There's a lot of large apps in the Beta forums, and it takes longer to both download and install them. The PAUpdater has this problem too, it downloads then installs. This wastes time. Time could be saved by making a progressive web installer, that downloads one zip at a time while extracting them also. This saves time especially on a newer computer, with decent memory but slow internet (like Patrick's PC :P). Just the Data and Other dirs would be included. Then the AppName folder would be downloaded while extracting. That way, you don't take forever to download then forever to install.
Here are some downsides and how to remedy them.
- The space can't be accurately calculated, but it can be added as a define in appinfo.ini
- This would be hard on the update process, but it would be easy to just rename and replace the apps.
Hmm... Maybe just do a single zip and find a plugin that can download and extract when enough is downloaded to start extraction.
Thoughts?
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Only if that isn't a replacement for the current process. I often download on a different machine than I want to install to. I also have multiple drives where the app might be installed. I like the current process where I can download while connected with one machine or another and then install at my leisure, often on another machine. For example, I often download while on a Linux box, put the unopened installer on a archive drive, and install on a external drive connected to a Windows machine.
in this.
The primary one being that extracting will always be faster than downloading !!!
I think in burning a CD this is called underrun or something like that.
The extraction process will always be waiting for more download to catch up.
What about a corrupt download?
What if the internet connection is broken?
What about checking the MD5 check sum?
(can you check the checksum of something that isn't fully downloaded ?)
And then your 1. and 2. above
I see problems with this, sorry.
Tim
Things have got to get better, they can't get worse, or can they?
It only would be effective on things like OO.o
Anyway, though, the PA Updater should definitely incorporate this system as
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You seem to forget that it is not possible to unzip from a partial downloaded zip file. One solution could be to break up the app into different zip files but that's a nasty one to maintain. Besides having even a installer AND a zip file is more work to the maintainers.
And even if we had something like that the time gained would be minimal. (Because you need to download the complete app anyway to be useful. So grab a coffee during download or read the forums or whatever.
And Patrick? Well, he has to have some patience I guess
Yeah, there's other things I can do while I'm downloading.
I don't think it takes too long to install at all. I can wait. 
I dont think its a good idea but I think that the updater should download the next file even if the last one hasnt installed completely (but the should go in the other thread).
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