March 2009 - Installer-dev - lists.apple.com

Re: PackageMaker crashes when building from command line
by Christian Unger 11 Mar '09

11 Mar '09

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PackageMaker crashes when building from command line
by Paul Walmsley 11 Mar '09

11 Mar '09

site_archiver(a)lists.apple.com Delivered-To: installer-dev(a)lists.apple.com User-agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 6.0; en-GB; rv:1.8.1.19) Gecko/20081209 Thunderbird/2.0.0.19 Mnenhy/0.7.5.0 2009-03-11 17:44:37.266 packagemaker[20639:10b] Setting to : 0 (null) 2009-03-11 17:44:37.280 packagemaker[20639:10b] Setting to : 0 com.sibelius.licenceserverv6 2009-03-11 17:44:37.281 packagemaker[20639:10b] Setting to : 0 com.sibelius.licenceserverv6 2009-03-11 17:44:37.283 packagemaker[20639:10b] relocate: (null) 0 2009-03-11 17:44:37.284 packagemaker[20639:10b] ERROR: mkdtemp failed for template /Users/pwalmsley/Source/trunk/Source/Projects/LicenceServer/../../Build/Release/Sibelius 6 Licence Server.pkg/pkmk.XXXXX, check permissions 2009-03-11 17:44:37.657 packagemaker[20639:10b] *** Terminating app due to uncaught exception 'NSInvalidArgumentException', reason: '*** -[NSCFArray insertObject:atIndex:]: attempt to insert nil' 2009-03-11 17:44:37.657 packagemaker[20639:10b] Stack: ( 2465501451, 2449317435, 2465500907, 2465500970, 2444103216, 2443178708, 2443178468, 491327, 264479, 211065, 209838, 201181, 201051, 256858, 197029, 436324, 435510, 9986, 9918 ) MacInstaller/assemble_mac_installer.sh: line 49: 20639 Trace/BPT trap /Developer/usr/bin/packagemaker -v --doc "${INSRCDIR}/Sibelius Licence Server.pmdoc" -p "${PKG_OUT}" -i com.sibelius.licenceserverv6 cheers Paul _______________________________________________ Do not post admin requests to the list. They will be ignored. Installer-dev mailing list (Installer-dev(a)lists.apple.com) Help/Unsubscribe/Update your Subscription: http://lists.apple.com/mailman/options/installer-dev/site_archiver%40lists.… We have a crash when trying to build a package from the command line with packagemaker: If I try to build this same pmdoc file from the PackageMaker GUI then it completes without any errors or warnings. I've tried the suggestions at http://search.lists.apple.com/?q=NSInvalidArgumentException&cmd=Search!&ul=… such as using the explicit path to the PackageMaker binary but that yields the same error. Any idea how I can go about working out what's happening here? This email sent to site_archiver(a)lists.apple.com

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Re: Any recommended resources for learning Mac packaging?
by Paul Cook 10 Mar '09

10 Mar '09

site_archiver(a)lists.apple.com Delivered-To: installer-dev(a)lists.apple.com Best Wishes, Paul On Mar 10, 2009, at 6:37 PM, Iceberg-Dev wrote: On Mar 10, 2009, at 6:49 PM, Paul Cook wrote: I'd be interested in two different kinds of books. A good tutorial so that I can learn JavaScript. A good reference so that I can look up answers to questions. Best Wishes, For the moment, I'm using this reference: http://www.w3schools.com/js/js_examples.asp _______________________________________________ Do not post admin requests to the list. They will be ignored. Installer-dev mailing list (Installer-dev(a)lists.apple.com) Help/Unsubscribe/Update your Subscription: http://lists.apple.com/mailman/options/installer-dev/site_archiver%40lists.… Thanks much, it looks good enough that I should probably share it with the list. Paul This email sent to site_archiver(a)lists.apple.com

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Re: Strange behaviour with defaults read in install script
by Iceberg-Dev 10 Mar '09

