Re: GnuTLS for W32

[Ted Zlatanov <tzz@lifelogs.com>]

On Thu, 05 Jan 2012 19:29:27 +0100 Lars Ingebrigtsen <larsi@gnus.org> wrote: 

LI> Ted Zlatanov <tzz@lifelogs.com> writes:
>> I certainly value your opinion.  Could you explain why you disagree with
>> checking critical packages (just GnuTLS currently)?

LI> If every program did stuff like that, using a computer would be
LI> untenable.

LI> $ gcc file.c
LI> Checking for new versions of gcc...
LI> New version of gcc found.  Do you want to upgrade? (y/n)

GCC, unlike Emacs, is not a self-sufficient environment.  Compare Emacs
to Chrome and Firefox... which, not surprisingly, do tell you about
updates, and they are both layout engines coupled with an interpreter,
like Emacs.

Also, I agree it's silly to interrupt batch mode with questions, as your
example shows.  This update check (which, again, I'm only proposing for
GnuTLS, and can be easily disabled) would be turned off in
batch/noninteractive modes.

>> How would you propose letting the user know they are out of date,
>> instead of this?

LI> I wouldn't.

LI> Emacs under Linux doesn't check for stuff like that.

Emacs' package.el can check and update packages.

LI> If the user believes that there's something critical going on that
LI> needs updating, the user says "apt-get update; apt-get upgrade".  If
LI> the user believes that Emacs under Windows needs updating, the user
LI> will download the zip file as usual.

The user doesn't know, usually, that there's been a critical GnuTLS
release that affects them.  Unlike normal updates, ignoring this can
actually compromise their security, not just corrupt or expose their
data.  This is a crucial distinction.  So I want Emacs to notify the
user their GnuTLS is out of date, or else something else should
(e.g. the self-contained GnuTLS updater for W32 I proposed).

Ted