Update problems

[Larry Hall (Cygwin)]

On 01/07/2010 09:39 PM, David Gast wrote:
> There are two problems with updating cygwin.
>
> 1. If you run setup.exe from bash, bash cannot be updated
> because the file is in use.

Sure.  This is the reason 'setup.exe' exists.  It's a Windows
"feature" that keeps you from replacing a file that's in use.
'setup.exe' was created to provide a native Windows program
to avoid the problem of something like 'setup.exe' needing to
update files that are in use by it.  If it were possible to
replace files in use with the same ease as on Linux, say,
then 'setup.exe' would never be needed since things like
rpm, yum, and apt, to name a few, could be used directly
to install and update Cygwin.  Some of these exist as Cygwin
packages (official or otherwise) today but because of this
"chicken or egg" problem, this isn't feasible without a native
Windows version of these programs.  And this brings us back
to why 'setup.exe' exists and why it's a native Win32 app
that isn't based on Cygwin.  So, it is designed not to need
to run in a Cygwin shell and the recommendation is to not
do so.  It can be run from the command prompt, the Windows
"Run" widget, the Explorer, or directly from the Cygwin web
site.  Running from the web site is the recommended approach
since you can be assured you have the most up-to-date, capable,
and consistent version of 'setup.exe' that way.

> 2. If you choose a different mirror, then the update does not go
> smoothly; that is, the update does not know anything about
> the previously installed packages, so all sorts of dependencies
> get broken.

Huh?  'setup.exe' always knows about the previously installed
packages no matter what mirror you use, just like it knows what
mirror you used the previous time you ran 'setup.exe'.  If you're
having a particular problem, please describe it in detail.  What you've
stated above is not how 'setup.exe' works.

> I suppose that this feature allows some flexibility (one could
> have different installs in different directories from different
> mirrors), but I suspect that most people just want one install.
>
> Therefore, I suggest that you get rid of the mirror in the path
> where the downloaded packages are stored. If you feel there
> is a need to keep the mirror in the path, then perhaps you
> should make it an "advanced" option.

That's not why the mirror is part of the path in the download
directory.  'setup.exe' allows you to pick multiple mirrors to
install from and that's the main reason for what you see.
You don't have to use this feature however.  Just pick one
mirror the first time you install and continue to use it for
every subsequent invocation for as long as it serves you
well.

> 3. As a wish list, it would be convenient to be able to type
> something like (I don't care what the command is called,
> for example):
>
> cyg-install $command
>
> where $command is some command like (cal, bash, wget, etc.)
> It would make it easier to find the package where a particular
> command is installed, however, the above problems (for example,
> dependencies getting messed up) would need to be avoided.

You can use 'setup.exe' on the command line to install or update any
package you like.  You'll want to save a version of 'setup.exe' locally,
start a command prompt, and then invoke 'setup.exe --help'.  You'll see
the list of command line flags that 'setup.exe' supports.

> I really appreciate the work you have done. The first two programs
> I start when I am forced to use a Windows box are cygwin and
> firefox.
>
> I have never had a problem with the initial install, but an update
> 6 months later can be problematic.

And again, specifics are key if you want anyone to have a chance
to verify and address any issue you see.

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

_____________________________________________________________________

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