[thelist] sactifying GNU software

[Andrew Forsberg]

>What sort of *nix platform are we talking about here? What sort of
>software? Will the users have CLI access? If not, then I can't see how
>they would install software in the first place (without going through
>you first) unless they fancied compiling from source (dan... you ever
>tried to install rpm's/deb's as a user?)

There is the occasional case where vendors distribute self-installing 
files. Netscape, for example, offers (or offered) this option for 
end-users in addition to standard rpm / deb / pkg formats for admin 
users. This allows a normal user to install the executables (and 
libraries) into folders under their home directory -- or wherever 
they have write permission, for that matter. Just gunzip, tar -xf, 
and run the shell script. Some do require you to chmod +x the shell 
script, but the steps are usually spelt out fairly clearly in a 
readme.

Could potentially be trouble, I suppose -- it depends on how tight a 
rein you want to keep on your users.

>If you can give us some more info then we'll see you right *:)

Absolutely.

- Andrew

-- 
Andrew Forsberg
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