Deployment Tool Selection Process

Geeks and Gurus experienced the need for a deployment tool soon after we formed our company in April 2001. Our first large-scale deployed application (read: more than one computer at a customer location) was ready for delivery in September. In May we began the search for the deployment tool we would standardize on for our deployments, immediately after landing our first contract that required a full installation package.

Note ‚  

The initial evaluation process we traveled was completed in mid-2001. Several of the installation tools have improved since then, and the results we concluded could be different if the evaluation was done today, although it might also be the same. A few things are for certain: the tools are better, some tools now have different names , some tools are no longer available, and there are new tools on the market.

Note ‚  

The following tool selection process is the experience we went through. It does in no way provide an endorsement of the tools selected, or reflect negatively on the tools we did not select. We encourage all developers to look at all tools available to make an informed decision. The lesson to learn in this section is to see how one set of developers approached this decision.

First, we established our minimum requirements in the installation tool:

• Professional look and feel

• Compatible with all versions of Windows

• Easy to setup

• Intuitive development environment

• Creates and edits Windows Registry entries

• Establishes ODBC data sources (DSN)

• Allows users to select multiple directories (one for the application, the other for data)

• Creates shortcuts on desktop/start menu

• Displays licensing and ReadMe text

• Ability to create CD-ROM and Web download installations

• Must work with Visual FoxPro as well as other tools

• Custom actions so we can run processes after the installation

Naturally there were some nice to have features as well:

• Merge Modules and Windows Installer technology

• Ability to configure features the user can install

• Configurable dialogs

Products Considered

The products available back in 2001 are different from the offerings we would consider today. The list was based on one of two criteria: either we used the product in a previous job, or we talked with other developers to see what they used successfully on past projects. We narrowed the list down to the following products (in alphabetical order):

• ActiveDelivery available from InnerMedia (www.innermedia.com )

• InstallShield Express 3 ‚ VFP Limited Edition available from Microsoft with VFP

• InstallShield Express v3.5 available from InstallShield (www.installshield.com )

• PC Install previously available from 20 20 Software

• Wise InstallBuilder 8.1 available from Wise Solutions (www.wise.com )

Almost all of these products are still available today. PC Install was available from 20 20 Software ( www.twenty.com ), but we believe it is no longer available because their Web site does not respond and we are not able to find it at any of the popular developer product purchasing Web sites. Wise InstallBuilder evolved into the Wise Installation System.

Each of these products had evaluation copies available on their download site. So we took advantage of this and ran a quick comparison by working with each of the tools and a simulated project because we did not have the current project yet developed.

Making the choice

First we considered the beta of InstallShield Express ‚ VFP Limited Edition (ISE-LE). Visual FoxPro 7 was not yet released, but we expected it to be by the time our project was finished. There were three reasons we selected this product: Microsoft distributed it at no additional cost, it was superior to the VFP Setup Wizard, and it met most of our minimum requirements (all except the custom actions, which was not necessary for this project and something we rarely used). ISE-LE eliminated some of the limitations of the older version of InstallShield Express we had previously evaluated. The primary improvement was the addition of the DATABASEDIR property that allowed a second directory prompt so users can direct data to a different directory (not just the application directory like the VFP Setup Wizard).

We discovered (quite accidentally ) during testing between internal builds that the Limited Edition was indeed very limiting because it disabled the ‚“Upgrade Path ‚½ feature ( Figure 9 ). Essentially this means the user needs to uninstall the previous version before installing the upgrade when a second release is made. This was unacceptable because we planned on releasing several builds as we phased in new functionality. It is important to note that Microsoft has worked with the InstallShield Express product team to have this limitation removed from the Limited Edition distributed with Visual FoxPro 8.

Figure 9. InstallShield Express ‚ Visual FoxPro Limited Edition (from VFP 7) installations require the removal of the previous installation before reinstalling.

