install

Here we discuss “installers” – once you’ve banged out a rough draft of your program, how to make an easy-to-install package ?

• how to make a Debian "package" or PackagingTutorial or BuildingTutorial or BuildingWithoutHelper
• Inno Setup is a free installer for Windows programs.
• Red Hat ??? Red Hat Package Manager
• Macintosh ??? EverythingMac? claims that InstallerVise is free for shareware authors – is that true ?
• a variety of installers for Macintosh and Windows
• HM NIS Edit: a free Editor/IDE for Nullsoft Scriptable Install System (NSIS).
• the Nullsoft Scriptable Install System (NSIS) Discussion forum
• If the software you want to install is written in Python, check out the Python: Distribution Utilities.

The Zero Install system http://0install.net/ “The Zero Install system aims to provide a better way of installing software than traditional systems (tarballs, apt-get, bundles, setup.exe, etc).”

The Game Programming Wiki has a nice list of installers.

Mozilla:LocalStorage has some thoughts on how to improve software installation in 2 ways: making it easier to install apps, and making it possible for a person to take advantage of an application without allowing the application to take advantage of the person.

“Problem: The web is an application platform. … However, the web is only usable as an interface when the network is available. … A second problem is that installing software on your computer often involves an all-or-nothing choice. Either you install the software, and give it complete access to your system or you don’t install it and you can’t gain the benefits of having the ability to do your work offline. Victims of spyware on windows understand this pain. … The last problem that we believe needs to be solved is the problem surrounding how difficult it is to install software. … for most users, installing software is hard and scary.”