Re: Suggestion: No more language packs for macOS as they are fundamentally broken

On Sat, May 23, 2020 at 9:32 AM Eivind Samseth <eisa01@gmail.com> wrote:
> Here’s the way you can distribute localizations on macOS
> 1. Include all localizations in the standard download (used by all Apple software, MS Office etc.)
> 2. Offer precompiled .app bundles in the language of choice (used by Firefox)
> 3. Offer language packs as a separate download and installation (used by LO)
>
> What would the standard macOS way be to distribute language packs?
>
> 1 is the standard way and with file system compression it would not use significantly more disk 
> space than today (I’ll have to google to find out how you actually turn it on)
> 2 is also an acceptable choice with one-step install
> 3 is a quirky solution requiring multiple steps, I can’t remember any other app having a similar 
> install option on macOS?

We all agree that the way 3 is done is a hack, not because it is a
separate thing to download, but because it modifies an existing app
bundle after-the-fact.

> As such 1 or 2 would be the preferred option if we were to design the system today, agree?

4) create a real macOS installer package (native macOS installer
program, not a runnable script like the langauge pack "installer"),
similar to the windows msi that allows to customize the installation
and pick the components you want.

ciao
Christian