Downloading pieces of Cygwin for non-installers

[Larry Hall (Cygwin)]

Joel Rubin wrote:
> Quite a few Cygwin programs (and programs developed using Cygwin
> compilers) can be run without Cygwin. Almost always one needs
> Cygwin1.dll in one's path and perhaps some other DLL's.
> 
> Some people use a lot of different computers not theirs (e.g.
> repairmen, consultants) and carry around a memory stick or CD/DVD-ROM
> of tools, preferably tools which don't need to be installed on the
> host computer. (Among other things, if you're looking at a registry
> problem, you don't want to run an installation program.)
> 
> There are several places which allow you to download some version or
> other of Cygwin1.dll.
> 
> 
> It occurs to me that it might be useful to be able to download pieces
> of Cygwin in some form less Unixy than tar.bz2. (e.g. zip files)
> 
> One hazard of playing with this sort of thing is that sometimes one
> ends up with an old version of Cygwin1.dll in memory and it seems to
> be difficult to get rid of it without rebooting.

Many people have installed Cygwin on USB drives or CDs and take it around
to the machines they work on.  But installations that haphazardly place
cygwin1.dll and friends in locations inconsistent with "setup.exe" are
highly discouraged and not supported by this list.  Typically, this
situation arises from someone's attempt to carve up a Cygwin install to
include in their installer.  Around here, we call them
<http://cygwin.com/acronyms/#3PP>.  While there is no shortage of these
kinds of packages available, this list can't recommend them.  And we
strongly recommend against creating more that fit into this category.
There are good reasons for the packages to be in the form they are and
for using 'setup.exe' to install them.  While we can't stop others from
creating alternative schemes, the most likely result of these attempts will
be a broken install for all but the most knowledgeable of users.  And that
brings us full circle and explains why we can't recommend this approach.

-- 
Larry Hall                              http://www.rfk.com
RFK Partners, Inc.                      (508) 893-9779 - RFK Office
216 Dalton Rd.                          (508) 893-9889 - FAX
Holliston, MA 01746

_____________________________________________________________________

A: Yes.
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