Am 15.03.2018 um 18:29 schrieb Richard Heck:
I was talking about whether anything would happen *as a result of
someone running
the installer*. I understand that there are *other* ways that the MiKTeX
installation can
be damaged, as happened to your mother. That is a really horrible MiKTeX
bug, and
there is nothing we can do about it.
Yes, that is exactly the case.
I fully agree that it is not the task of an installer to change existing
installations if not really necessary. In this case however, I think
this is necessary. Users don't even running an installer can end up with
in a state where they cannot compile any LyX document.
Therefore the LyX 2.3.0 installer needs to trigger the package
management update. Only this way it is possible to repair broken MiKTeX
systems. So users end up being lost can use the LyX 2.3.0 installer to
get back to work. Therefore my plan is to implement the repair mechanism
in the installer for 2.2.4 too.
The installer for 2.3.1 will be the normal one not touching the package
handling system. So at least we can provide one installer repairing
things. So if users e.g. don't update LyX for a long time but run into
problems, could then use the 2.3.0 installer and install the current
2.3.x afterwards.
I decided that I cannot stand for an installer that can send many
users into serious
troubles despite I know a way to prevent this.
The only issue here is: Do we add a dialog of the sort in question? The
installer with
that dialog cannot cause any new problems, because either: (1) the
person installs LyX
and it updates MiKTeX just as you want; (2) the person does not install
LyX, in which
case they are in the same situation they were before, because the
installer was a no-op.
That is my point. Users like e.g. my mother (who can read English but
are not very good at it) might misunderstand the dialog and deny the
update. Therefore they don't get the new LyX and, moreover, the
probability is high that they end up with a screwed-up LaTeX some weeks
later.
English is an important point here in my opinion because in such a short
time I cannot manage to get the dialog properly translated. So e.g.
German users get the installer in German except of the dialog you want.
This makes it even more difficult to understand what the dialog is
about. I also think that a dialog is not sufficient to explain all the
details/reasons behind it. (Personally I also don't like that I have to
issue a dialog to assure people keep the installer open until it is
finished, because non-native speakers will have problems to understand it.)
The installer for LyX 2.3.1 will return to the old behavior.
Why? Won't that just break the installations of people still using 2.2.3?
We can add a sentence in the announcement text of LyX 2.3.1 that people
should use the 2.3.0 installer first to avoid problems. And if users did
not mention it and ask for help we can send them the link to the 2.3.0
installer.
So my plan is to use the 2.3.0 installer also as repair kit. Why 2.3.?
Because every LyX 2.3.x release can be installed over an existing 2.3.0
installation. This installer feature is major a goal. So if this is not
possible, there is a bug in the installer I will fix.
I am currently traveling, so please excuse delays in my responses.
regards Uwe
