Re: The case for the One-Click Installer

----- "Josh Berkus"  wrote:

> All,
> 
> Selena pointed out that the current argument about procedure is 
> pointless.  She's right.  Therefore, let me explain *from an advocacy
> 
> perspective* the reason why the one-click installer is important.
> 
> Not that this means that we need to have EnterpriseDB do our
> installers, 
> but it explains what would have to be replaced in a non-EDB community
> 
> installer.  And, for that matter, why I encouraged EnterpriseDB to
> build 
> a one-click installer for community PostgreSQL last year.
> 
> When I was working in the MySQL department at Sun last year, I got an
> 
> earful on the things the PostgreSQL project had done wrong which MySQL
> 
> AB had been able to take advantage of.  There were some interesting 
> surveys on why people chose to adopt MySQL over PostgreSQL (and I'll 
> tell you that most of the reasons discussed here or on
> planetpostgresql 
> are missing the point).
> 
> One of the biggest reasons for people choosing MySQL was the "some 
> assembly required" nature of PostgreSQL: the requirement to find and 
> download 5 to 20 separate components, often from separate web sites,
> and 
> compile and integrate them yourself.  Further, even where operating 
> system packages provided a lot of these extra components, the set of 
> components available and what they're called varied widely between 
> packages.  And many components were simply not available on Windows.
> 
> For a developer who "just wants a database" that approach is 
> intolerable, and they'll use anything else which provides them a 
> "complete package".  As of 8.2, this issue was possibly the largest 
> single blocker to increased PostgreSQL adoption, probably greater than
> 
> built-in replication or any of the other technical features we like to
> 
> talk about.  Discussions about installers and packages on -hackers and
> 
> other lists largely petered out without anyone offering to help.
> 
> Therefore, we needed a "just install it" package.  If I had been able
> to 
> build this using the Sun team, I would have.  However, only
> EnterpriseDB 
> was in a position to supply the staff and technology.
> 
> Since 8.3, the One-Click installer has been wildly successful in 
> bringing in new users.  On IRC, I'd estimate that 50% of new users 
> showing up used it to install (higher on Mac or Windows).
> 
> Therefore, any replacement of EnterpriseDB's "one click installer"
> needs 
> to be able to replace the "just install it" functionality.  And it
> needs 
> to work as well as the One-Click does.
> 
> Because EDB is a VC-funded company and may someday be sold, I agree
> that 
> it's not healthy to be dependant on them for installers.  One way to 
> resolve this is for more people to help and get Dimitri's extension 
> packaging system finished; if we had that, the issue of packaging all
> 
> drivers and components would be come vastly decreased, and supporting
> 
> multi-operating-system installers much easier.  However, I've yet to
> see 
> anyone arguing for an change of installers on this list volunteer to 
> help Dimitri, and his project is liable to not complete this year due
> to 
> lack of help.
> 
> Further, let me point out again that the MSI installers were dropped 
> because *absolutely nobody* wanted to put any work into them other
> than 
> the EDB staff.  So it's not like we're drowning in installation 
> contributors.
> 
> In other words, if you care about the installer situation and want to
> 
> change it, the way to do so is to put in some work building
> installers, 
> module packagers, or other tools to improve the community installation
> 
> situation.  *Not* shouting arguments about what EDB ought to do.
> 
> I'll admit that I'm fundamentally lazy and would prefer to work on
> parts 
> of PostgreSQL which EnterpriseDB isn't taking care of, like autotuning
> 
> and tutorials.  We have a TODO list long enough for 100 times the 
> contributors we have now.  But how any contributor spends their time
> is 
> up to them.
> 
> (and can I just say how much the arguments on this list sound like the
> 
> "Red Hat is taking over Linux" of 2001?)
> 
> -- 
> Josh Berkus
> PostgreSQL Experts Inc.
> www.pgexperts.com


+1 and thank you.