[Piskvorrr]

When I need to install something on Windows (be it drivers or apps), I keep marvelling: the process has remained identically crude for two decades, all the way since Win95: download some executable from any old website, no verification possible (yeah, there's a MD5 hash - on that same website), and hope it won't screw up the system (or at least not too much; btw there's no clean way to uninstall). Repeat step for step for every package, manually clicking through ten steps in the executable (where the only one that actually matters is the license - when was the last time you wanted to install somewhere else than C:\Program Files?).

Don't even think about "give me this, this, this, and this; check that it is the right version from a trusted source; make it so!" (PortableApps can do that, so it's demonstrably possible, even on Windows)

Progress? We don't need no steenking progress! Package managers are for lusers who prefer clicky GUIs over Glorious Hard Work and spelunking in the dark corners of the net! (How that ever got pushed as user-friendly?)

[StevePerkins]

What you're describing is either:

1. Chocolately (https://chocolatey.org/), which most people don't know about, or

2. The Windows Store, which I hope never catches on.

[reitoei]

You need Chocolatey in your life: https://chocolatey.org

It's great if you're forced to used Windows as your development machine.

[dagw]

And soon Chocolatey will be seamlessly integrated with Windows 10 Package Management tools

[J_Darnley]

How is installing on linux any different when your One True Package Manager does not provide what you need? Usually it is "here use this third-party repository which is just some guy providing executables" or "build from source".

What's worse is when your One True Package Manager creates a broken package because the packager has no clue what they are doing. Debian and SSH ring any bells? Would using an exe provided by the developers have that problem?

[Piskvorrr]

Ah, the "but Linux sucks too" tactic! Of course it does, so does everything. In the past 10 years, I had to build from source about 50 times, and had 2 broken packages - while installing thousands (plus dependencies, not counting that). Not perfect - but way better than hunting for each and every single one.

[dagw]

Well Windows 10 finally includes all the tools for package management out of the box. Now they just have to convince people to use them.

[garaetjjte]

AFAIK not for Win32 apps.

[dagw]

Out of the box PackageManager should support anything that can be packaged as an .msi file and it lets you write plug-ins to handle just about any other type of method for packaging and distributing apps.

At the moment it's however largely a case of Microsoft quietly developing a quite powerful tool and then going out of their way to not tell anybody about it. Microsoft has also not shown any interest in developing and supporting their own general software repo (I guess they don't want to compete with their app store). So we've basically got to wait for third party developers to fill the cap. Fortunately the people behind chocolaty are working on this and have said they'll have something ready by Summer 2016.

[Piskvorrr]

Wonderful!