[I mentioned this in a previous message, but that seems to have gotten eaten by some network daemon.]
It occurs to me that a lot of the problems that are attributed to having multiple source files could also be solved by 1) making sure that all necessary files are downloaded correctly and 2) that they are correctly installed.
The first point can be implemented easily enough by putting together binary distributions for all the major platforms in some binary format (e.g. .zip or .tgz). If it decompresses, it was correctly downloaded, and all of the files you get match.
As for installation, the easiest way is to just include a well-written README file. However, install programs tend to be the norm these days, and it would be nice to have some for Squeak. I envision an installer putting an initial image and sources file (containing all the sources--the change log is initially empty) in some common director and the VM somewhere in the search path (or whatever your OS does with programs and data). Typing (or clicking) Squeak the first time would then load the default image, which would open a change log in the current directory.
Under Linux, I think most of this can be done with rpm and shell scripts (the only bit I'm not sure about is moving the changes into the sources file). I'm willing to take a crack at it once my network connectivity comes back (i.e. once I find a telephone extension cable :) if nobody beats me to it.
I can't do any of the other platforms, unfortunately, but I'm sure _somebody_ out there can, and it would make Squeak a whole lot friendlier.
It's not a difficult task. However, there hasn't yet been any pressure from the marketing department yet.
--Chris
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