IA or setup builder?

[jps]

Hi there,
As a current Wise user, we are thinking of picking a new installation tool between installaware & setup builder, could you tell us please what makes IA(pricier) more attractive over setup builder?

Thanks

[CandiceJones]

InstallAware is a very scaleable, industry grade tool used by software legends such as Borland (who migrated to us from InstallShield). As you can see from our corporate client roster, more and more of the Fortune 500 are migrating to InstallAware - they are choosing us for a reason

[jps]

well, setupbuilder's reply is more convincing:
About 60% of all new customers are moving from a .MSI based installation to our state-of-the-art SetupBuilder.EXE system.
MSI can only provide 30%-40% of the functionality that is
available in our own SetupScript technology.

[CandiceJones]

Their reply sounds like a canned version of what InstallAware does itself. InstallAware is the only setup vendor to offer MSIcode technology, which far excels the capabilities of SetupScript. Unlike SetupScript which is separate from the MSI database and engine, MSIcode is integrated with Windows Installer and actually produces your setup MSI file from your script commands. MSIcode also lets you do certain things which no other tool can with Windows Installer:

* One-click patch construction
* 32 and 64 bit hybrid or runtime-switching installs
* Runtime feature definition (not only selection)
* Runtime license validation
* Easy multiple instance installations, even on platforms MSI cannot do this on
* Runtime branching and decision making with MSI (another InstallAware exclusive)

SetupBuilder cannot offer this level of flexibility, because they use WiX (a language with a very difficult learning curve) to produce their MSI files, and their SetupScript is completely external to this process - its a separate script that doesn't know anything about what's going on with your actual files/registry keys, so it cannot command MSI actions at runtime.

Because of this, its very hard for you to inject runtime intelligence into your installations with tools like SetupBuilder - whereas with InstallAware, there's only one script which is updated seamlessly by the visual designers, so there's less to learn and you have more real-time control and flexibility.

This is why Borland migrated to InstallAware from InstallShield (like 80% of our customers did), because it enabled them to integrate all their separate product editions, languages, and IDEs inside a single setup package, with the correct runtime licensing and intelligence to install only the features that are chosen/licensed for the end-user. You can calculate the cost savings from that...

I suggest you read our MSIcode Scripting whitepaper here:
http://www.installaware.com/msicode_scr ... nology.pdf
Upon reading, you might that a lot of our marketing collateral has been "borrowed" by SetupBuilder Except that our technology is better integrated with Windows Installer and easier to learn.

[Linder]

Candice,

Some of our new SetupBuilder customers pointed me to this thread.

I don't want to comment each of you points individually and I don't want to discuss the dis-/advantages of your technology here. But let me just post a few corrections to what has been said about SetupBuilder:

1. It is correct that InstallAware is the only setup vendor to offer MSIcode technology. But it is not correct that your MSIcode technology "excels the
capabilities of SetupScript". Comparing MSIcode with SetupScript is like comparing apples with oranges!

2. SetupBuilder does not use WiX at all.

3. SetupScript is not an "external process". Of course, SetupScript exactly knows what is going on with actual files/registry keys.

4. We have not "borrowed" anything from InstallAware. To me it is disconcerting that a company like InstallAware has the audacity to say something like this.

Regards,

Friedrich Linder
Lindersoft

[CandiceJones]

Sorry, we stand corrected, I believe I confused SetupBuilder with SetupFactory!

The comments I made do not apply to your product at all. Please consider this statement a public apology.

The comments I made do remain in full effect and validity for SetupFactory.

[Linder]

No problem, Candice! Thanks for the clarification.

Friedrich Linder
Lindersoft