Re: Installation Program Suggestion

[Ben Pfaff <pfaffben@pilot.msu.edu>]

Paul Komarek <komarek@andrew.cmu.edu> writes:

   > The problem with HTML-based installation is the following: there is no
   > way, without doing something nasty, of running logic on the local
   > machine.  "Something nasty" would include a little web server off the
   > installation system, or doing logic as ECMAScript.
   > 
   > I just don't see the benefit, especially since when the installation
   > system (dbootstrap, name under contention) is running, we're booting
   > off the rescue disk and there is no network connectivity.  So HTML
   > links don't do you any good.
   > .....Adam Di Carlo....adam@onShore.com.....<URL:http://www.onShore.com/>

   I haven't seen the Debian intsallation program, so I don't know how
   ludicrous my idea sounds to debian users.  Basically, my reasoning goes
   along these lines--
   1) Among the main complaints about Linux is installing it, just as with
   WinWhatever.  
   2) People are rapidly becoming familiar with web browsers and 'surfing'
   for information.
   3) A single cd is pretty darn cheap these days, and I can't imagine that
   you couldn't set up a fully functional linux system with a cd, a ramdisk,
   and maybe even a little diskspace if absolutely necessary.  This would
   include network connectivity.

I've been thinking for the last few weeks about hacking up an
experimental installation procedure that would work much like what
you're talking about, using an HTML interface.  However, I was
planning to write a custom, very simple, browser, that worked with a
subset of HTML and required proper HTML rather than being forgiving.
After all, there's no reason that the HTML on the boot floppies
couldn't be run through a verifier beforehand.  Restrictions like this
would make it possible to write a very small HTML browser.