10 Mar '09

site_archiver(a)lists.apple.com Delivered-To: installer-dev(a)lists.apple.com Dkim-signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=gmail.com; s=gamma; h=domainkey-signature:received:received:in-reply-to:references :mime-version:content-type:message-id:cc:content-transfer-encoding :from:subject:date:to:x-mailer; bh=Y6lQgAlRPLHiIKtbAOyCeNaqBidusN9g/vJQCeUTIf8=; b=r7ZjqP0q+RDHKtub7QHK4Lx4ae45QE1JD6EUXh1H9Q/0isi6msMLKEl+meYNJ6FZXr x4yY8HDkQMH8OFOY6raiQju1kLi/GLbOY8hgvXCCOG71i+xCPOd7V6M5L3pYJm2ZMhdb iAVmw+zkekKT/LqcIccDm00+azzfFXmgdwKqc= Domainkey-signature: a=rsa-sha1; c=nofws; d=gmail.com; s=gamma; h=in-reply-to:references:mime-version:content-type:message-id:cc :content-transfer-encoding:from:subject:date:to:x-mailer; b=FfHIzdKlVpLtXyuSP/5a1nSpCiPfXP9WJ7PFz7b23fynLG/4NlD77cWveEuB61febw bKv0TD16s3lTJr5BiBxRjACjkrtPtdj2SKDNGKCeWjDw7MmTPePxJtcgNERzr6391P+6 Tt4+PK2SUQ1GYk3555rNb8bZw1HQM554BPpK8= On Mar 10, 2009, at 11:27 AM, Glover,David wrote: Hi, thanks for all the useful info. Stupid idea: ------------ The idea behind this is to rely on the *.lproj folder. Of course, this would only work with a manual installation. Other idea: ----------- I've got a distribution package which contains a number of localized packages - I'm trying to find out how I can determine the current language of the machine, and select the corresponding localized package for install by default. I haven't been able to find a decent way of doing this with javascript in my .dist file, so I'm looking into using 'system.defaults....' It would be great if there was an easier way of getting this info! :o) When this kind of question happens on the Cocoa mailing-list, the usual answer is that you should not try to figure out what the current language is but let the OS find it. In your case, you may consider writing a quick Cocoa app that has one *.lproj folder per localization. Use the NSBundle APIs to get the path to your package - [NSBundle pathForResource: ofType:] and then open it with NSWorkspace. If you need a distribution script, as long as you're not using a flat package, you would be able to change the contents of the distribution script without too much effort. Use an Installer plugin to find the info and save it to a file that you can later use to change the choices state. _______________________________________________ Do not post admin requests to the list. They will be ignored. Installer-dev mailing list (Installer-dev(a)lists.apple.com) Help/Unsubscribe/Update your Subscription: http://lists.apple.com/mailman/options/installer-dev/site_archiver%40lists.… This email sent to site_archiver(a)lists.apple.com

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Re: Any recommended resources for learning Mac packaging?
by Paul Cook 10 Mar '09

