A quality install program can improve your company's image and reduce support costs at the same time. This is the first book to show how to create bulletproof installs using InstallShield5, the leading install software for Windows. The book begins by introducing the fundamental issues associated with install programs, including defining your goals, understanding your operating system environment, and writing a specification. Next, it introduces you to InstallShield5, including the InstallShield IDE, the InstallScript scripting language, and in-depth coverage of the InstallScript API. Understand how to use InstallScript to work with configuration files, shared files, locked files, and the Registry. Walk through the construction of a custom user interface; handling events during install; creating both standard and custom install programs; working with AutoRun .INF files, ensuring Microsoft logo compliance, localizing for global markets; and more.
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Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
Creating effective install programs is all too often an afterthought in many software projects. This book shows how easy it is to take advantage of the features of InstallShield (the leading installation toolkit from InstallShield Software). The first part of Bulletproof Installs looks at the powerful capabilities of InstallShield 5.1. (A demo of the product is included in the accompanying CD-ROM.) InstallShield can automate every aspect of even complex installations, including "add-on" Microsoft technologies such as DirectX (for games), Open Database Connectivity (ODBC), ActiveX Data Object (ADO), Remote Data Objects (RDO), and object linking and embedding database (OLE-DB). The author shows you how to use the built-in wizards to create basic--and powerful--install programs.
The book goes further, too, with full coverage of InstallShield's very powerful InstallScript programming script language, which supports extensive data types and flow-control statements and several hundred APIs. Other valuable chapters look at operating system issues for installation (and uninstallation), such as the Windows 95 and NT 4 System Registry conventions and other conventions of a "correct" install. The book closes with a how-to on extending and customizing installation scripts. --Richard Dragan
From the Inside Flap
Preface
This book has been a long time coming. It originally was written for InstallShield 3.0, however, I was just wrapping up when the release date of InstallShield 5.0 was announced. It didn't make much sense to release the book until it had been updated. By the time the book had been re-written, which was a serious undertaking given the vast differences between the two products, InstallShield 5.1 was rumored to come about. And once again, it was back into the trenches. Finally, IÕve caught up.
Writing a book to support a software product is not an easy task. Especially when it's done while on the road. I've spent much of the last year and a half traveling around the world performing InstallShield training and consulting. Much of this book comes from those experiences. I truly enjoy writing install programs and passing on what I've learned to others. It's my deepest hope that this book will in some way be useful to you.
No one book could possibly teach you all that you need to know about install development. As I've told all of my classes, there are three books that all install developers must own; These are pre-requisite readings.
First and foremost, get and read a copy of Code Complete by Steve McConnell (ISBN 1-55615-484-4). This is a Microsoft Press book and is widely available. It discusses all the need-to-know stuff about programming without focusing on a specific language. Not only is it applicable to InstallScript, but to any other development language. Next is The Windows Interface Guidelines for Software Design. This is another Microsoft Press book (ISBN 1-55615-679-0). While this book is available on the MSDN CD-ROM, you must obtain a hardcopy. It is produced in high-resolution color with heavy stock paper. This book is sure to be a constant resource as you write install programs for Windows 95 and NT. Finally, read Alan Cooper's book on user interface design. This is an easy and entertaining read. His book is published by IDG and is entitled About Face: The Essentials of User Interface Design (ISBN 1-56884-322-4). These references should help fill in any gaps this book may leave behind.
Writing a book about install programming couldn't be done without providing some sample code. I made the decision to use InstallShield for a number of reasons. The best being that it is the biggest player in the install development market. The InstallShield development environment is used in the vast majority of shipping software. Since it is the most prevalent, it means that the majority of readers will be familiar with the product. It's also the most extensible. For the install projects that I have worked on in the last five years, this has been my reason for using InstallShield. It's a powerful tool with lots of flexibility. And like all others it takes time and patience to learn. If you're not using InstallShield, you may still find this book worthwhile. Many of the concepts that are covered aren't specific to InstallShield but to the Windows operating systems.
