A computer program builds application programming interfaces (APIs) and related software components for installing and uninstalling application programs in any of a variety of computers and operating systems that support the Java programming language in its binary form. This program is partly similar in function to commercial (e.g., InstallShield) software. This program is intended to enable satisfaction of a quasi-industry-standard set of requirements for a set of APIs that would enable such installation and uninstallation and that would avoid the pitfalls that are commonly encountered during installation of software. The requirements include the following:

• Properly detecting prerequisites to an application program before performing the installation;
• Properly registering component requirements;
• Correctly measuring the required hard-disk space, including accounting for prerequisite components that have already been installed; and
• Correctly uninstalling an application program. Correct uninstallation includes (1) detecting whether any component of the program to be removed is required by another program, (2) not removing that component, and (3) deleting references to requirements of the to-beremoved program for components of other programs so that those components can be properly removed at a later time.

This program was written by Paul Wolgast and Martha Demore of Caltech and Paul Lovvik of Sun Microsystems for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

This software is available for commercial licensing. Please contact Karina Edmonds of the California Institute of Technology at (626) 395-2322. Refer to NPO-30778.

This Brief includes a Technical Support Package (TSP).

Application-Program-Installer Builder (reference NPO-30778) is currently available for download from the TSP library.

Login first to download.

Username

Password

Remember me


Lost Password? Register