10 Mar '09

site_archiver(a)lists.apple.com Delivered-To: installer-dev(a)lists.apple.com This list is certainly high on the list of useful resources. Best Wishes, Paul On Mar 9, 2009, at 12:09 PM, Taylor Armstrong wrote: thanks, Taylor Armstrong -- _______________________________________________ Do not post admin requests to the list. They will be ignored. Installer-dev mailing list (Installer-dev(a)lists.apple.com) Help/Unsubscribe/Update your Subscription: http://lists.apple.com/mailman/options/installer-dev/site_archiver%40lists.… I still consider myself new at this, so that may influence the utility of my advice for you. Following are some of the resources that I found helpful. Documents While the Apple documentation could be better, I found it quite helpful non-the-less. Look for and download the following pdf documents: SoftwareDeliveryGuide.pdf, PackageMaker_UserGuide.pdf and InstallerJavaScriptRef.pdf. I found "Unix for Mac OS X Tiger" by Matisse Enzer, to be helpful in learning basic shell scripting, which I did not know when I started. While it is targeted at Tiger, not Leopard, I still found it quite useful as, except for NetInfo, much of what I needed to know is basic and unchanged.(Need to find a similarly good tutorial on Perl and JavaScript.) Much of my package making was focused on repackaging existing software for distribution via NetInstall and Apple Remote Desktop. So that has biased my answers. Programs I found loggen and fseventer to be immensely helpful for identifying what got installed where. LogGen was great if you wanted to repackage a big program or you needed to do it on Tiger or before. If you wanted to find out what files got changed by a change to a system preference or other small change, then fseventer was wonderful. I also found the mac utility "secrets" to be helpful for figuring out where some preferences might be stored. For futzing around with otherwise hidden files and folders, it can be handy to have a single click utility that makes them all visible. I used a utility called "Hidden Way" but there are others. I didn't want to break my normal Mac, so I elected to use a second computer for package creation and testing. While a MacPro would have been nice, my budget didn't allow for it. So I went with a MacMini. For testing my packages, I found it handy to have a very large internal disk that was partitioned into volumes just large enough for package creation and testing, plus one partition to store my work-in- progress. I would create a template partition with the OS, tools and software that I wanted and would then clone it to other partitions. You can do this with Disk Utilities' Restore functionality or a number of third party utilities. (Carbon Copy Cloner, SuperDuper, etc) Once you have done your testing, to restore a partition back to its clean state, you can again use Disk Utility's Restore. But if you want to save time, I found a copy of SuperDuper to be immensely useful. I don't remember the exact terminology, but instead of having to erase the partition and copy everything, you can undo just the changes. This is an adaptation of SuperDuper's ability to do an incremental backup. What you essentially do, is an incremental backup of your clean template to the dirty test partition, erasing and replacing everything on the test partition that is different. I found Viou handy for making folder icons, where there were none, but I thought there should be. (Although, I tweaked its default settings to get something more to my liking.) Your experience may vary, but with package making, I found it best to have the permissions actually the way that I wanted them on the files, as opposed to using PackageMaker to change them. I played with batchmod, iRepair and sandbox to do this, but didn't find any of them to be perfect and often found my self typing "chmod" commands at the terminal. I don't find the terminal the nicest place to read man pages, so I used ManOpen and Man Viewer. For editing shell scripts, you will want a good text editor. Personal preferences certainly differ here. But I purchased BBEdit. It has a free sibling by the name of TextWrangler. Because, I was sometimes making packages to replicate system configurations, I often found it handy to login as root. But I tested everything as a normal user. I hope that some of this is helpful to you or some other person new to package making as I was and still am. Just curious... I'm taking on a new role soon, and my packaging responsibilities should increase. I've been creating basic packages using InstallEase, PackageMaker, and Iceberg, but am curious if there are any good resources for learning more advanced processes. I'll probably have a small window to ask for training materials and resources, but I've not seen much out there in the little bit that I've looked. This email sent to site_archiver(a)lists.apple.com

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RE: Strange behaviour with defaults read in install script
by Glover,David 10 Mar '09

