Location exe installer (Was: Phil Taylor Re: pretest 2021 begin)

[Siep Kroonenberg]

On Sat, Mar 06, 2021 at 11:27:45AM +0000, Philip Taylor wrote:
> 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.

If you keep your own rsync repository, and especially if you are
running a pretest, then you should have sense enough not to use the
.exe while the .bat is already there.

But you are perfectly right that this particular mistake would be
prevented if the .exe (and the other installer packages (.zip, and
.tar.gz)) would be moved to a subdirectory.

-- 
Siep Kroonenberg