I am using the stable release on a daily basis.
I would like to install nightly builds to see what the future holds.
Since the stable release is my main working tool I would not like any thing to interfere with it.
So the question is if it is possible to install the nightly builds in a separate directory without interference to the stable release.
I dont know about a seperate directory, but one could set up a virtual machine for that purpose.
the main problem is that stable and nightly share the same configuration files/folder
In pcbnew some settings are not correctly read when switching from stable to nightly and back (i.e. copper color layers get switched/messed)
One option would be to see if the portable version is usable (this would be the best IMO in Windows)
https://portableapps.com/node/55837
or if you can accept a lack of performance, use one version under a VM as suggested in the post above.
One great option would be if Nightly would use a separate setting folders profile as i.e. Firefox is doing for stable and nightly.
But this should be evaluate by developers
M
Performance will take a hit but you could do a Linux live distro on a USB stick. I have a quad processor machine that is relatively fast but a VM was just way too slow for me. Dual boot would be another option. It depends on just how much you want to see. Best experience would be dual boot though.
One solution is to offer a local install option. You can install a tool in the system area so that anyone logging into the workstation can use the tool. You can also install it under a users home directory so that they are the only one who can run it. You can also install it in a subdirectory so that you can only start it from the command line of a terminal inside that directory. In that case all files are under that directory and cannot influence or be influenced by anything outside of that directory.
IC design environments are called “Sandboxes” for a reason.
John Eaton
Thanks for all the responses - I think I will try the nighties on an old linux machine that I have.
The problem might be that for old (out of date) linux distros nightlies might not be served. (If the old refers to the hardware not the software than you should be ok. As long as your hardware has some opengl support.)
It works - Old IBM T60 Thinkpad (label proudly says it is “designed for windows XP, windows vista compatible”) running Ubuntu 16.04