Re: Cross platform installer
Re: Cross platform installer
- Subject: Re: Cross platform installer
- From: Steve Israelson <email@hidden>
- Date: Wed, 20 Jun 2007 13:25:31 -0700
Well, a simple installer to merely copy some files is only a day of
work, but yes, there are many potential complications.
I see that "IFPkgFlagAltSourceLocation" is not documented but has
some people commenting on how it works, and Apple seems to use it.
So, the next course of action is to attempt to make an installer
using PackageMaker and create a script to copy the extra files and
also a plug-in to ask for a location for the extra files. And then
just see how this works out. If it does not, then roll my own.
Thanks for the input.
Maybe a solution could be to:
Use a Metapackage containing 2 packages:
Package A: it contains your application. Standard package, no magic
involved.
Package B: it contains no .pax. It used the undocumented
"IFPkgFlagAltSourceLocation" flag.
As I've never used the "IFPkgFlagAltSourceLocation", I can't
confirm that it will work.
If not, then I may resort to writing my own installer since I will
be in full control of the install process then. Are there any
gotchas with making your own installer?
By gotchas, do you mean something like:
- bugs
- security flaws
- files being deleted
- not being able to blame someone else for the first 3 items on
this list.
On 20-Jun-07, at 12:38 PM, Mike wrote:
If you think you can write an installer in a day you are dreaming.
It's going to take several weeks.
You also want to use Apple's installer so that your users have a
consistent install experience.
Installer will set a message saying it is running the post install
script.
To allow the user to determine where to copy files you will need to
write a custom installer plugin using Cocoa.
I suggest you read Software Delivery Guide on the ADC website to
get familiar with all the issues before you attempt this undertaking.
Mike
Steve Israelson wrote:
Well, if I could write an installer in a day, or spend a day
fiddling with Apple's installer....
These data files are big, and it seems the post install script
doesn't have a progress bar or any other indication it is being run.
Also, how do I let the user choose where to install these data files?
On 20-Jun-07, at 12:16 PM, Mike wrote:
Making your own installer is a waste of time.
What is wrong with writing a postinstall script to copy the files
to their destinations? That is what shell scripting is for.
Alternately you could write an AppleScript to do it or write your
own custom installer plugin in Cocoa to copy the files but that
is a bit overkill.
A custom shell script is your best bet.
Mike
Steve Israelson wrote:
I am trying to determine if PackageMaker can create a package
that can install my application and also its data files where
the data files are not in the package but are on the install
disk in an external directory. I want to do this so that the
Windows installer can also access these data files.
The install is very simple, just the App, data files, and one
defaults tweak to point at the data files.
I saw a couple of threads on this subject and there was no good
solution other that to write your own shell script to copy the
files.
My deployment target is 10.3.9 or later.
Has there been any other solutions found to this issue?
If not, then I may resort to writing my own installer since I
will be in full control of the install process then. Are there
any gotchas with making your own installer?
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