[pmwiki-devel] One click installation process...

[Patrick R. Michaud]

On Mon, Nov 27, 2006 at 09:38:32AM -0500, Crisses wrote:
>    On Nov 27, 2006, at 6:31 AM, The Editor wrote:
>      Technically, I know it would not be hard to pull together a script
>      that scanned all the php files in your cookbook, when you browsed to a
>      specific page and then dynamically created a list of checkboxes for
>      each php file for enabling/disabling them when browsing to a certain
>      page. [...]
> 
>    The problem is that even if you create a system, module admins have to USE
>    it for it to work.   That makes it not only a huge undertaking for you,
>    but for every module admin that wants to be in on the idea.
> 
>    Another problem is that there are interdependencies.  

Agreed on both points, especially the issue of managing
interdependencies between modules.

>    If you make the life of module writers/maintainers more difficult, you may
>    lose one of the strengths of PmWiki.  

Absolutely.  Any module-management system has to be simple for
both site administrators and module writers to use, otherwise we
lose a big strength.  

Plus, consider all of the recipes and configuration options that
exist in the cookbook that *don't* involve downloading a script
of some sort, or that are configuring more than a simple "on-off"
item.  For example, how would one use a web-based configuration 
interface to define custom markup rules, or to set new values of
$SearchPatterns?

>    Anyone trying to install PmWiki who is willing to ask gets tons of help
>    and support, happily and willingly.  I have a feeling that even if we
>    attempt to make installation and management "easier" that it's going to
>    end up with just as much questions and tons of reworking documentation,
>    people changing their recipes, etc.  

I totally agree here -- I fear that by having two or more methods
of site configuration we just increase
  - the number of questions arising from differences between the 
    two methods, 
  - problems and issues arising from recipes not supporting module
    management properly, or from unexpected interactions between
    modules,
  - requests to add specialized configuration options to the web-based
    configuration tool 
      - I can easily see that this could eventually become a form
        or sequence of forms with literally hundreds of options
        (look at the number of Cookbook recipes, for a start)
      - Then it's a problem of "where do I find the option to
        configure my site to do XYZ"?
  - new administrators being led down dead-ends trying to achieve
    results with the web-configurator that can only be done using
    a config.php modification.

Pm