coapp-developers team mailing list archive

[John McNamee <jpm@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

 I just recently found out about CoApp.  I don't know how I missed the 
original announcement, but I'm glad I found it now.  I think CoApp could be a 
Very Good Thing.  You're attacking a problem that has bugged me for a long 
time.  At the risk of coming off as a jerk who shows up and starts 
complaining, I would like to ask about some of the design choices...

(1) Windows Installer / MSI

Does anybody outside of Microsoft really *like* MSI?  Wouldn’t a package 
format based on ZIP archives be a better cultural fit for open source 
software?  I know MSI is the supported method for installing SxS assemblies.  
For the sake of discussion, let’s assume that isn’t an issue.  What other 
advantages do you see in MSI?  Are those advantages worth it?

(2) Shallow forks vs. upstream support

I understand that shallow forks are needed to get started, but I hope the 
ultimate goal is getting CoApp adopted by as many upstream packages as 
possible.  I have a dream that some day, I'll be able to grab the latest code 
for random open source projects and build them on Windows as easily as on Unix.

(3) CMake

Have you looked at CMake (http://www.cmake.org <http://www.cmake.org/>)?  
There are several cross-platform build systems out there, and none has emerged 
as a clear standard.  However, my observation is that CMake has gained the 
greatest acceptance.  Could CoApp leverage CMake?