Acknowledgments
While this book was written by me, its contributors were many and far more than can be listed here. Foremost were the students that attended the InstallShield Corporation and The Orange Brain Company InstallShield training classes I taught. It was through your patience, understanding, and diligence that this book came about. The class room environment was ideal for clarifying the concepts that made their way into this book. Your comments were insightful and your questions astute. Thanks to all students past and present.
This book could not have been written without the help and guidance of the good folks at InstallShield. InstallShield is truly a remarkable company and I predict it will continue to grow in this highly competitive software industry. Along those lines, I would like to extend a special thanks to Howard Berg for keeping me busy and productive all over the globe. To David Washburn thanks for the conversation, company, and coffee. It's always my good fortune to travel with you. May we soon join forces again. To Michael Byrne a special thanks for overseeing the companion CD-ROM project. It's an honor to have it accompany this book. Most importantly, thanks to Viresh Bhatia for his wisdom and insight. This book sprang out of an idea that he passed on to me over two years ago. What a long trip this has been.
The people at Prentice-Hall have been very good to me. I would like to thank two people in particular: Stephen Solomon and Joanne Anzalone. Stephen had the vision that a book such as this was sorely needed. His guidance and suggestions made it all possible. Thanks for taking the chance. Joanne formed and created what you hold in your hands. Her experience and talent more than compensated for my first time venture into the world of "serious" writing.
Finally, I would like to acknowledge the people that have helped me in my career. To the people at Intel: Steve Bindewald, Peter Auseklis, and Marcia Petty. To the people at Microsoft: Rob Short, David Robinson, Ted Kummert, John Parchem, Luis Reyes, John Cooper, Lluis Abello, Jane Howell, and Bob Fries. To the people at Fidelity Investments: Rob Cannata, Roy Dixit, Partho Ghosh, and Chris Parsons. To my friends where ever they may roam: Chris Card, Greg Smith, Chris Rowley, John Trustman, Rich Brennan, and Sam Mahaney. You have all shaped my life and this book wouldn't exist without your help. I don't keep in contact nearly enough, but I think of you often.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
An OK book that is out of date.,
By
This review is from: Bulletproof Installs - A Developer's Guide to Install Programs for Windows (Paperback)
This was an OK book in it's time, but it is now completely out of date. This book covers InstallShield 5, which is not supported on Windows ME, Windows 2000, or Windows XP. Both InstallShild 6 and InstallShield Windows Installer Edition are different enought from InstallShield 5 to make this book obsolete.
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Out of date,
By Steve Williams (Vancouver, BC, Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Bulletproof Installs - A Developer's Guide to Install Programs for Windows (Paperback)
Overall, the book is good. Better than the IS docs anyhow.Bear in mind that the book is written for Version 5.1 and below. InstallShield made a major switch to an event-driven installation and script model in Version 6.1 So a lot of the examples are out of date and need to be converted. I found this confusing as I was trying to learn and port to the new version at the same time.
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Great back then, not so great now,
By
This review is from: Bulletproof Installs - A Developer's Guide to Install Programs for Windows (Paperback)
I originally purchased this book to help me with a massive project. Most of my installations required installing my device drivers (data acquisition and motion controller drivers), my own software, and third-party applications (computer vision). As a result, the standard documentation wasn't exactly overly helpful.This was the best book on the market. At the time, it was the ONLY book on the market. Although it offered a nominal amount of help for me, it did give me a fuller understanding to InstallShield and really helped when I needed to build installers for more standard applications. Considering at the time this book was originally published, the only other avenue to get IS information was to attend a high dollar seminar, it was a great value. This book comes with a CDROM with InstallShield 5, DemoShield and some other demoware. I give it 3 stars, not because it isn't a great book, but because Microsoft redefined how installers should work with the operating system (driver signatures, system directory protection, etc.) and some of the information is now obsolete.
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