[plt-scheme] Windows MSI installer

From: Eli Barzilay (eli at barzilay.org)
Date: Sat Jul 5 21:42:14 EDT 2008

On Jul  5, Aleks Bromfield wrote:
> How is the DrScheme installer for Windows currently generated?

Using NSIS (http://nsis.sourceforge.net/Main_Page).


> How much work would it be to produce an MSI instead of / in addition
> to the current installer?

There are several things that I don't know about, and make me think
that it's better to stick with the current setup:

* Technical: I don't know of an application that allows me to compile
  an msi, one that will allow me the same kind of flexibility I get
  with NSIS (mostly specifying the installer via a script, and being
  able to create it remotely through an ssh session).

* Major: I'm not sure that MSI works everywhere that DrScheme does.
  (But maybe Win95/98/ME is completely dead?  And if not, maybe it
  handles MSIs too?)

* Most important: I don't know if there are any advantages of using an
  MSI.  (And I don't know, but I assume, that it has the same
  functionality as NSIS -- the usual stuff of creating the directory,
  tweaking registry keys, creating the start menu entry etc).  This is
  the most important question, of course, given how much work is
  involved in dealing with the installers.


> Alternatively, is there any reason not to install DrScheme to a
> network location?

I don't know why that's "alternatively", but it should run fine from a
network.  NEU does it all the time.

-- 
          ((lambda (x) (x x)) (lambda (x) (x x)))          Eli Barzilay:
                  http://www.barzilay.org/                 Maze is Life!


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