InstallAnywhere Tutorial and Reference Guide [Paperback]

Zero G Team (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 12, 2004 | ISBN-10: 0321246101 | ISBN-13: 978-0321246103

The first part of any application that the end user will see is the installer. While the part of the program that gets the application onto the user's system may not seem that complicated, it can be just as difficult to write as the rest of the application. This is where deployment software comes in. These programs create installers that can be customized by the programmer, while doing all the underlying difficult work itself. This new book provides full instruction in how to use InstallAnywhere, the leading installation application in the field. The book covers everything from "How to Build your First Installer" to how to expand the program's capabilities yourself. It covers all four editions of InstallAnywhere, and makes clear which features are available in which edition. It begins with a basic tutorial and explains the essential "wizard" features of the program, before providing a quick reference section and detailed description of how to use the advanced designer. This book can serve as an instruction manual for those just learning the program, or as a reference guide for the experienced developer.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

"Very informative...The perfect resource when just getting started, and a great reference for someone who has used the product for some time."

--John Burrows, Software Configuration Process Manager, DST Interactive, Inc.

"If only this book existed when I began using InstallAnywhere!"

--Daniel Kirsch, Senior Software Engineer, Symantec Corporation

Software installation and deployment made simple--that's the promise of InstallAnywhere from Zero G Software. Are you harnessing the full potential of InstallAnywhere in your software installation project? InstallAnywhere Tutorial and Reference Guide is the authoritative guide for users of InstallAnywhere. It helps you maximize your investment in this powerful deployment tool by taking you step by step through easy-to-follow exercises that will unleash the power and productivity of InstallAnywhere in your organization.

InstallAnywhere Tutorial and Reference Guide is perfect for developers of all knowledge levels. Whether you're just getting started or an experienced user of InstallAnywhere, this handy tutorial will help you build and reinforce the skills necessary to create reliable installations every time. And after you've mastered those skills, it is an ideal resource for troubleshooting the most common installation problems.

Inside you'll find best practices for making even the most complex software deployments easy. You will learn essential InstallAnywhere user principles and effortlessly discover why InstallAnywhere is the only software installation and deployment solution you'll ever need.

Highlights include:

• Basic installer development strategies
• Basic installer customization
• Using advanced actions, interface options, and organization concepts
• Managing installation locations and uninstaller issues
• Source and resource management
• Integrating InstallAnywhere with advanced build environments
• Developing and using custom code actions

InstallAnywhere has been recognized as the preferred multiplatform software deployment and installation tool by developers worldwide. It is the recipient of prestigious industry accolades, including two consecutive Java Developer's Journal Readers' Choice Awards, the Jolt Product Excellence Award from Software Development, and JavaWorld's Editor's Choice Award.

About the Author

Members of the Zero G Team--Robert Brown, Tim Miller, Carrie Smith, Drew Tappan, and Wayne Tombo--are software installation and deployment experts from Zero G with more than 100 years of combined industry experience. The Zero G Team is comprised of recognized experts in multiplatform deployment technology, and they are the technical authorities on Zero G's flagship product, InstallAnywhere.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Addison-Wesley Professional (July 12, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0321246101
• ISBN-13: 978-0321246103
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,841,893 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Reduces the burden, August 27, 2004

By 

W Boudville (Terra, Sol 3) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: InstallAnywhere Tutorial and Reference Guide (Paperback)

Usually the process of bundling together a software project along with an installation script is hurriedly done at the end of the project. And the scripts might differ for each target operating system. So you might think of InstallAnywhere as a meta-installer. The authors wrote the program to make installers under a gamut of operating systems - linux, AIX, HP-UX, Solaris, Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows Server 2003, XP etc. The hope is to free you from a lot of grungy operating system specific nuances that are probably not even the core expertise of you or anyone on your project.

In practice, even in this book, there are often unavoidable details specific to some operating systems. Like where to put files and resources. You will still have to contend with items like these. Still, the authors offer an intriguing and quite useful investment of your time. To the extent that it can relieve you of even some, if not most, of the installation details, it has merit.

As an added bonus, there is full internationalisation. You can run this program using text resources in many languages. As well as changing any localised text.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Better than three days of training, October 19, 2004

By 

Thomas Paul (Plainview, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: InstallAnywhere Tutorial and Reference Guide (Paperback)

This book is an excellent guide to using InstallAnywhere no matter which platform you are running or how much experience you have with the product. This is the kind of documentation that you wish that the company would provide especially when you consider the price of the software. According to the introduction, the book was produced from the handouts that Zero G had produced for their three day InstallAnywhere course.

The book starts with a quick introduction and some screen shots showing what running an installer would look like from a customer's point of view. The authors next show a simple example of building an installer. Unfortunately, and this remains true for the rest of the book, no screen shots are included. This means that you must be running the software to take full advantage of the book. No reading this book in the bathtub. The book works well as both a tutorial and reference guide. The authors take you step by step through an exercise explaining each of the options even if they aren't used in this exercise. The instructions for each exercise are very clear. The use of the product is clearly explained while you are using it, which makes the learning "stick".

The book covers everything from the most basic installer all the way up to writing your own custom plug-ins. If you are interested in taking full advantage of the InstallAnywhere software and don't want to spend the money for three days of training, then this book is for you.