What is a setup?

Simply stated, a setup is a program or a set of programs that installs the necessary files and alter the environment of the target machine where you deploy your solution. The setup created might deploy your application to the Windows desktop, on a Windows server, or implement a web application on a Web server. Creating a setup can simplify the overall deployment process, and the repeatable nature of a setup increases the overall reliability of the installation process.

The setup package provides a simple to use installation program that installs the necessary files to make your solution current in the customer production environment. From the end user ‚ s perspective, it is a straightforward process with a familiar user interface they run to get new functionality added to their computer. The end users get to make a couple of common selections like the folder where the application is installed and possibly determine what shortcuts are created and the rest just happens. Most setup tools provide the end user with a wizard-like interface that steps the users through the installation.

Developers get a repeatable process that works on millions of computers around the globe. You specify which files are loaded to which folders, customize the wizard steps by selecting which ones run and how they look by changing the graphics and the language of the dialogs, and have the setup tools create a build you distribute. It typically simplifies the installation process and the overall deployment of your application. If the tool uses Windows Installer technology, developers can deploy common technologies by using merge modules and without needing to learn all the details of what files need to be loaded, where they need to be loaded, and what files need to be registered.

System Administrators benefit from setup routines deployed using Windows Installer because they can be customized by the administrators, and can be run in silent mode (no end user interaction). Even setup routines not based on Windows Installer benefit the System Administrators because they provide a repeatable process that produces the same results on each machine where the products are loaded.