[Octave-bug-tracker] [bug #51632] MS Windows portable (i.e. zip) version cannot find pre-installed packages, needs pkg rebuild, not mentioned at first run

[Tasos Papastylianou]

URL:
  <http://savannah.gnu.org/bugs/?51632>

                 Summary: MS Windows portable (i.e. zip) version cannot find
pre-installed packages, needs pkg rebuild, not mentioned at first run
                 Project: GNU Octave
            Submitted by: tpapastylianou
            Submitted on: Mon 31 Jul 2017 06:57:31 PM UTC
                Category: Configuration and Build System
                Severity: 3 - Normal
                Priority: 5 - Normal
              Item Group: Documentation
                  Status: None
             Assigned to: None
         Originator Name: Tasos Papastylianou <poacheR>
        Originator Email: 
             Open/Closed: Open
         Discussion Lock: Any
                 Release: 4.2.1
        Operating System: Microsoft Windows

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Details:

As per this StackOverflow post: https://stackoverflow.com/q/45399494/4183191

The need to run pkg rebuild (plus pkg update) in order for the preinstalled
packages to become accessible in the zipped version, while documented
somewhere on the wiki, it is highly unlikely that a new user would know this
in advance, and is likely to be a source of frustration and "first papercut"
to the very first experience of installing octave on windows in that way.

While there are probably good technical reasons to not provide a generic
octave_packages file in the portable version (presumably the paths need to be
hardcoded and absolute), this information would probably need to be documented
in the README file, and / or in the information window that comes up at first
launch, informing the new user of this problem, and / or redirecting to the
wiki for further instructions at the very least.




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