Distribution kit in version 6.0: Which files are really necessary? Where is the documentation regarding the files created?

[RMattos]

In version 5.5, when we created a distribution kit, the program usually created files that would fit in a 1.44Mb floppy. In version 6.0 I see some zip files and other files and I could not find any documentation on this issue. Do I really need all those files? What do I have inside each one? Where can I find information about those files?

[bilalD]

Hello

We made a switch in cvi 6 to the type of installers we used. CVI 5.5 used InstallIt while 6 uses the microsoft Installer.

There are several reasons why we have switched to the new installer technology and do believe that once end-users become more familiar with it they will indeed see the benefits of it in the long run. Some of the chief reasons we made the switch were as follows:

1) The old installer technology was created by a now defunct company that had limited documentation on how the installer scripts actually worked with the installation engine.
2) The new .msi installer technology is based on a more robust database scripting technology that will allow end-users to accomplish much more variation in installer style per their individual applications (such as the features that you want to implement).
3) The new .msi installer technology is an open architecture with freely available tools (i.e. ORCA and Windows Platform SDK functions) for customizing the installation .msi databases.
4) With the old installer technology you could only create distributions on floppy diskettes and were not capable of creating cdks on CD-ROMS for those bigger applications that would benefit from it.
5) There were many funcitonal errors in the old installer that will never be resolved since the company that developed it is no longer in business, a problem that we do not foresee happening with .msi since Microsoft doesn't seem to be going out of business anytime soon.

So as you can see there are several overwhelming benefits to the .msi technology and maintaining support for the old installer is just not feasible any longer. As it goes we can't really provide technical support to help all end-users modify their .msi based installers due to the open-endedness this scenario provides. There are probably countless arbitrary .msi installer questions end-users could come up with that we would have to spend several hours coming up with an individual solution for each. This in fact is one of the reasons why we switched to .msi as well. Since Microsoft fully documents the .msi installer technology there is a wealth of information and resources for customizing and working with .msi installers on their website, and thus we will expect end-users seeking to customize their installers to go to Microsoft's site and look for answers to their questions there. The best resource is at the Microsoft Developer Network at http://msdn.microsoft.com under the keywords Microsoft Installer Technology.


You can also find out how to customize the installer from the following kb:

Customizing the Create Distribution Kit Installers in LabWindows/CVI 6.0

I hope this helps

Bilal Durrani
NI

[WesW]

Greetings,

Additional information about the CDK is available in a whitepaper that shipped along with CVI 6.0, and is also available on the web here: http://zone.ni.com/devzone/conceptd.nsf/webmain/2FF2B17F4DC7CFDF86256AA3006990C4?opendocument

Though this document primarily details how to modify the resulting installer, I think that it might answer some of your questions about the purpose the generated files. Additionally, it also details some of the underlying technology that the CDK is based on.

More directly addressing your question - only the .MSI and the .CAB files are absolutely required (as the .MSI is the install instructions, and the .CAB are the files themselves). The rest of the files are to bootstrap installing the MSI engine on the OSs that don't
natively have it (or have an older version). If the MSI engine is already installed, you can just click on the .MSI to run the install.

Regards,
- WesW / NI

[RMattos]

Thank you for your crystal clear explanation!