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Installation (computer programs)
 
 
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Installation (or setup) of a program
Computer program

Computer programs are Instruction for a computer. A computer requires programs to function. Moreover, a computer program does not run unless its instructions are executed by a Central processing unit; however, a program may communicate an Algorithm#Formalization of algorithms to people without running....
 (including driver
Device driver

In computing, a device driver or software driver is a computer program allowing higher-level computer programs to interact with a hardware device....
s) is the act and the effect of putting the program in a computer system so that it can be executed.

Most programs are supplied in a condensed form intended for sale and distribution. In order to be used, they must be 'unpacked' and the relevant information placed correctly on the computer, taking account of variations between computers, and any customized settings required by the user.






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Installation (or setup) of a program
Computer program

Computer programs are Instruction for a computer. A computer requires programs to function. Moreover, a computer program does not run unless its instructions are executed by a Central processing unit; however, a program may communicate an Algorithm#Formalization of algorithms to people without running....
 (including driver
Device driver

In computing, a device driver or software driver is a computer program allowing higher-level computer programs to interact with a hardware device....
s) is the act and the effect of putting the program in a computer system so that it can be executed.

Most programs are supplied in a condensed form intended for sale and distribution. In order to be used, they must be 'unpacked' and the relevant information placed correctly on the computer, taking account of variations between computers, and any customized settings required by the user. During installation, various tests are made of system suitability, and the computer is configured
Computer configuration

In information systems or computer systems, a configuration is an arrangement of functional units according to their nature, number, and chief characteristics....
 to store the relevant files
Computer file

A computer file is a block of arbitrary information, or resource for storing information, which is available to a computer program and is usually based on some kind of durable computer storage....
 and any necessary settings required for that program to operate correctly.

Because the requisite process varies for each program and each computer, many programs (including operating system
Operating system

An operating system is an interface between hardware and applications; it is responsible for the management and coordination of activities and the sharing of the limited resources of the computer....
s) come with a general-purpose or dedicated installer – a specialized program which automates most of the work required for their installation.

Some software is designed to be installed simply by copying their files to the desired location, and there is no formal installation process. This was once usual for many programs of MS-DOS
MS-DOS

MS-DOS is an operating system commercialized by Microsoft. It was the most commonly used member of the DOS family of operating systems and was the main operating system for personal computers during the 1980s....
, Mac OS
Mac OS

Mac OS is the trademarked name for a series of graphical user interface-based operating systems developed by Apple Inc. for their Macintosh line of computer systems....
, Atari TOS
Atari TOS

The Operating System is the operating system of the Atari Atari ST range of computers. This range includes the 520ST, 1040ST and the F, FM and E variations ....
, AmigaOS
AmigaOS

AmigaOS is the default native operating system of the Amiga personal computer. It was developed first by Commodore International, and initially introduced in 1985 with the Amiga 1000....
 since early versions of these operating systems and actually it is very common and "de facto" standard in Mac OS X
Mac OS X

Mac OS X is a line of computer operating systems developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc., and since 2002 has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems....
 applications
Application software

Application software is any tool that functions and is operated by means of a computer, with the purpose of supporting or improving the software user 's work....
 and is also used for many Windows
Microsoft Windows

Microsoft Windows is a series of software operating systems and graphical user interfaces produced by Microsoft. Microsoft first introduced an operating environment named Windows in November 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces ....
 applications
Application software

Application software is any tool that functions and is operated by means of a computer, with the purpose of supporting or improving the software user 's work....
. Operating systems also exist which don't require installation, and can therefore be run directly from a bootable CD, DVD, or USB drive, without affecting other operating systems installed on the machine. An example is AmigaOS
AmigaOS

AmigaOS is the default native operating system of the Amiga personal computer. It was developed first by Commodore International, and initially introduced in 1985 with the Amiga 1000....
 4.0, Knoppix Linux
Knoppix

Knoppix, or KNOPPIX , is an operating system based on Debian designed to be run directly from a Compact Disc / DVD, one of the first of its kind for any operating system....
, MorphOS
MorphOS

MorphOS is a computer operating system . It is a mixed proprietary software and open source OS produced for the Pegasos PowerPC -processor-based computer, most models of PPC-accelerator-equipped Amiga computers, and a series of Freescale development boards that use the Genesi Firmware, including the EFIKA and mobileGT....
 AmigaOS clone, or Mac OS 1-9.

