Re:A command-line installer for Windows
by WorldMaker on Tuesday January 22, 2019 @12:47PM
(#18970371)
Microsoft has been pushing all the good parts of MSI into the APPX stuff which is now called MSIX. It has had support for silent installs, options, patches upgraded or added over the last couple Windows releases, with I think a last few pieces scheduled for the next Windows release.
The MSIX format is supposed to support everything MSI currently does soon, and has preview support for even Windows 7.
> However, the core problem with Windows software is there isn't a primary software repository for all approved and tested software, like there is for -nix platforms. Ideally that's what needs to be fixed first before yet more client-end installers get created.
This is certainly a goal of the Microsoft Store, to be a central/primary software repository for Windows software. Sure, it has the "ugliness" of also including all the fun monetization things that -nix can often ignore because FLOSS doesn't necessarily have to worry about paying the bills in quite the same way. But it seems silly to me to turn down the usefulness of a "primary software repository" simply because it also doubles as a retail store for proprietary/closed-source software.
The MSIX format is supposed to support everything MSI currently does soon, and has preview support for even Windows 7.
> However, the core problem with Windows software is there isn't a primary software repository for all approved and tested software, like there is for -nix platforms. Ideally that's what needs to be fixed first before yet more client-end installers get created.
This is certainly a goal of the Microsoft Store, to be a central/primary software repository for Windows software. Sure, it has the "ugliness" of also including all the fun monetization things that -nix can often ignore because FLOSS doesn't necessarily have to worry about paying the bills in quite the same way. But it seems silly to me to turn down the usefulness of a "primary software repository" simply because it also doubles as a retail store for proprietary/closed-source software.