10 Mar '09

site_archiver(a)lists.apple.com Delivered-To: installer-dev(a)lists.apple.com Thread-index: Acmg5rwisxkTyVV1QfSHeW05I6/oWQAgomrg Thread-topic: Strange behaviour with defaults read in install script Hi, thanks for all the useful info. I've got a distribution package which contains a number of localized packages - I'm trying to find out how I can determine the current language of the machine, and select the corresponding localized package for install by default. I haven't been able to find a decent way of doing this with javascript in my .dist file, so I'm looking into using 'system.defaults....' It would be great if there was an easier way of getting this info! :o) -----Original Message----- From: Nigel Kersten [mailto:nigel@explanatorygap.net] Sent: 09 March 2009 18:42 To: Bill Coderre Cc: Glover,David; Installer-Dev mailing-list Subject: Re: Strange behaviour with defaults read in install script On Mon, Mar 9, 2009 at 11:24 AM, Bill Coderre <bc(a)apple.com> wrote: > BEFORE the user clicks "Install," anything the installer does is run as the > console user. > AFTER that, for most installs, anything the installer does is run as root. > (ie. if the installer requires an admin password) > The environment variable USER is set to the console user short user name, so > you probably want to do > > su $USER -c "defaults read -g AppleLocale" Actually you probably *don't* as relying upon $USER in the environment will break your package for all remote deployments via ARD, ssh/root, or just about any large package deployment system. Is this the right setting? It shows up as English for me... defaults read /Library/Preferences/.GlobalPreferences AppleLanguages and doesn't rely upon any user environments. > > to get the favorite language. > Now, if you are trying to install, say, just one language, that's not > standard. Mac OS X installers typically install all the languages, and the > few users that are concerned can run a utility to get rid of unused > languages (Monolingual is one). > If you want to get a language to show the user some text during install: > 1) Please try to do all your interaction before the user clicks install > 2) if you can't do that, do > > su $USER -c "whatever_command arguments" > > On Mar 9, 2009, at 10:09 AM, Glover,David wrote: > > I'm trying out a few different things to retrieve the default language > the machine is running in. > > What is really strange is that this works ok in a script... > > defaults read -g AppleLocale > > But that's not perfect as it's the language I'm trying to retrieve > rather than the locale. By getting AppleLanguages, I can get the first > language in the list. > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Karl Kuehn [mailto:kuehn.karl@gmail.com] > Sent: 09 March 2009 17:00 > To: Glover,David > Cc: Installer-Dev mailing-list > Subject: Re: Strange behaviour with defaults read in install script > > On Mar 9, 2009, at 9:45 AM, Glover,David wrote: > > I'm using a preinstall script to read the available languages on the > > machine as follows; > > defaults read -g AppleLanguages > > This is fine via a Terminal command, or when running the script by > > Terminal, but when the script is run by Installer, the following is > > outputted; > > "The domain/default pair of (kCFPreferencesAnyApplication, > > AppleLanguages) does not exist" > > Has anybody come across this unusual behaviour before? Why has > > Installer decided to start lying to me? > > Installer isn't lying to you, it is telling you that for the > user > that you are running at at that point the list of default languages is > not. This is true for any non-GUI user (try running this with sudo for > instance). This command is essentially calling: > > defaults read .GlobalPreferences AppleLanguages > > And many users do not have a file at > ~username/.GlobalPreferences.plist > > What are you really trying to accomplish here? And are you sure > that > the installer is the appropriate place for this? > > -- > Karl Kuehn > larkost(a)softhome.net > > > > > Promethean Limited is a company registered in England and Wales with company > number 1308938 and VAT number GB 572 2599 18 > ______________________________________________ > > Promethean Ltd and or associated and or subsidiary companies : > > The views expressed in this communication may not necessarily be > the views held by Promethean Ltd and or associated and or subsidiary > companies. > > This e-mail is for the exclusive use of the addressee(s). Unauthorised > disclosure, copying or distribution is prohibited. > > This e-mail message has been swept for the presence of computer viruses. > > Promethean Ltd and or associated and or subsidiary companies accepts no > liability for any loss resulting from this email transmission. > > Promethean, Promethean House, Lower Philips Road, Blackburn, Lancashire, BB1 > 5TH, UK. Please update your records accordingly. Thank you! > > > > ***************************************************************** > This email has been checked by the e-Sweeper Service > ***************************************************************** > > _______________________________________________ > Do not post admin requests to the list. They will be ignored. > Installer-dev mailing list (Installer-dev(a)lists.apple.com) > Help/Unsubscribe/Update your Subscription: > http://lists.apple.com/mailman/options/installer-dev/bc%40apple.com > > This email sent to bc(a)apple.com > > > _______________________________________________ > Do not post admin requests to the list. They will be ignored. > Installer-dev mailing list (Installer-dev(a)lists.apple.com) > Help/Unsubscribe/Update your Subscription: > http://lists.apple.com/mailman/options/installer-dev/nigel%40explanatorygap… > > This email sent to nigel(a)explanatorygap.net > ***************************************************************** This email has been checked by the e-Sweeper Service ***************************************************************** _______________________________________________ Do not post admin requests to the list. They will be ignored. Installer-dev mailing list (Installer-dev(a)lists.apple.com) Help/Unsubscribe/Update your Subscription: http://lists.apple.com/mailman/options/installer-dev/site_archiver%40lists.… This email sent to site_archiver(a)lists.apple.com

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Re: Any recommended resources for learning Mac packaging? [Disk Images]
by Iceberg-Dev 10 Mar '09

