InstallAware Product Versioning + Change Log + Installer

[H4nd0]

Up until the 6.6 release InstallAware updates were relatively easy to spot since they were named 6.41SP1, 6.42SP2 and so forth.

However, with 6.6 they are now being referenced by date and I'm having to calc the SHA1 to determine whether there is actually any difference in the installer (or check Help About and see if there is infact a date difference and then the date in Help About doesn't necessarily reflect the version date posted on the web site: eg. Version 6.6 (Build berlin_rtm.051507) is dated June 2 - and then the date on the website has changed twice!!!!).

Please InstallAware can you do the following:

- amend your versioning to reflect build numbers or sub-revisions (eg. 6.6 Build 1234 or 6.6.1. Dates mean little unless it's backed up with a quality ChangeLog
- put up an RSS feed so I can get notified when there is a new release (eg. http://feeds.feedburner.com/FiredaemonProductReleases).
- put auto-version checks into your product when I launch it
- post an MD5 or SHA1 for the complete installer
- time your releases appropriately. Do I need three new releases a month? Can they be rolled up? Can I just get a patcher?
- make a (relatively) detailed ChangeLog available so I can see what's going on with your microreleases. The "what's new" in the Help absorbs updates and it pretty useless. I need to know what has changed between two micro-releases.

And this is the main one IMHO - your installer should be a showcase of your own product:

1. The IA6.6 installer doesn't even give you the option to patch up an existing installation. It's annoying having to uninstall/reinstall all the time especially when one concludes the 6.6 microreleases are trivial?
2. The IA6.6 installer doesn't even remember where previous versions of IA are installed _PLUS_ it wants to install into a different directory. C'mon! This is weak. Your install target directories should be generic and not version specific unless you can install multiple versions side by side (which apparently you can't?).

TIA,

James

[MarkElder]

I'll second these thoughts as well. I actually just e-mailed support yesterday trying to figure out if I should upgrade or not.

I only build an install 3 or 4 times a year. I'm want to be able to look at an InstallAware change log when I get ready to build a new install to see if I need a patch or upgrade before I build my current install.

I am currently running 6.0 - where there any patches for 6.0? I don't know.

Would it be worth it for me to upgrade to 6.6? I don't know because I can't find a list anywhere on the differences between 6.0 and 6.6.

Mark

[SteveDude]

Got to go along with you guys. A change log would be very good.

I also would like to see the updates to IA done as a patch as well, especially since many settings/language file changes do not stick between versions. I do back up all the required files, but I definately agree an installation tool's own install should reflect it's capabilities.

I understand why it is done the way, because it does make the demo that of the latest and greatest, but it is an inconvenience to those of us who own the product.

[BrandonK]

+1 to all of the ideas above

[MarkRichards]

We used to be able to get these details out of InstallAware support by requesting them here in the forums. But lately I haven't seen any IA support team activity in these forums, so I'm wondering if anyone is paying attention to these requests.

I completely agree with the above posts. Having up-to-date information about each product release is essential. These "silent releases" make it impossible for customers to make informed decisions on whether or not to upgrade. For us, each upgrade is a significant time commitment, and thus has expense associated with it.

[Edhy]

Hi All,

I totally agree with Mark Richards. There should be a clear change log between versions.

It is really confuse.

[MichaelNesmith]

Generally silent upgrades are not documented if the issues they address do not affect setups. For instance, help updates might fall in this category.

We do try and document what is changed between features in the What's New section of help (look under the Help menu in the IDE). Also, we use the forums to document non-trivial updates where possible, for instance the 6.5 and 6.6 upgrades were described in detail.