Software Packaging, Deployment, Patching and Repackaging with Windows Installer
San Francisco, CA, March 1 2005 – InstallAware Software Corporation has released InstallAware 2005 for Windows Installer; software for ISVs and systems administrators building, deploying, and repackaging installations targeting a diverse range of environments including Microsoft Windows, The .NET Framework, Internet Information Services, Microsoft SQL Server, My SQL, and Oracle Databases.
InstallAware 2005 provides two views into a setup project. The Visual view represents the project visually, and allows for rapid setup development. The Code view offers unrestricted access to the installation script that is the heart of the installation. Both views are always kept in sync, such that changes made in one view will always be visible in another. When the setup is built, the setup project is automatically converted into a MSI database - no knowledge of Windows Installer, or its complicated database tables, is required at any point during the authoring process. “InstallAware even extends Windows Installer to permit branching code flow in the setup routine,” says Sinan Karaca, President of InstallAware Software Corporation. “Windows Installer by design does not support branching code flow, but we’ve embraced and extended the technology to make this possible. Even better, InstallAware does not require or install any scripting runtime on target systems – the Windows Installer setups generated by InstallAwareare pure MSI,” adds Karaca.
InstallAware 2005 adds support for leading SQL server platforms, including Oracle, My SQL, and MS SQL database servers. What’s more, InstallAware installations do not require any client software on target systems for SQL connectivity – each connection is directly made over TCP/IP. This provides unprecedented flexibility in resolving connectivity issues to SQL servers. InstallAware installations now also support configuring Internet Information Services for creating new websites and virtual folders, and installing .NET assemblies with native code generation. Other functionality new to this release includes setting permissions on Access Control Lists, creating shares, and One-Click Patching. One-Click Patching, a feature unique to InstallAware, makes creating differential binary patches as easy as showing previous versions of an application’s setup files and clicking the “Build Patch” button. No other steps are involved, as InstallAware does all the dirty work of resolving conflicts between product versions.
InstallAware 2005 continues to provide unmatched support for web deployment. Web Media Blocks Technology allows splitting an installation into different segments that either go inside the main installation file, or are put into online files to be downloaded on-the-fly while installing. The net result is a self contained installer with the fat trimmed off – application runtimes and rarely used features are placed online, and yet the downloaded setup is fully functional, without requiring an Internet connection to run.
Moreover, the LZMA compression algorithm employed in InstallAware works miracles in compressing files, in tandem with BCJ2 converters that pre-process data to increase compressibility. For instance, the entire .NET runtime shrinks to only 11MB with LZMA/BCJ2, instead of the usual 23MB.
InstallAware 2005 also introduces a new applet, PackageAware, which works by scanning the system before and after a setup is run, and produces a ready-to-use installation script that encapsulates the delta between the two scans. PackageAware provides the ideal means for converting legacy installers to Windows Installer technology, while also maintaining an intuitive, script-based setup authoring approach.
InstallAware 2005 is available in four editions, with prices starting at US$99. A time limited trial and more information is available at the product website at http://www.installaware.com/.
About InstallAware Software Corporation
InstallAware Software Corporation, founded in 2003, is a software development company focused solely on state of the art software installation tools which offer the highest compression ratios and bullet-proof installations. The company produces software installation and compression technologies for the Windows Installer (MSI) platform on the Microsoft Windows Operating System. InstallAware is supported by thousands of users worldwide, and is a Borland Technology Partner. For more information, visit www.installaware.com.
Sinan Karaca
InstallAware Software Corporation
Email: sinank@installaware.com
Phone: 415 830 4715