Software Packaging Formats for Windows? 43
darkdepeche asks: "My department is attempting to standardize on a software packaging format for the majority of our clients (which generally use Windows 2000/XP desktops). I've been very impressed with the .deb/apt system that Debian and some other Linux flavours use, I wonder if any other slashdotters use something similar to this on a Windows platform? Using the traditional Installer is a possibility but the tools are cumbersome and quite expensive. We need something that would handle several hundred applications, hotfixes, service packs, and keep history for them all. Has anyone else worked on a project like this?" InstallShield can be more complex than it needs to be and can be very hard to use. Have any of you come across an installer for Windows that is easy to use, can uninstall whatever has been installed, can manage the registry and also (maybe) have versioning controls similar to what is offered by .dpkg/Apt?
Comment removed (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Nullsoft (SuperPiMP|Scriptable) Install System (Score:2)
Re:lame, quick answer (Score:2)
NSIS! (Score:3, Informative)
The Nullsoft SuperPIMP Install System [nullsoft.com] does three out of four...and it's quite possible that you could script the versioning yourself. Check it out.
Go with a commercial package (Score:2, Interesting)
Installing on Windows is not just a matter of ease. It is also a matter of knowing what works, and what doesn't work on all platforms. Hacking the registry is easy, *knowing when* to hack it is not so easy. InstallShield can be very complex, but it allows great flexibility. WISE is generally easier to use, and generally has what you need.
After seeing countless scripts, I can say that most people (of whose scripts I've seen) do not know what is going on. Luckily they used a tool, or else who knows what sort of damage they would have caused.
Considering a decent tool costs less than one thousand dollars, it is well worth the time you will save learning how to install files. Also, considering the main tools keep up with Microsoft rules (usually) there are less "gotchas" to worry about.
Both WISE and InstallShield have strong userbases. You can easily tap into a lot of knowledge with those tools.
Re:Go with a commercial package (Score:2)
We use WISE Pro at work, and their software is well worth the money. It took me a little bit to figure out how the software works, but you can do almost anything with it.
I've used it for everything from office template installers to complex ibm software packages to quake map installers.
There's a couple of things that I'd like to see added to the software, but I haven't checked out the latest versions either.
Go with Open Source Installer! (Score:2)
ZenWorks (Score:1)
Re:ZenWorks (Score:1)
Ask Slashdot (Score:1, Offtopic)
Three questions today? And all three lame? Geezzz... Ease up on the posting trigger there, hoss!
-Bill
Re:Ask Slashdot (Score:2)
Hmm... I smell money-making opportunity...
--Dan
PS: Just before I hit post, I mentioned this money-making opportunity to a friend of mine, who pointed out that MS has had a product called the Systems Management Server out for about four years now, that will do exactly this - system and application installation and updating. Probably works well too, up until the whole thing goes to hell. Yay for Norton Ghost.
Another installer: Inno Setup (Score:4, Informative)
Of course, it doesn't address versioning or online updating. But any of the systems I've seen seemed proprietary and bound to a particular product--check out Microsoft's Windows Update, for example. It would be nice if someone came up with a complete solution, including a back-end server (or maybe FTP or HTTP based) and a client-side app that was installed along with your app and knew enough about it to do a live update. Plus, of course, an admin tool for the back-end to manage all the bits there.
Re:Another installer: Inno Setup (Score:1)
It's fantastic! I have used InstallShield, WISE, etc, and they are all crap (WISE much less so than others). I had a reasonably complex installer up and running in under 2 hours with Inno Setup!
I love it!
Glad you liked it! (Score:2)
Seconded (Score:2)
Re:Seconded (Score:2)
> frequent releases from a Linux development machine is easy.
Actually, since the full Delphi source code is available, it should be quite possible to port it to Linux using Kylix, resulting in a native installer. I don't know if such an effort is underway, but I wouldn't be surprised.
Um... Microsoft Installer, people! (Score:5, Insightful)
I mean, really. MSI has got what you need. And if you use Visual Studio, then, well, DUH. It lets you remotely install stuff... it helps you manage your installs... it integrates with Terminal Services. Really. It's the Offical Microsoft Answer to RPM. sheesh!
Re:Um... Microsoft Installer, people! (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Um... Microsoft Installer, people! (Score:1)
If I had the option, I would NOT be using the Microsoft package, but I don't get to make the decision. We do have the InstallShield frontend for it, but it seems a bit buggy. Ah well, back to writing automation tools for this stuff.
Tivoli Software Distribution (Score:2)
It even has a "Transactional" system to allow updating of core system files that are locked.
It is also cross-platforms from Windows to Linux to HP-UX to AS400. Pretty much every platform imaginable is supported.
I've been working with it non-stop for the last few weeks and I've been pretty impressed with it.
Oh yeah, and call Maryville Technologies [maryville.com] if you need any help designing and implementing Tivoli infrastructure and packages. *shameless plug*
Ian
Use Commercial Software (Score:1)
Whith SDO you'll be able to distribute to Microsoft OSes,Novell and a bunch of Unix systems has well. The architecture is build around a MS SQL database which will store information on packages, client machines. You'll be able to schedule when you're distribution will occur (thus not killing your network). A neat option that's bundled with the product is called DTO [ca.com]. This option lets your decide which network route will be used to reach the clients. With it you'll be able to say : to reach machine C go thru machine B, not A. This really is cool.
Wise : Not free, but good. (Score:2)
(Used by some open source projects, that's where I saw it first...)
InstallAnywhere (Score:2, Informative)
Simple Internet Version Control Protocol (Score:2)
This makes sense from a managing-customer-expectations view: They likely want a working copy now and they (and you!) don't want to be involved in getting online, finding out it's stale software, long downloads, corrupted downloads, etc. Let the installer install, that's nasty enough.
Many apps offer a menu option that fires off a URL event for update-checking. The web-browser opens up the page and there you are. Some applications are clever and fire off a URL event with the version number already encoded so you get your version-check right away, automatigically answer is there more or not. Others make you look up your own version number and then figure out what your choices are. And some take the opportunity to include the serial number and such "for the record."
An alternative is a polite version checker that (with permission!) automatically checks for updates every so often, say two weeks, or on demand. If there's no new version it quietly shuts down and nobody was disturbed. Or if it was a manual check it gives a nothing-new response. If there is something new it gives a response and supplies a link to the appropriate web-page/download/whatever.
Of course any such transaction should be well documented and easily interpreted so folks know exactly what is being 'phoned home' and don't start getting the willies. This may mean a larger transaction then strictly neccessary but keeping it human-interpretable is likely valuable in a suspicious world.
So with all of that said I'd like to point folks to one existing implementation: Simple Internet Version Control Protocol [utexas.edu]. I've no connection whatsoever with it beyond having a product or two on my machine that use it but it's always seemed to me to be a well-thought-out bit of code and after 7 years of in-production-use likely well-tested. Oh, and I may have met the author years ago (Chris, were you @neu.edu?)
It does version-control, also does anonymous user counts, it's free in all senses, there's code examples, etc. Here's their summary [utexas.edu]:
ZENWorks (Score:1)
Spoon Installer (Score:1)
The link is http://www.dbpoweramp.com/developer-spoon-installe r.htm [dbpoweramp.com]. I hope this helps as I have not seen it mentioned. I was so happy when I ran across it while using dbPowerAmp made by the same person to convert my mp3s to wma for my portable wma player.
Chris
Why not use Software Group Policies? (Score:1)
play around with the software group policies, you can figure out the rest.