I was too lazy to do things properly (kickstart script, etc.) so I have a bash script with about 10 "apt-get install" lines that set up everything I want on Ubuntu or debian, and a few more "echo" lines that configure 90% of my other preferences.
50 line scripts that contain very little other than the names of the programs I want or the configuration I want.
Let's say I just got a new computer with Windows 7/8, not part of a domain or anything - just a new laptop. Care to list the steps needed to get into your favorite state (list YOUR favorite 10 apps you need to install)
I just use the same old .exe that I generate from ninite.com. It takes just one click and I have all my favorite apps running. I just need to install VS2013 and are good to go. It can't be more simple than this.
Just looked at ninite again (after having not done so in years) and was pleasantly surprised - although it's still very pale compared to Debian's 20k strong packages.
But it's definitely a good start.
(It can be simpler than this - it is, on modern Linux)
> I was too lazy to do things properly (kickstart script, etc.) so I have a bash script with about 10 "apt-get install" lines that set up everything I want on Ubuntu or debian, and a few more "echo" lines that configure 90% of my other preferences.
You can do even better than that with NixOS: the system configuration is a single file (though it's possible to split it into different files). The file contains, if you use the declarative system-wide installation system, the list of all non-default software and their non-default configuration. If you copy the file to your new system and use "nixos-rebuild switch", everything will be downloaded and configured correctly.
I would use chocolatey nuget http://chocolatey.org. That's how I set up my last machine. Didn't think to a make it a .bat file, but I will next time I build a new machine.
> Care to list the steps needed to get into your favorite state
Well, first you have to figure out how the screen capture API for Windows. Then you have to take screenshots of each screen of the installer program of each application you have to run. Write image recognition code to figure out the location of each button on each tab of each installer screen. Then delve further into the Windows API's to write code to inject mouse movements or keystrokes to make the installations happen.
Oh, and if you're using this with a newer version of Windows that uses a different font, or slightly different styling for buttons, or has different UAC dialogs, you're totally hosed. Ditto if any of the installers releases a new version, you may have to make changes.
This example demonstrates a command line interface's obvious, inherent, even self-evident superiority to any GUI. Why anyone puts up with the GUI at all is beyond me. It took me ten years to figure out how to get anything done in the GUI when Windows 95 was released; before that, I used the command line pretty much exclusively for moving/copying files and the like.
Chocolatey (basically apt for windows) will automatically download and install most apps I need (Browsers, media player, editors and IDEs, languages and compilers, various utilities etc.). Then Steam (installed by chocolatey) will automatically download and install all my games. I then download and install OSGeo4W which in turn will download and install a whole suite of GIS applications that I need. All my interesting files are in dropbox so they show up automatically.
Once that is done there are only a handful of other applications I need to download from respective vendors websites/git repos (Lightroom, Perfect Photo, Anaconda Python, the latest versions of Julia and Leiningen).
Can you script all those common installers that are (a) not an msi, (b) don't have a /SILENT switch or other unattended installation, (c) require license input, or any combination thereof?
I guess you could use AutoHotkey to simulate mouse clicks, or attempt to repackage the software yourself. But when comparing the ability to script installations in general, linux has a major, major advantage.