The term then naturally extends to plugin
Plugin

In computing, a plug-in consists of a computer program that interacts with a host application software to provide a certain, usually very specific, function "on demand"....
s, device driver
Device driver

In computing, a device driver or software driver is a computer program allowing higher-level computer programs to interact with a hardware device....
s and software files which are not by themselves programs.

Common operations performed during software installations include creation or modification of:

  • Shared and non-shared program file
    Computer file

    A computer file is a block of arbitrary information, or resource for storing information, which is available to a computer program and is usually based on some kind of durable computer storage....
    s
  • Folder
    Directory (file systems)

    In computing, a directory, folder, catalog, or drawer is a virtual container within a digital file system, in which groups of files and other directories can be kept and organized....
    s/directories
    Directory (file systems)

    In computing, a directory, folder, catalog, or drawer is a virtual container within a digital file system, in which groups of files and other directories can be kept and organized....
  • Windows registry
    Windows registry

    The Windows Registry is a directory which stores settings and options for Microsoft Windows operating systems. It contains information and settings for all the hardware, operating system software, most non-operating system software, and per-user settings....
     entries (Windows only)
  • Configuration file
    Configuration file

    In computing, configuration Computer files, or config files, are used to configure the initial settings for some computer programs. They are used for user application software, Server and operating system settings....
     entries
  • Environment variables
  • Links or shortcuts
    Computer shortcut

    A computer shortcut is a small file containing a target URI or the name of a target program file that the shortcut represents. The shortcut might additionally specify command-line argument to be passed to the target program when it is run....


Some jargon expressions


Silent installation
Installation that does not display messages or windows during its progress. "Silent installation" is not a synonym of "unattended installation", though it is often improperly used as such.


Unattended installation
Installation that is performed without user interaction during its progress or, in a stricter sense, with no user present at all, except eventually for the initial launch of the process. An installation process usually requires a user who "attends" it to make choices at request: accepting an EULA, specifying preferences and passwords, etc. In graphical environments, installers that offer a wizard-based interface
Wizard (software)

A wizard is a user interface element where the end-user is presented with a sequence of dialog box. Through these dialog boxes, the user is led through a series of steps, performing tasks in a specific sequence....
 are common. However these installers may also provide command line switches that allow performing unattended installations. Some unattended installation can be driven by a script providing answers to the various choices such as the answer file which can be used when installing Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows

Microsoft Windows is a series of software operating systems and graphical user interfaces produced by Microsoft. Microsoft first introduced an operating environment named Windows in November 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces ....
 on a large number of machines.


Self installation
Unattended installation, without the need of initial launch of the process (i.e. Vodafone Mobile Connect USB Modem or Huawei E220
Huawei E220

The Huawei E220 is a Huawei HSDPA access device manufactured by Huawei and notable for using the USB interface .Technically it is a modem, USB and virtual CD-ROM device....
's Mobile Partner software that self-installs from the USB port).


Headless installation
Installation performed without using a monitor connected to the destination computer (in particular, on a computer with no video output at all). This can be an (attended) installation performed from another machine connected via LAN
Local area network

A local area network is a computer network covering a small physical area, like a home, office, or small group of buildings, such as a school, or an airport....
 or via a serial cable
Serial cable

A serial cable is a cable that can be used to transfer information between two devices using serial communication, often using the RS-232 standard....
.


Unattended and headless installations are common tasks for system administrator
System administrator

A system administrator, systems administrator, or sysadmin, is a person employed to maintain and operate a computer system and/or computer network....
s.


