kweatherhead
10-03-2007, 01:29 PM
Greetings,
I realize that if 100 people discuss this, there will be at least 80 different answers, however I would hope that there could be an agreed upon, "general", standard to use, as a starting point.
What I am looking for is a "somewhat" detailed overview in an outline format (HowTo) for designing an installer, with regards to the order of doing things, for more than installing 1 EXE and a desktop icon. An outline of items, that would be in a "generally" expected sequence for a moderately complex installer, handling more than one module.
I understand that each project is different, but some of you here must have a basic approach that you use over and over again that address these issues and if you would be willing to share your recipe, it would be very much appreciated.
For example:
1 Upon Start-Up, verify OS and hardware, if necessary
a) Check OS Version, and Patch Level requirements
b) Check for Processor Family, if applicable
c) Check for RAM requirements, if applicable
d) Check for Minimum OS drive space for libraries that need to be put there
2 Check for Installer Security
a) Is installer still valid, not expired date wise
b) Is installer still valid, number of installs
c) Request S/N for a locked installer
3 Opening Screen
4 Check if a previous version exists?
a) Check Registry
b) Check Hard Drive, default location(s)
5 Determine if RunTime Environments exist
a) Dependentcies module validations
b) Other external program requirements
6 Ask User What they want installed
7 New Install or Update
(note: at this point I would expect different trails to exist, based on what type of operation you are doing.)
.
.
.
# install files...
# make registry adjustments
# display README
# cleanup and Exit !
etc...
While here on this subject, an outline... structure to handle updates and other maintenance, too.
Regards,
Keith
I realize that if 100 people discuss this, there will be at least 80 different answers, however I would hope that there could be an agreed upon, "general", standard to use, as a starting point.
What I am looking for is a "somewhat" detailed overview in an outline format (HowTo) for designing an installer, with regards to the order of doing things, for more than installing 1 EXE and a desktop icon. An outline of items, that would be in a "generally" expected sequence for a moderately complex installer, handling more than one module.
I understand that each project is different, but some of you here must have a basic approach that you use over and over again that address these issues and if you would be willing to share your recipe, it would be very much appreciated.
For example:
1 Upon Start-Up, verify OS and hardware, if necessary
a) Check OS Version, and Patch Level requirements
b) Check for Processor Family, if applicable
c) Check for RAM requirements, if applicable
d) Check for Minimum OS drive space for libraries that need to be put there
2 Check for Installer Security
a) Is installer still valid, not expired date wise
b) Is installer still valid, number of installs
c) Request S/N for a locked installer
3 Opening Screen
4 Check if a previous version exists?
a) Check Registry
b) Check Hard Drive, default location(s)
5 Determine if RunTime Environments exist
a) Dependentcies module validations
b) Other external program requirements
6 Ask User What they want installed
7 New Install or Update
(note: at this point I would expect different trails to exist, based on what type of operation you are doing.)
.
.
.
# install files...
# make registry adjustments
# display README
# cleanup and Exit !
etc...
While here on this subject, an outline... structure to handle updates and other maintenance, too.
Regards,
Keith