Open Source

[jonconley]

With the utmost respect to nihu, I will attempt to make an open source application similar to nLite.

I will attempt to make it as modular and customizable as possible.

90% of the functions seem to be simple command lines and file r/w, so it shouldn't be too difficult.

I am attempting to create a CLI initially, and that will allow various GUIs to be create wether they be a web service or software.

I will work up a rough outline on the softwares abilities, and then post for users to provide feedback before I begin. After the initial framework is done, it will be opened up for users to contribute.

More information to follow...

[hoak]

Ambitious project but certainly worthwhile; if it gets off the ground -- perhaps it can integrate some of the widely fragmented work and valuable reference material buried in these forums to good effect...

One thing I'd like to see is thoroughly commented, modular, and high granularity add/remove services. There's some fantastic reference information in the form of very complete lists of Windows files and their functions on these forums, as well as feature/function integration and dependency information -- that's unmatched even in Microsoft's own 'Target Designer' for it's Windows Embedded products... Having all this integrated as interactive add/remove context sensitive help would not be too hard to offer, and would be invaluable with Windows ragged integration...

Perhaps this project can approach some of the abandoned original design premise of Windows the NT operating systems and it's modular concepts derived from OS/2 and Talegient... The Microsoft Windows NT OS was originally intended to be highly modular and componentized in manner both cleaner and more modern then UNIX -- unfortunately as is too well known this was ditched due to marketing ambitions that had absolutely nothing to do with design elegance, and everything to do with selling the home product at any expense...

What I'm getting at here is rather then taking the nLite top down approach of a feature rich "add/remove" tool, perhaps the reverse and originally intended installer design that can still be seen in some aspects of the Windows script and installer layout could be harnessed to some effect modularizing core OS systems and sub-systems, much the way modern Linux installers operate... Certainly some of the unattended setup tools do this to some extent already, but I think how thing's are 'lumped' together and where the lines of integration are drawn are very distinctive... It is possible now for example to create 50Mb XP/2003 installations that have considerable function...

Wishful thinking perhaps, as Microsoft has gone a long ways down the integration road -- with very detrimental consequences on all fronts IMHO, and not suprisingly is beating the 'modularized OS' drum again like it's some new and magical design discovery... But maybe...

Edited October 25, 2005 by hoak