10 Mar '09

site_archiver(a)lists.apple.com Delivered-To: installer-dev(a)lists.apple.com Dkim-signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=gmail.com; s=gamma; h=domainkey-signature:received:received:mime-version:in-reply-to :references:content-type:message-id:content-transfer-encoding:from :subject:date:to:x-mailer; bh=kihXoLAfrCqaaL1cBm+NY9Bp2DMbAX8Do/9AIGECzZ8=; b=x3SWMMfyD/bG5G8efP7A3DgQsUQEP/lGCp5XgMGLqV9vhguY3U2yKIvlNcmaqU91fM g6oXe8cbmp5maDd9DX2ivudqeAwBpI9VzK/a3CtWVneMCfn4N5P52p5I4J1ckzK7qzwr 1bBe3MIoWOagdry3sKic8VaH8Al5RvKGZKINE= Domainkey-signature: a=rsa-sha1; c=nofws; d=gmail.com; s=gamma; h=mime-version:in-reply-to:references:content-type:message-id :content-transfer-encoding:from:subject:date:to:x-mailer; b=hVvt4bmn9skVMEgoNgX99EmH9zM7coyTq14fCstOHsaR1DbB3PJGGdTlpwJZKbIcY+ EHxSAVwFguUZHYry2tYqe6yKBGcb8efmaCNeZL+Ct/dQV93VpK1+rwAs3OEBD7lJuxf7 mfvY4xqOypIKBeJV8IJ28i0SEHrAIN9XHe2nk= On Mar 10, 2009, at 12:56 AM, Eli Bach wrote: On Mar 9, 2009, at 4:43 PM, Iceberg-Dev wrote: <http://www.araelium.com/dmgcanvas/> It would probably not solve the following issues: _______________________________________________ Do not post admin requests to the list. They will be ignored. Installer-dev mailing list (Installer-dev(a)lists.apple.com) Help/Unsubscribe/Update your Subscription: http://lists.apple.com/mailman/options/installer-dev/site_archiver%40lists.… Making Disk Images can turn you into a schizophrenic (this still applies to Leopard). Presuming the disk images you wish to make fit what it can do, I've found 'DMG Canvas.app' to make creating disk images for applications very straightforward. It may not support all the options possible for making disk images, but for making dmg's that are tailored towards being used as part of shipping an application/ system for end-users, it works very well for me. And it includes a CLI tool so that you can add creating the dmg to your build script. I just use it, I don't work for them. - aligning icons in sub folders: icons may move to random locations just to annoy you. This makes you feel like a sheepdog when this happens. This bug has been there since Mac OS X 10.2 at least. - with Leopard, you have to state for each sub-folder that by default, you want "View as Icons". - you can't apparently resize a disk image stored on a secondary volume if there's not enough available space on the startup volume. Just put aside the fact that the UI to resize disk images in Disk Utilities is a puzzle in itself (the command line is 1,000,000 times easier to understand) and that when a resize fails, you end up with a disk image partially screwed up. This email sent to site_archiver(a)lists.apple.com

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Re: Any recommended resources for learning Mac packaging?
by Eli Bach 09 Mar '09

09 Mar '09

site_archiver(a)lists.apple.com Delivered-To: installer-dev(a)lists.apple.com Dkim-signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=gmail.com; s=gamma; h=domainkey-signature:received:received:message-id:from:to :in-reply-to:content-type:content-transfer-encoding:subject :mime-version:date:references:x-mailer; bh=0+PsEnpdTvrLLFAB7/ZeTMcs6yC+zURW4ec8y8M6qww=; b=q+v65KAdhitWLdYPmIfj+I9qElMlyw3enoW7aZ2qnqOfAEzD8y/jxhjdynptbI5nCA OpMIA1xWtlobtgwigFqXxJ+EO9ApJoXSRkt88qY8AC16XrrnYG/X2DHOZ8gHsytCqwPl dYesQw9TfeU1yeEsOigNNzgjtjsSjsxtTTQ5M= Domainkey-signature: a=rsa-sha1; c=nofws; d=gmail.com; s=gamma; h=message-id:from:to:in-reply-to:content-type :content-transfer-encoding:subject:mime-version:date:references :x-mailer; b=Z6EUVTsEqRNcZIe9JdTDdC7YO7Fn7F+PFTsdRHRJiOyUl1hysBSREGlQ3hFaPk9YZx FVww+NgWjQnqcPVCZiG3L+uNGJtbzhxKIl0zrWYTHQW0JyDFGAuT68E80KaHWBk+OahQ 8S+USz7FY41XNOeQgYpUHhv4Ovqij61CPWwm4= On Mar 9, 2009, at 4:43 PM, Iceberg-Dev wrote: <http://www.araelium.com/dmgcanvas/> I just use it, I don't work for them. Eli _______________________________________________ Do not post admin requests to the list. They will be ignored. Installer-dev mailing list (Installer-dev(a)lists.apple.com) Help/Unsubscribe/Update your Subscription: http://lists.apple.com/mailman/options/installer-dev/site_archiver%40lists.… Making Disk Images can turn you into a schizophrenic (this still applies to Leopard). Presuming the disk images you wish to make fit what it can do, I've found 'DMG Canvas.app' to make creating disk images for applications very straightforward. It may not support all the options possible for making disk images, but for making dmg's that are tailored towards being used as part of shipping an application/system for end-users, it works very well for me. And it includes a CLI tool so that you can add creating the dmg to your build script. This email sent to site_archiver(a)lists.apple.com

