| From: | Alexander G. M. Smith |
| Date: | 7 Sep 2000 at 18:55:25 |
| Subject: | Re: AMIOPEN: Compressed archive formats and Installers |
David Trollope <dave.trollope@worldnet.att.net> wrote on Tue, 05 Sep
2000 22:08:26 -0500:
> I agree, the two components of the tool should be abstracted,
> one shouldn't be hardcoding that stuff. Should be able to
> plugin any archive type, but it may be harder to map different
> archive contents to Ami structure. The zip symbolic link issue
> is one example. A new format should be abstracted so that any
> sufficient archiver can be used. An archive plugin/datatype etc.
> But the twist should be that the install is driven from the
> archive contents. Not just a case of load an archive, install
> it. The tool can work with the archiver to determine which files
> need to be extracted. Why extract all languages etc when the
> user only wants english??? Why extract .16 files when only .00
> are needed?
>
> In this way the tool can tie together the archiver and installer,
> but as you say it shouldn't be hardcoded to one archive format.
> Its harder to get this level of integration efficiently in
> separate tools. It may just be easier to start with a new format
> and expand to other archives fixing the idiosyncracies with
> plugin code for that archive format later.
>
> Sounds like a perfect VP toolset.
An even easier way than datatypes - use a compressed file system.
There is already a read only ZIP file system, which the installer
could use and just look for key installation files in known
directories / file names within the ZIP (or other) virtual drive.
When a new compression format comes along, just install a new
file system driver for it, and your old installer keeps on working.
- Alex
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