Script installer and repository

[LeviFiction]

So this was something Rick_R brought up in the wishlist.

As we know, obviously, this forum works as an online repository of scripts. But I'm curious, would anyone be interested in a script that let you quickly select scripts from a list and download them into the appropriate folders?

This idea is demonstrated by systems like Python. So Python has two main installers easy_install and PIP. These let you install scripts and dependencies from a central repository. What I'm proposing isn't as fancy, but I was working on a script a few years ago that would download and install scripts from a URL. I'm curious would anyone find this useful?

Here is a video that demonstrates the very basic idea of how it would work. Obviously, the final product would have a few more bells and whistles. An actual UI and not just a Number box.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Dtn-vz ... Ozc_E/view

As I say in the video, it's a fun idea, but if no one would make use of it then it's a waste of time to even pursue.

[JoeB]

It's always interesting to see the different ways you have come up with to use scripts!

In this case, I don't think I would be using such a script unless it provided for my method of saving scripts. I often have my own Scripts Trusted and Scripts Restricted folders in different locations than PSP's default storage folders for them. Now if the script is such that you first select the folder and subfolder where you want the script to be stored then it might be much more useful than if it just saves to PSP's defaults folders.

And because, of course, I don't know how the final implementation would work. So would this in any way make it inconvenient for people to actually read the post where the script resides so that they can actually read what the script writer has to say about it as well as any comments within that subject that might also be useful for people considering the script?

In other words, if they are browsing the script sub-forum and do come across a script they are interested in, they would normally read the OP's info plus comments and, if interested, click on the OP's link and download the script. If you provided your script, once a person had browsed topics and found an interesting script, how would they then invoke your script and find the same script in your database to do the download? Would the entire process, from finding the script topic and downloading directly from the post, then unzipping and moving to their preferred storage location, be faster and more convenient if they still browsed the topic and then invoked your script and had to find their script of interest within the list displayed?

These are the questions that popped into my mind.

[LeviFiction]

Technically, if I could figure out how to compile third-party libraries using PSP's CorePython.dll instead of the traditional Python27.dll I could do so much more with scripts. But luckily they do include all of the basic standard libraries which are pretty powerful all on their own. xD

To your first question, my plan was to make it use the default folder that you have setup as the one to save to inside FileLocations. As you know, in the File Locations dialog you can tell it where to save files by default. So when creating brushes, saving workspaces, etc, PSP just saves to those folders automatically. So as long as your personal folder is set in the "Save to" dropdown that's where it would save. I could, however, also change this to let you select any folder, not just those currently listed in the File Locations dialog.

To your second question, in some ways it'll be easier in some ways it'll be harder. Scripts don't tend to get giant amounts of feedback on here. So my idea is not to link the database to these forums. Instead I will provide a link to the author's preferred location of the script. If that's a forum topic here, great. If it's a wordpress article, also good. Only the list will be centralized, but the scripts can be located all over the internet.

So I think it would look something like this. This is just a mockup, nothing is set in stone.

You can see, a drop own for categories, each script will have a name, description, author, and version with a download link and an info link. The info link will link to the page where they can get the most information on the script. So clicking on that will open your web browser and take you there.

This is important, my script will not have every script that is on the sub-forums. I'd love to include them all, but I don't want to assume everyone would like to include their scripts in my database. Also, if a script has special requirements then a certain setup file will need to be created....I'll get into that in a minute. However, I was also thinking of adding a search box in my script so they can do a search.

The real power of this script is the installation aspect.

90% of scripts are single files that just need to be placed in either Restricted or Trusted. So my database would contain information such as

Script Name
Author Name
Copyright Date
Info Link
Download Link
Script Type (-1 - use setup file, 0 - Restricted, 1- Trusted)
Version

Version can potentially be used to auto-update installed scripts with the latest version provided by the author. Though that's not in my current plans as it adds a lot of extra stuff in the background. Though I suppose the same could be said for the download link portion. Still more to consider on that side.

Script Type, again for 90% of scripts, will either be 0 or 1. However, if the script contains a resource such as a brush, or vector shape, those will require a setup file be added. This file will have a simple structure to inform us how to install the script, where the script itself should go (restricted or trusted), and which files in the zip should be installed where. This is important as some file types can be put in any one of several folders. I see this most often with Cassel's scripts but she has her own distribution and wouldn't use this system. Still I want to provide for similar situations from other authors.

I do need to keep it simple because I can't design the types of robust systems you see other places. But essentially this would allow for quick finding of various scripts, access to information/documentation on the script, and single click download and installation. And only of freely available scripts. So scripts provided for sale like those from Corel would be excluded, at least from download. I suppose if I added a price field I could include paid for scripts with just a link to their product page and no download link.

[JoeB]

Thanks for the feedback! It sounds like it could be a complicated project to make the script work effectively for different users with different requirements, which is understandable. As such, it also sounds like a project that perhaps you might want to consider pursuing only as more of a project of interest or a hobby/learning project. Then, if/when you are satisfied with it perhaps make it available. But at least you can have fun working with it in the meantime.