Clean installation
Given the complexity of a typical installation there are many factors that may interfere with its successful completion. In particular files that are leftover from old installations of the same program or an unstable situation of the operating system may all act to prevent a given program from installing and working correctly. An installation performed in absence of such interfering factors (which may vary from program to program) is called a clean installation. In particular, a clean operating system installation can be performed by formatting its destination partition before the actual installation process.


Flat installation
An installation of a program performed from a copy (called a flat copy) of its original media contents (mostly CDs or DVDs) to a hard drive, rather than directly from the media. This may help in some situations where the target machine isn't able to cope with random access reads from CD/DVD at the same time as performing the CPU-intensive tasks often required by an installation.


Virtual installation
AmigaOS
AmigaOS

AmigaOS is the default native operating system of the Amiga personal computer. It was developed first by Commodore International, and initially introduced in 1985 with the Amiga 1000....
 features a centalized standard installation utility called Installer since version 2.0 in 1991. It is driven by a LISP
Lisp

A lisp is a speech impediment, historically also known as sigmatism. Stereotypically, people with a lisp are unable to pronounce sibilants , and replace them with Interdental consonants , though there are actually several kinds of lisps....
 language interpreter, and users have the faculty of editing the installation scripts as these are plain text files. Installer also features the unsurpassed chance for users to perform virtual installations and verify any possible problem before committing the real installation.


Installer

An installation program or installer is a computer program that installs files, such as applications, drivers, or other software, onto a computer. Some installers are specifically made to install the files they contain; other installers are general-purpose and work by reading the contents of the software package
Software package (installation)

A software package refers to computer software packaged in an archive format to be installed by a package management system or a self-sufficient Installation ....
 to be installed.

The differences between a package management system
Package management system

A package management system is a collection of tools to automate the process of installing, upgrading, configuring, and removing Software package from a computer....
 and an installer are:

Bootstrapper

During the installation of computer programs it is sometimes necessary to update the installer or package manager itself. To make this possible, a technique called bootstrapping
Bootstrapping

Bootstrapping or booting refers to a group of metaphors that share a common meaning, a self-sustaining process that proceeds without external help....
 is used. The common pattern for this is to use a small executable file (e.g. setup.exe) which updates the installer and starts the real installation after the update. This small executable is called bootstrapper. Sometimes the bootstrapper installs other prerequisites for the software during the bootstrapping process too.

Common installers

A currently popular format for Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows

Microsoft Windows is a series of software operating systems and graphical user interfaces produced by Microsoft. Microsoft first introduced an operating environment named Windows in November 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces ....
 is the MSI installation package, which is installed by Windows Installer
Windows Installer

The Windows Installer is an engine for the installation, maintenance, and removal of software on modern Microsoft Windows systems. The installation information, and often the files themselves, are packaged in installation packages, loosely relational databases structured as Object linking and embedding Structured Storages and commonly...
. Companies making tools for creating installers for Windows include InstallShield
InstallShield

InstallShield is a software tool for creating installers or Software package . InstallShield was also the name of the company that originally created it, until it was acquired by Macrovision in 2004....
, Macrovision's InstallAnywhere
InstallAnywhere

InstallAnywhere is a Java -based software tool for creating installers or Software package , for multiple platforms. InstallAnywhere was originally made by Zero G Software until it was acquired by Macrovision in mid-June 2005....
, Wise
Wise Solutions, Inc.

Wise Solutions, Inc. is an American company that makes software tools for creating application installers. Their primary product, Wise was one of the most widely used installation packages for Windows....
, Smart Install Maker and ScriptLogic Corporation
Scriptlogic

ScriptLogic Corporation is a software manufacturer of Computer network administration products for Microsoft Windows-based networks. ScriptLogic?s suite of Desktop computer, Server , and Active Directory management products allow network administrators to remotely manage network-connected desktop PCs and servers to assure uniformity of networ...
 (Formerly MaSaI Solutions). Most of these tools can create MSI packages as well as their own proprietary
Proprietary software

Proprietary software is a term coined by advocates of the free software movement to describe computer software which is the legal property of one party....
 executable
Executable

In computing, an executable causes a computer "to perform indicated tasks according to encoded instruction ," as opposed to a file that only contains data ....
s.