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Re: Any recommended resources for learning Mac packaging?
by Iceberg-Dev 09 Mar '09

09 Mar '09

site_archiver(a)lists.apple.com Delivered-To: installer-dev(a)lists.apple.com Dkim-signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=gmail.com; s=gamma; h=domainkey-signature:received:received:in-reply-to:references :mime-version:content-type:message-id:cc:content-transfer-encoding :from:subject:date:to:x-mailer; bh=b8kYBcObON0LwxBiKg6m2spC2ueChVXYTG6BbF90LVI=; b=a2T4ERDLZv5YbFPD74cXbTXsKa3te/DJkptzRZtmPGOkbFfaTDNkzMSdx8kIlWJ2+x 9Fr6HCCKp+WwakPXbzh6fzUblST9KEdJJLAZJomPW9VaDuVBAZ/4nwr2XJ8u95XpJgnp woPaeYXm4qVU57sA9XLAsGF3FYq3u+VaPhFk4= Domainkey-signature: a=rsa-sha1; c=nofws; d=gmail.com; s=gamma; h=in-reply-to:references:mime-version:content-type:message-id:cc :content-transfer-encoding:from:subject:date:to:x-mailer; b=dnt2Kros0G9h/XK6tZNuUXCEsd8eKAsUNwMuu36Sbr+mzjNc7jpbI/12Pe+SQIX7mP tZH5jyo8piYQg6Nayi+iUBv+8ugydHXwVkoXdh99nPDUKXOPhMu4UQVzQBtktjfyDKlq twSN00MQp0yFMVklcNbDJ3QuEGn9Uo+Fy7730= On Mar 9, 2009, at 6:09 PM, Taylor Armstrong wrote: Hardware: - An additional hard drive can prove useful to: . Have at least one partition with another OS install to test things. Software: Books: My $0.02 _______________________________________________ Do not post admin requests to the list. They will be ignored. Installer-dev mailing list (Installer-dev(a)lists.apple.com) Help/Unsubscribe/Update your Subscription: http://lists.apple.com/mailman/options/installer-dev/site_archiver%40lists.… Just curious... I'm taking on a new role soon, and my packaging responsibilities should increase. I've been creating basic packages using InstallEase, PackageMaker, and Iceberg, but am curious if there are any good resources for learning more advanced processes. I'll probably have a small window to ask for training materials and resources, but I've not seen much out there in the little bit that I've looked. - The first thing you should ask for is cushions to line the walls of your office/cubicle. This way you won't get hurt when banging your head against them. Making packages is sometimes painful. Making Disk Images can turn you into a schizophrenic (this still applies to Leopard). . Archive previous versions of Disk Images, Packages, Installation Materials (such as User Manuals) - Try to only use very reliable blank CDs/DVDs. You don't want to lose your time burning 2 GB on a cheap DVDs to discover 10 minutes later that verification failed. - Pacifist is a must-have if you want to inspect packages and check things. - If you have to burn hybrid CD/DVD masters, Toast is a very good solution. - CandyBar or Pixadex can prove useful if you need to keep track of custom icons used for installation. - I would recommend the Mac OS X Deployment book from Peachpit Press. While it may cover things you already know, it's always good to have a printed reference somewhere. Plus the other chapters are worth reading. - Personally, as I'm delving into distribution scripts, I'm thinking about getting a good book about JavaScript. This email sent to site_archiver(a)lists.apple.com

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Re: Strange behaviour with defaults read in install script
by Bill Coderre 09 Mar '09

