Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!csd4.milw.wisc.edu!uxc!uxc.cso.uiuc.edu!uxd.cso.uiuc.edu!uxe.cso.uiuc.edu!mcdonald
From: mcdonald@uxe.cso.uiuc.edu
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: FASTBACK PLUS
Message-ID: <45900214@uxe.cso.uiuc.edu>
Date: 21 Mar 89 14:44:00 GMT
References: <441@nvuxk.UUCP>
Lines: 40
Nf-ID: #R:nvuxk.UUCP:441:uxe.cso.uiuc.edu:45900214:000:1588
Nf-From: uxe.cso.uiuc.edu!mcdonald    Mar 21 08:44:00 1989



>One would think a professional programmer would know enough to
>examine the path (and environment size) before diddling it.

One would hope that any person selling a program would warn the
user loudly and vigorously before mucking with their config.sys
or autoexec.bat files.

This starts up the occasional "setup program" wars. I feel ornery
just now, having yesterday re-installed Microsoft Windows for the
99th time just to change video driver mode. 

Software writers, when you decide how to have the user install
the software, please not the following: (Microsoft take note!!!!)

1. The user may not want to install the whole package - when I install
   Microsoft C or Fortran I only want the compiler, includes, and
   libraries (for the memory model I want!) NOT - repeat NOT - 
   suck dreck as Quick C or their silly editor!!! I DON'T want all
   those stupid .pif files with Microsoft Windows!! Most of the
   programs I never heard of.

2. The user might want to use a directory of HIS choice, not yours -
   and might not be ABLE to install from a: (if your disks are 5 inch
   and his a: is 3 inch!) (Microsoft does OK here.)

3. The user might want to just change PART of an installation, not the whole
   thing.  Windows is a big offender here.

4. Please -Please - Please- don't modify config.sys or autoexec.bat -
   instead write out something like config.sam or autoexec.sam
   (.sam is for sample).

I suggest writing up a section of the manual that explains what goes
where, AND WHY, and implementing it as a batch file, so the user can
modify it.


Doug Mc Donald