0install 2.0 released
Linked by Tom5 on Tue 5th Mar 2013 22:01 UTC
OSNews, Generic OSes 0install 2.0 is out today. Zero Install is a decentralised cross-platform software installation system, allowing software developers to publish programs directly from their own websites, while still supporting shared libraries, automatic updates, dependency handling and digital signatures. It complements, rather than replaces, the OS' package management. Departing from its traditional use of installing desktop applications, many of the new features were driven by requirements from the Ryppl project, which is using 0install as the package manager in a modular build system for C++ projects.
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RE[5]: Looks interesting
by avgalen on Wed 6th Mar 2013 11:50 UTC in reply to "RE[4]: Looks interesting"
avgalen
Member since:
2010-09-23

Thanks for the mirror, but I saw that version 1.14 was there just 1 hour ago and hasn't been downloaded by anyone (you put it there especially for me?)

All newer versions seem only for Linux, so it seems clear where the focus of this project is.

And again, a zero-installer that requires an installer and cannot even provide that simply screams "stay away, we don't want you as a user"

Reply Parent Score: 2

RE[6]: Looks interesting
by avgalen on Wed 6th Mar 2013 12:00 in reply to "RE[5]: Looks interesting"
avgalen Member since:
2010-09-23

Just installed it anyway (lunchbreak) and what I saw was a nice intro video that showed me all I needed to know.

then I pressed "Refresh list" and nothing showed up. I tried a few more times but still nothing happened (except for "Loading catalog from server..." of course)

I give up

Reply Parent Score: 2

RE[6]: Looks interesting
by Tom5 on Wed 6th Mar 2013 13:14 in reply to "RE[5]: Looks interesting"
Tom5 Member since:
2005-09-17

Thanks for the mirror, but I saw that version 1.14 was there just 1 hour ago and hasn't been downloaded by anyone (you put it there especially for me?)


I've also linked it from the front page. It still says zero downloads now, so I guess sf.net stats don't update in real-time.

All newer versions seem only for Linux, so it seems clear where the focus of this project is.


The Windows version generally lags by a month or two, although it also has extra features (e.g. the catalog stuff). It's not quite the same as the POSIX version, although it shares some of the code and can process the same packages.

And again, a zero-installer that requires an installer and cannot even provide that simply screams "stay away, we don't want you as a user"


Many installers (pip, easy_install, cabal, maven, etc) work this way, requiring you to install the installer before you can use it.

There was a project to change that (dynamically generating an installer for the user's platform), but it's not ready:

http://0install.net/0bootstrap.html

0install probably mostly makes sense where you've got a lot of packages to install. For example, current users include Ryppl (managing hundreds of C++ modules), Sugar (desktop environment) and ROX (desktop environment). Or, if you have lots of versions (e.g Armagetron publishing frequent snapshot builds).

Reply Parent Score: 2

RE[7]: Looks interesting
by Luminair on Thu 7th Mar 2013 02:50 in reply to "RE[6]: Looks interesting"
Luminair Member since:
2007-03-30

"Other people did it" is not a good reason for something named "zero install" to have an installer. Though someone who thinks like this being involved with the project could be.

Reply Parent Score: 2

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