09 Mar '09

site_archiver(a)lists.apple.com Delivered-To: installer-dev(a)lists.apple.com Actually you probably *don't* as relying upon $USER in the environment will break your package for all remote deployments via ARD, ssh/root, or just about any large package deployment system. Is this the right setting? It shows up as English for me... defaults read /Library/Preferences/.GlobalPreferences AppleLanguages and doesn't rely upon any user environments. su $USER -c "whatever_command arguments" On Mar 9, 2009, at 10:09 AM, Glover,David wrote: What is really strange is that this works ok in a script... defaults read -g AppleLocale -----Original Message----- From: Karl Kuehn [mailto:kuehn.karl@gmail.com] Sent: 09 March 2009 17:00 To: Glover,David Cc: Installer-Dev mailing-list Subject: Re: Strange behaviour with defaults read in install script On Mar 9, 2009, at 9:45 AM, Glover,David wrote: I'm using a preinstall script to read the available languages on the machine as follows; defaults read -g AppleLanguages This is fine via a Terminal command, or when running the script by Terminal, but when the script is run by Installer, the following is outputted; "The domain/default pair of (kCFPreferencesAnyApplication, AppleLanguages) does not exist" Has anybody come across this unusual behaviour before? Why has Installer decided to start lying to me? defaults read .GlobalPreferences AppleLanguages And many users do not have a file at ~username/.GlobalPreferences.plist What are you really trying to accomplish here? And are you sure that the installer is the appropriate place for this? -- Karl Kuehn larkost(a)softhome.net Promethean Ltd and or associated and or subsidiary companies : The views expressed in this communication may not necessarily be the views held by Promethean Ltd and or associated and or subsidiary companies. ***************************************************************** This email has been checked by the e-Sweeper Service ***************************************************************** _______________________________________________ Do not post admin requests to the list. They will be ignored. Installer-dev mailing list (Installer-dev(a)lists.apple.com) Help/Unsubscribe/Update your Subscription: http://lists.apple.com/mailman/options/installer-dev/bc%40apple.com This email sent to bc(a)apple.com _______________________________________________ Do not post admin requests to the list. They will be ignored. Installer-dev mailing list (Installer-dev(a)lists.apple.com) Help/Unsubscribe/Update your Subscription: http://lists.apple.com/mailman/options/installer-dev/nigel%40explanatorygap… This email sent to nigel(a)explanatorygap.net _______________________________________________ Do not post admin requests to the list. They will be ignored. Installer-dev mailing list (Installer-dev(a)lists.apple.com) Help/Unsubscribe/Update your Subscription: http://lists.apple.com/mailman/options/installer-dev/site_archiver%40lists.… Of course that is correct. In general, if your installer was launched from the command line, it is not cool to try to interact with the user. In the command line case, the environment variable COMMAND_LINE_INSTALL will be set. On Mar 9, 2009, at 11:41 AM, Nigel Kersten wrote: On Mon, Mar 9, 2009 at 11:24 AM, Bill Coderre <bc(a)apple.com> wrote: BEFORE the user clicks "Install," anything the installer does is run as the console user. AFTER that, for most installs, anything the installer does is run as root. (ie. if the installer requires an admin password) The environment variable USER is set to the console user short user name, so you probably want to do su $USER -c "defaults read -g AppleLocale" to get the favorite language. Now, if you are trying to install, say, just one language, that's not standard. Mac OS X installers typically install all the languages, and the few users that are concerned can run a utility to get rid of unused languages (Monolingual is one). If you want to get a language to show the user some text during install: 1) Please try to do all your interaction before the user clicks install 2) if you can't do that, do I'm trying out a few different things to retrieve the default language the machine is running in. But that's not perfect as it's the language I'm trying to retrieve rather than the locale. By getting AppleLanguages, I can get the first language in the list. Installer isn't lying to you, it is telling you that for the user that you are running at at that point the list of default languages is not. This is true for any non-GUI user (try running this with sudo for instance). This command is essentially calling: Promethean Limited is a company registered in England and Wales with company number 1308938 and VAT number GB 572 2599 18 ______________________________________________ This e-mail is for the exclusive use of the addressee(s). Unauthorised disclosure, copying or distribution is prohibited. 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