On Sunday, June 17, 2012, Kevin Grittner wrote:
In terms of confusing entries, though, describing the non-yum option
as a "one click installer" makes it sound like it is the fast and
easy way to do this. My experiences with the yum packages is that
there are no clicks needed. I type the apt-get command or pick the
package in the GUI package manager and a few secons later I have a
running PostgreSQL instance without any further interaction, and
which will automatically be updated with new minor releases. I think
we should provide some guidance on the reasons one would want to pick
one or the other.
(this is background info, not an argument against the proposed changes):
Well the whole point is that they are faster and easier to get started - one package contains server, docs, GUI etc, and following a few clicks everything is up and running. Personally I dislike the term 1-click installer as it's clearly inaccurate (it's more like 5 clicks), but that's the name that has become known and recognised.
The platform native packaging systems are marginally easier to update (StackBuilder will update the installers), but have proven in the past to confuse some users because it's hard to know what to install (though part of what Magnus has done aims to make that easier), and they all install software but don't do any of the setup for you - no initdb, no service setup etc.
The reason the original design was implemented, and the installers were written, is that this was a real problem that caused regular emails to
webmaster@postgresql.org and other places. We reduced that to practically zero by putting the 'no-brainer' option at the top of the page.
--
Dave Page
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