended optional packages" in this thread sometime in the next few days. William > > Also, we have a fair number of shared public machines, so for those I > can't really install individual packages since I never know which > individuals will be using which public systems, they all have a common > disk image. > > Part of why I posted was not only to get my own installation in good > shape, but to help out others in the same boat by helping to improve > the documentation, error messages, and installation procedures for non- > specialists (like me). > > I suspect William would say I should help improve the documentation by > not only posting reports (and should any of this sort of thing be a > formal bug report?) but by fixing the source/docs... and I'd agree > with him except 1) I don't know the answers to these questions (i.e. > which databases go with which research purposes, etc) and 2) I'd have > to properly (re)learn mercurial... though the latter I really ought to > do anyway, if I only had the time. > > Arthur Gaer > Harvard University > > -- > To post to this group, send email to [email protected] > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected] > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/sage-support > URL: http://www.sagemath.org > -- William Stein Professor of Mathematics University of Washington http://wstein.org -- To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/sage-support URL: http://www.sagemath.org
