Node Packaging, Distribution and Installation

Introduction

This page will capture the goals and approach that we will take in distributing the RNode software.  

Goals

• "Feel" is important: our packages and their installation should "feel normal" for users of a particular platform
• On supported Linux Distributions,
  • They should be installed using the distro-specific package manager and use that package manager's dependency management story.

  • We should have systemd services for running the node as a daemon.

• On macOS,

  • We should offer novice users a DMG containing a *.app bundle that can be trivially moved into the "Applications" directory like most applications they are familiar. 

  • We should offer more advanced users a self-contained tarball. 
  • Dependency management is a tricky proposition:
    • it is important for our packages to be self-contained (i.e. have no third-party dependencies that require separate installation). 
    • We should not require a macOS user to install and use any third-party package managers like Homebrew. 
    • Similarly, we should avoid them needing to install a particular version of the JDK/JRE, especially if we are not compatible with recent JDKs.
• On Windows
  • We should offer novice users a self-contained *.exe that can be trivially run from any directory.
  • We should offer more advanced users a self-contained tarball. 
  • Like macOS, dependency management is a tricky proposition. 
    • It is important for our packages to be self-contained (i.e. have no third-party dependencies that require separate installation). 
    • We should not require a Windows user to install and use any third-party package managers like Choclatey. 
    • Similarly, we should avoid them needing to install a particular version of the JDK/JRE, especially if we are not compatible with recent JDKs.