Which Installer should I use?

Posted Wed, 01/07/2009 - 09:08 by arik
, , ,

Hi all,

 

I need to create an installation for a product.

I'm looking for an open source Installer with fast learning curve, cross platform, java based (preffered). 

Pros & cons will be appreciated.

 

Thank you,

-Arik

‹ @org.hibernate.search.annotations.IndexedEmbedded and polymorphic associations. Axis2 Maven plugin problem ›

Comments

by itai - 01/07/2009 - 09:19
I like the AntInstaller http://antinstaller.sourceforge.net/ Pros : 1. It's written in ant so it's easy to write and test. 2. It's java based. 3. He support X windows (swing) , cli , and silent installation. Cons 1. he have to phase on is collect data and one is execution 2. The validation phase is not good enough and is just at the collect data stage.

by miron - 01/07/2009 - 09:56
I agree. AntInstaller is very easy to learn and to maintain. If you do not need to perform very complicated tasks on install time - it is a good choice.

by shlomo - 01/07/2009 - 09:56

To add on top of what Itai said:

1-There is no way to scroll back in the data collection phase and to fix errors. If you made a mistake, you have to re-run the installer.

2-Data validation is done using regular expressions,so you will have to learn these as well

3-Learning curve is moderate, especially if you are a regular Ant user.

4-Building the installer and running it in development mode takes time so that of course extends the build, deploy, test cycle.

5-Your other option is to use (buy) InstallAnywhere, which is used in a large scale project by one of our clients targeted for 6 different operating systems.

Being a user of both AntInstaller and installAnywhwre I will be glad to help you,

by hagzag - 01/07/2009 - 10:18

On top of what Shlomo & Itai said here
With a good experience with ANT you can have an installer in a short period of time.

The fact regarding data collection phase is a pain (even though "cancel" is always an option).
Another thing: the best man to talk to on this is indeed Shlomo - he helped me a great deal with a project I am working on with AntInstalletr.

by shlomo - 01/07/2009 - 14:21
See for example : http://wiki.eclipse.org/Migrate_the_ConfigureAperi_code_to_AntInstaller

by arik - 02/07/2009 - 20:20
Thank you all.