How to install appman (not AM) without an interactive prompt?

[jcrben]

There's a one-liner for the systemwide installation but not one for the appman install

https://github.com/ivan-hc/AM?tab=readme-ov-file#using-a-one-line-command-only-system-wide-installation

[ivan-hc]

AppMan is portable, so you can put it in any RW directory and use it.

Ideally, the most convenient way to use it is to put it in the local $PATH, i.e. $HOME/.local/bin, but a user may want to set a different one, using XDG_BIN_HOME. That's why we use this in the installer:

BINDIR="${XDG_BIN_HOME:-$HOME/.local/bin}"
mkdir -p "$BINDIR"

While AM ​​assumes that the $PATH is /usr/local/bin, which is standard on every UNIX and UNIX-like system, our $BINDIR, on the other hand, is not always present.

This is why we use an installer:

• It groups together multiple commands and variables for this purpose
• It explains the difference between AM and AppMan, making you more aware of your choice

Summarizing the AppMan installation in one line inevitably leads to having to write a longer command, which doesn't explain what it does and where the files are stored.

If you'd like, I'll add the command to the README anyway.

But note, it's not just BINDIR the problem. For AppMan, the installer also covers the use of ZSHELL, for non-BASH users.

This is the function to install AppMan

_install_appman() {
	ZSHRC="${ZDOTDIR:-$HOME}/.zshrc"
	BINDIR="${XDG_BIN_HOME:-$HOME/.local/bin}"
	mkdir -p "$BINDIR"
	if ! echo $PATH | grep "$BINDIR" >/dev/null 2>&1; then 
		echo '--------------------------------------------------------------------------'
		echo " Adding $BINDIR to PATH, you might need to"
		echo " close and reopen the terminal for this to take effect."
		if [ -e ~/.bashrc ] && ! grep 'PATH="$PATH:$BINDIR"' ~/.bashrc >/dev/null 2>&1; then
			printf '\n%s\n' 'BINDIR="${XDG_BIN_HOME:-$HOME/.local/bin}"' >> ~/.bashrc
			printf '\n%s\n' 'if ! echo $PATH | grep "$BINDIR" >/dev/null 2>&1; then' >> ~/.bashrc
			printf '	export PATH="$PATH:$BINDIR"\nfi\n' >> ~/.bashrc
		fi
		if [ -e "$ZSHRC" ] && ! grep 'PATH="$PATH:$BINDIR"' "$ZSHRC" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
			printf '\n%s\n' 'BINDIR="${XDG_BIN_HOME:-$HOME/.local/bin}"' >> "$ZSHRC"
			printf '\n%s\n' 'if ! echo $PATH | grep "$BINDIR" >/dev/null 2>&1; then' >> "$ZSHRC"
			printf '	export PATH="$PATH:$BINDIR"\nfi\n' >> "$ZSHRC"
		fi
	fi
	wget -q "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ivan-hc/AM/$AM_BRANCH/APP-MANAGER" -O "$BINDIR"/appman && chmod a+x "$BINDIR"/appman
}

...and this is the one for AM

_install_am() {
	CACHEDIR="${XDG_CACHE_HOME:-$HOME/.cache}"
	mkdir -p "$CACHEDIR" || true
	rm -f "$CACHEDIR"/INSTALL-AM.sh || true
	wget -q "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ivan-hc/AM/$AM_BRANCH/INSTALL" -O "$CACHEDIR"/INSTALL-AM.sh && chmod a+x "$CACHEDIR"/INSTALL-AM.sh
	#cp ./INSTALL "$CACHEDIR"/INSTALL-AM.sh && chmod a+x "$CACHEDIR"/INSTALL-AM.sh # for developers
	if command -v sudo >/dev/null 2>&1; then
		SUDOCMD="sudo"
	elif command -v doas >/dev/null 2>&1; then
		SUDOCMD="doas"
	else
		echo 'ERROR: No sudo or doas found'
		exit 1
	fi
	$SUDOCMD "$CACHEDIR"/INSTALL-AM.sh && rm -f "$CACHEDIR"/INSTALL-AM.sh
}

...which, unlike the one-line command, keeps the system cleaner by not creating duplicates of the AM-specific "INSTALL" installer, and by taking into account whether you use sudo, doas, or neither.

AM doesn't need to set variables in .bashrc or .zshrc, and it works in $PATH to install apps locally (with the command am -i --user appname1 appname2) without having to worry about being usable in the local path, in XDG_BIN_HOME:-$HOME/.local/bin

It's just a matter of local $PATH, nothing else.

But you can also use appman without $PATH: it's portable.

I just find it inconvenient to always use ./appman or /path/to/appman every time you want to use it. But that's just my opinion.

Do you still want a linear command to use it "portable"? Are you sure?

If it is so, I should add only this

wget -q "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ivan-hc/AM/main/APP-MANAGER" -O ./appman && chmod a+x ./appman

[ivan-hc]

Another thing to consider is this: not everyone reads the documentation.

The decision to delegate AppMan installation entirely to AM-INSTALLER is due to the constant bug reports from people with different use cases, related to the aforementioned variables not being set correctly. The installer can take care of all this, avoiding problems by installing and configuring AppMan in the most convenient way.

There's no point in adding links to sources and chapters and writing entire paragraphs if many users simply copy/paste a command without considering what could go wrong.

Adding a linear command for AppMan would be a step backwards toward bugs reported by "distracted" users who don't want to read the instructions and install "random" things, later complaining that they don't work.

That's all.

[ivan-hc]

I just added the instructions to the README