pretest 2021 begin (3rd attempt, no reply seen)

[Philip Taylor]

Hallo Reinhard —

> Hello Siep and Phil,
> if you use rsync in order to create a local copy there is an archive/
> directory in the same directory as the installer.  In this case I
> would expect that the installer assumes that it's run from a CD or DVD
> and uses the archive/ directory as a package source.  This means that
> there is no need to specify any repository.

I am willing to believe that, of course, but my concern is that, in the 
past, I have performed what I /thought /was an install from my local 
repository, only to find later that it was installing from the network.  
Now that I have FTTC that is no longer the issue it once was, but what I 
would /really/ like is to be able to use the 
documented-but-seemingly-dysfunctional "install-tl-windows 
-select-repository" and to be offered the choice of installing from a 
mirror of my choice /*or*/ from my local repository.

Siep explained, on 3rd inst.,

> The mirror list is still the regular mirror list and has not been
> adjusted for pretest. Therefore select-repository does not work
> during pretest.

but what was unclear to me until a few moments ago was why, even if 
"[t]he mirror list is still the regular mirror list and has not been 
adjusted for pretest", the pre-test installer cannot offer 
"C:/TeX/Live/2021/Pre-test (Local repository)" in addition to the six 
continents.  In fact, it can — what I have /finally/ discovered is that 
the offer of "C:/TeX/Live/2021/Pre-test (Local repository)" is 
contingent on one typing :

  *      install-tl-windows./*bat */-select-repository

and not just :

  *      install-tl-windows/**/-select-repository

It seems to me that this is a serious design error, to have two files 
with identical names, but with different extensions, both of which are 
executable, in the same directory.  Why not, for example, rename the 
executable to anything /*other */than "install-tl-windows" ?  As it is, 
at the moment it is only too easy to believe that 
"install-tl-windows/**/-select-repository" should have the desired 
effect, whereas in fact only 
"install-tl-windows/*.bat*//**/-select-repository" will do so.
-- 
/Philip Taylor/


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