Note ‚  

We provided detailed information and ways of addressing the Upgrade Path feature of Windows Installer in the ‚“Updates, upgrades, and patches ‚½ section of Chapter 5, ‚“Windows Installer Inside and Out. ‚½

We realized this limitation just as our product was nearing the beta stage so we had to scramble to find an acceptable alternative.

Wise InstallBuilder first, Wise Installation System next

Based on our evaluations we jumped into Wise InstallBuilder 8.1. It recognizes the VFP runtimes , handled all our minimum requirements, and all the optional requirements except for the merge modules. We worked with the scripting capability and the dialog editor (to allow for the customer required data directory selection) to create the setup for our customer. It was easy to learn and was far more powerful than the InstallShield Express ‚ VFP Limited Edition package. We literally created the setup the same day the package was delivered.

Wise upgraded InstallBuilder 8.1 to Wise Installation System 9.0 almost immediately after our purchase, so we received a free upgrade. We updated our project without any problems. Our satisfaction level was extremely high and we knew at that time we made a good decision. The technical support was outstanding and another advantage we learned is Wise Solutions is located in the suburbs of Detroit, right in our own backyard. You will receive the same great support; they did not treat the locals any different from people who live outside of the Detroit area.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

Our software package went though a couple of updates, and generating the setup process was a no-brainer each time. Then our customer (another developer shop) called one day with the question that at first seemed harmless, but turned out to be a nightmare. They had an installation with multiple users that shared the same machine with Windows 2000 installed. They found out they had to install the application for each user. This was required because the installation created Registry entries for the current user.

I remember the quote I said to our customer: ‚“no problem. ‚½ I called the Wise Solutions tech support and they noted the Installation System did not support the feature, but the ‚“weaker ‚½ Wise for Windows Installer could. No problem. I gave them my credit card number and downloaded the package. The feature was available, but we had a heck of a time getting the DATABASEDIR functionality working. Wise for Windows Installer does have basic scripting and dialog creation, but I could not get it to work, despite the tech support staff at Wise working a week to help me out. There was a quirk in the scripting between the editor and compiling the setup. I put in over 40 hours trying to get this to work, over 40 non-billable hours.

My last call to Wise Solutions was to see if I could get the Installation System to do the All Users installation. The sales person this time around noted there was an add-on we could purchase. Unfortunately it came with a per-seat license scheme. How much? The sales guy noted it was only $4 a seat. Our customer did not have many seats (under 100) so I figured I would cut our losses and pay the $400. Unfortunately, the sales guy informed me I needed to buy the minimum of 1000 seats, $4000. There was no possible way I was going to pay $4000, and then have additional administration to keep track of the licenses. It was time to find another solution.

InstallShield Express (full version)

We called InstallShield to verify the All Users feature was available in the full version (it is in the Limited Edition). The sale team confirmed it indeed was included. We created the same installation as we had in Wise Installation System the same day it arrived, in less than 3 hours, including testing.

The problem with InstallShield Express was the fact there was no purchasing upgrade path from the Limited Edition, despite the wording in the product to the contrary. When I called the sales people I found out I needed to pay full price. I had no problem doing this if it worked, but it was the principle of the marketing that made me hesitate. I purchased it anyway because it was cheaper than wasting more time trying to get other products to work correctly.

Note ‚  

Several developers in the Fox Community voiced displeasure with the upgrade process to Microsoft. The Fox team passed along the concerns to the InstallShield Express product team. The results of this discussion were the short-lived upgrade discount of $100 offered to VFP developers back in March 2002. Unfortunately that offer no longer exists for developers purchasing Visual FoxPro 7 or 8 now. The InstallShield Web site directs you to talk to a Product Consultant to see if there are any special offers available to upgrade from the Limited Editions.

Lesson learned (again!)

We found our choice more than satisfactory and it is worth paying for the full edition of InstallShield Express. We got over the ‚“non-upgrade ‚½ and have always felt that professional tools that save us time and money are well worth the investment. If you learn one lesson from this story, we hope it is the fact that developers can have more than one tool in their toolkit and select the right tool for the job depending on the deployment requirements.