Free alternatives include NSIS, Clickteam
Clickteam

Clickteam is a software company that was founded in 1999 by Fran?ois Lionet,Yves Lamoureux and Francis Poulain that is perhaps best known for creating a Scripting programming language-free programming tool that allows its users to create video games or other interactive software using a range of GUI tools....
, InnoSetup and a tool from Microsoft called WiX
WiX

The Windows Installer XML toolset , is a free software toolset that builds Windows Installer packages from an XML document. It supports a command-line environment that developers may integrate into their build processes to build MSI and MSM setup packages....
. Java
Java (programming language)

Java is a programming language originally developed by James Gosling at Sun Microsystems and released in 1995 as a core component of Sun Microsystems' Java ....
 projects will also be interested in the open source IzPack
IzPack

IzPack is an open source software installer generator that targets the Java platform.It generates installers that fit in single JAR archives....
 which allows generation of cross-platform installers.

Mac OS X has an application called Installer
Installer (Mac OS X)

Installer is an application included in Mac OS X which extracts and installs files out of .pkg Software package . It was created by NeXT, and is now maintained by Apple Inc....
 bundled with it. However, this is not technically an installer (see table above), but a Package Manager. Some commercial applications for Mac OS X use a custom installer, often Installer VISE
Installer VISE

Installer VISE is an installer maker that supports Mac OS 9, Mac OS X, and Microsoft Windows by MindVision Software. Originally created Mac-only, it was one of the most popular installer makers for the platform, now surpassed by Installer ....
 or Stuffit
StuffIt

StuffIt is a family of computer software utilities for archiving and compressing computer file on the Macintosh and Microsoft Windows platforms: it was originally produced for the Macintosh....
 InstallerMaker. Applications that do not need to install additional system components can be installed by moving the application files to a desired location on a hard drive; this is known as drag-and-drop installation and no installer software is needed. Mac OS X also includes a separate software updating application, Software Update (also known by its shell command, softwareupdate) but only supports Apple and system software.

An installation program on a CD
Compact Disc

A Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store Data , originally developed for storing digital audio. The CD, available on the market since October 1982, remains the standard physical medium for sale of commercial Sound recording and reproduction to the present day....
 is often designed to run automatically
Autorun

AutoRun and the companion feature AutoPlay are components of the Microsoft Windows operating system that dictate what actions the system takes when a drive is Mount ....
 when inserted into the optical disc drive.

As a compromise between the Windows installer concept and the package management system
Package management system

A package management system is a collection of tools to automate the process of installing, upgrading, configuring, and removing Software package from a computer....
s of UNIX-like systems, Windows installation management systems exist. Many of these form a part of systems management
Systems management

Systems management refers to enterprise-wide System administration of distributed Computer system. Systems management is strongly influenced by network management initiatives in telecommunications....
 software, and (in some cases open source) alternatives exist to these. On the other hand, Nixstaller is a tool to easily make installers for Unix-like systems.

See also


  • Uninstaller
    Uninstaller

    A uninstaller or deinstaller is a computer program which is designed to remove all or parts of a specific other program or Application software....
  • Software distribution
    Software distribution

    A software distribution, also referred to as a software distro, is a bundle of a specific software , already compiled and configured. It is generally the closest thing to a turnkey form of a usually GNU General Public License, free software source code for a software....
  • Package management system
    Package management system

    A package management system is a collection of tools to automate the process of installing, upgrading, configuring, and removing Software package from a computer....
  • Application virtualization
    Application Virtualization

    Application virtualization is an umbrella term that describes software technologies that improve portability, manageability and compatibility of Application software by encapsulating them from the underlying operating system on which they are executed....
  • School of Computer Science, Wikiversity


External links