[racket-dev] Planet 2 Beta Release

At Sun, 2 Dec 2012 10:55:01 -0500, Sam Tobin-Hochstadt wrote:
> I have mostly the opposite impression of `raco link`.  I like the
> default behavior, but that may be a result of my use of a set of
> scripts [1] for managing Racket installations that makes basically
> everything into installation-specific packages.

It sounds like you're advocating something that you haven't tried, and
you wanted installation-specific links, anyway.

If there's still some reason that environment-variable scripts are the
way to go as far as packages are concerned, then let's add an
environment variable that changes the default for package installation
and affects only people who know how to deal with it.

> One additional issue with version-specific installs that I just
> thought of -- imagine a student installing a course package on a lab
> computer, and then Racket being upgraded during the semester.

Exactly. That student is going to get an error message when DrRacket
starts up saying that the handin tool is broken. They complain to
someone, and so on.

It would be much better for the handin tool (for the class they aren't
taking anymore) to just be gone until they specifically ask for it back
through a migration tool. Or they just shrug and re-install, but that's
more obvious and doesn't involve bugging a teacher or admin.