Practical Windows Installer Solutions for Building InstallShield Setup Applications [Paperback]

Bob Baker (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 2004

Real-World Solutions for Windows Installer–Based Installations

This expert resource explains Windows Installer technology and its application to common installation problems. InstallShield authority Bob Baker guides you through the process using InstallShield DevStudio as the tool of choice to demonstrate and create Windows Installer installation packages. You’ll learn the underlying concepts of Windows security and how Windows Installer manipulates this to provide installation packages with elevated privileges. You’ll review the most common installation challenges that users ask about most often. In addition, you’ll gain a solid understanding of one of the hottest installation subjects: upgrades and patching. Learn the ins and outs of custom actions, the proper installation of Plug and Play device drivers, how to best handle locked-down environments, and much more.

Editorial Reviews

Review

This book is a must-have for anyone creating Windows Installer setups. -- Jay Sanders, Software Engineer, Fujifilm

About the Author

Bob Baker is the author of The Official InstallShield for Windows Installer Developer’s Guide and Getting Started with InstallShield Developer and Windows Installer Setups, and is co-author of the Administrator’s Introduction to Application Repackaging and Software Deployment using Windows Installer. He joined InstallShield in 1995 and has served as Product Program Manager, Director of Product Support Services, and Technical Trainer focusing on tools that deal with the Windows Installer service. Bob holds a BS in engineering from The Citadel and an MS in computer science from DePaul University.

Product Details

• Paperback: 566 pages
• Publisher: InstallShield Press (January 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0971570833
• ISBN-13: 978-0971570832
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,435,927 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Incomplete, inconcise, and Hard to Read, March 24, 2004

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Practical Windows Installer Solutions for Building InstallShield Setup Applications (Paperback)

If you've got nothing better to do than to read a book to get pointers about what's worth looking into further, then this is the book for you. The writing style is very inconcise, incomplete, and difficult to read. For example, on page 442, the Author writes "You must also set permissions on the ArtDocument.dsa file that is being installed by the Example component..." but what he really meant is "If, for example, you want to set permissions on the ArtDocument.dsa file...". As another example of where this book comes up short, I was looking for how to open up an installed folder's permissions to access by all users, a common and simple installation task. In its 40 pages of complex explanations about handling lock-down environments, this book doesn't tell you. It does explain the concept, with one very specific example for a specific user, but to find out how to do it for all users, you have to go to InstallShield's web page and look it up. The InstallShield web page is actually far superior; it explains the whole thing succinctly in one paragraph with 8 bullets, which is what this book ought to do, but doesn't. I'd have given it a one star rating, except the book did provide me with enough vocabulary about installations to look up the information I needed on the InstallShield web page!

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Still not enough, December 11, 2004

By 

Maxim Masiutin (Chisinau, Republic of Moldova) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Practical Windows Installer Solutions for Building InstallShield Setup Applications (Paperback)

"Practical Windows Installer Solutions for Building InstallShield Setup Applications" is quite a useful book yet not enough to master creation of MSI files. I didn't see so far a single book that would be sufficient to fully cover all the quirks of the Windows Installer Service. The chapter about NT security is OK, but the rest of the book gives insufficient amount of valuable information, and sometimes lack interest or excitement.

I would have recommended participating in the "InstallSite Forum" in addition to reading this book. Also, "VB/VBA Developer's Guide to the Windows Installer" by Mike Gunderloy, now available in electronic form for free download, is worth attention, and it is very friendly and easy to read.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A book for the real setup developer, May 12, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Practical Windows Installer Solutions for Building InstallShield Setup Applications (Paperback)

This is a very good book, period. It is a little bit hard to read at times, because of the sheer volume of information it contains. However, if you don't read the book, you will learn what it explains the hard way, trust me. I am speaking from the perspective of someone who would have benefitted enormously from reading this book earlier. Windows Installer is a highly unusal technology, and you need this practical guide to avoid serious problems with your setup application.

You do need quite a bit of background knowledge to be able to follow some of the exlanations in the book, and I do feel that the discussion goes too deep at times. However, this is all details, get the book and read it.