tal197's Journal: Zero Install

The GnuCash installation instructions warn non-programmers against even trying to install it. The word "nightmare" is used. Yet, the process should be quite simple: if the project was distributed using Zero Install then users could safely fetch and run it, with all its required dependencies, using a single command.

Zero Install is a fundamentally different way to access software. Instead of copying software from the web onto our computers, we cache it. It's a faster, easier to understand, and safer way to get software, suitable for both broadband and dial-up users.

Oddly, though, most people seem to ignore it. Why? Please add comments... I'd like to know how to present it better! A typical conversation goes like this:

• Them: How do I install <foo>?
• Me: Are you using Zero Install?
• Them: No. What's that?
• Me: It removes the need to install software. It uses a cache to allow running software directly from the author's machines.
• Them: Sounds like a bad idea...
• Me: Why?
• Them: Err... insecure?
• Me: Nothing runs as root, or as any privileged user. So you're running the same code as normal, but without the additional worries of an installation script.
• Them: Err...slow?
• Me: Since data is only downloaded when it's needed, there's less to download in total so it's actually faster. Once cached, it's at least as fast as normally-installed software; sometimes faster since there are no search paths.
• Them: Oh. Still sounds like a bad idea.
• Me: Why?
• Them: Don't know...

After trying it for a few minutes, they're usually converted though. But what gives the bad initial impression?

Web site: Zero Install