Installation (computer programs)

Installation (or setup) of a computer program (including device drivers and plugins), is the act
of making the program ready for execution. Because the process varies for each program and
each computer, programs (including operating systems) often come with an installer, a
specialized program responsible for doing whatever is needed for their installation. Installation
may be part of a larger software deployment process.
Installation typically involves code being copied/generated from the installation files to new files
on the local computer for easier access by the operating system. Because code is generally
copied/generated in multiple locations, uninstallation usually involves more than just erasing
the program folder. For example, registry files and other system code may need to be modified
or deleted for a complete uninstallation.

Overview[edit]
Some computer programs can be executed by simply copying them into a folder stored on a
computer and executing them. Other programs are supplied in a form unsuitable for immediate
execution and therefore need an installation procedure. Once installed, the program can be
executed again and again, without the need to reinstall before each execution.
Common operations performed during software installations include:

Making sure that necessary system requirements are met

Checking for existing versions of the software
Creating or updating program files and folders
Adding configuration data such as configuration files, Windows registry entries
or environment variables
Making the software accessible to the user, for instance by creating links,
shortcuts or bookmarks
Configuring components that run automatically, such as daemons or Windows services
Performing product activation
Updating the software versions
These operations may require some charges or be free of charge. In case of payment,
installation costs means the costs connected and relevant to or incurred as a result of installing
the drivers or the equipment in the customers' premises.
Some installers may attempt to trick users into installing junkware such as various forms
of adware, toolbars, trialware or software of partnering companies.[1] To prevent this, extra
caution on what exactly is being asked to be installed is needed. The installation of additional
software then can simply be skipped or unchecked (this may require the user to use the
"custom", "detailed" or "expert" version of the installation procedure).[1]
Such malicious conduct is not necessarily a decision by the software developers or their
company but can also be an issue of external installers such as the Download.com installer
by CNET.[2]

Necessity[edit]
As mentioned earlier, some computer programs need no installation. This was once usual for
many programs which run on DOS, Mac OS, Atari TOS and AmigaOS. As computing
environments grew more complex and fixed hard drives replaced floppy disks, the need for
tangible installation presented itself.
A class of modern applications that do not need installation are known as portable applications,
as they may be roamed around onto different computers and run. Similarly, there are live
operating systems, which do not need installation and can be run directly from
a bootable CD, DVD, USB flash drive or loaded over the network as with thin clients. Examples
are AmigaOS 4.0, various Linux distributions, MorphOS or Mac OS versions 1.0 through 9.0.
(See live CD and live USB.) Finally, web applications, which run inside a web browser, do not
need installation.

Types[edit]
Attended installation[edit]
On Windows systems, this is the most common form of installation. An installation process
usually needs a user who attends it to make choices, such as accepting or declining an end-
user license agreement (EULA), specifying preferences such as the installation location,
supplying passwords or assisting in product activation. In graphical environments, installers
that offer a wizard-based interface are common. Attended installers may ask users to help
mitigate the errors. For instance, if the disk in which the computer program is being installed
was full, the installer may ask the user to specify another target path or clear enough space in
the disk.

Silent installation[edit]
Installation that does not display messages or windows during its progress. "Silent installation"
is not the same as "unattended installation" (see below): All silent installations are unattended
but not all unattended installations are silent. The reason behind a silent installation may be
convenience or subterfuge. Malware is almost always installed silently.[citation needed]

Unattended installation[edit]
Installation that is performed without user interaction during its progress or with no user present
at all. One of the reasons to use this approach is to automate the installation of a large number
of systems. An unattended installation either does not require the user to supply anything or
has received all necessary input prior to the start of installation. Such input may be in the form
of command line switches or an answer file, a file that contains all the necessary
parameters. Windows XP and most Linux distributions are examples of operating systems that
can be installed with an answer file. In unattended installation, it is assumed that there is no
user to help mitigate errors. For instance, if the installation medium was faulty, the installer
should fail the installation, as there is no user to fix the fault or replace the medium.
Unattended installers may record errors in a computer log for later review.

Headless installation[edit]
Installation performed without using a computer monitor connected. In attended forms of
headless installation, another machine connects to the target machine (for instance, via a local
area network) and takes over the display output. Since a headless installation does not need a
user at the location of the target computer, unattended headless installers may be used to
install a program on multiple machines at the same time.

Scheduled or automated installation[edit]

An installation process that runs on a preset time or when a predefined condition transpires, as
opposed to an installation process that starts explicitly on a user's command. For instance,
a system administrator willing to install a later version of a computer program that is being used
can schedule that installation to occur when that program is not running. An operating system
 may automatically install a device driver for a device that the user connects. (See plug and
play.) Malware may also be installed automatically. For example, the infamous Conficker was
installed when the user plugged an infected device to their computer.

Clean installation[edit]
A clean installation is one that is done in the absence of any interfering elements such as old
versions of the computer program being installed or leftovers from a previous installation. In
particular, the clean installation of an operating system is an installation in which the target disk
partition is erased before installation. Since the interfering elements are absent, a clean
installation may succeed where an unclean installation may fail or may take significantly longer.

Network installation[edit]
Not to be confused with network booting.

Network installation, shortened netinstall, is an installation of a program from a shared network

resource that may be done by installing a minimal system before proceeding to download
further packages over the network. This may simply be a copy of the original media but
software publishers which offer site licenses for institutional customers may provide a version
intended for installation over a network.

Installer[edit]

Look up installer in
Wiktionary, the free
dictionary.

An installation program or installer is a computer program that installs files, such as

applications, drivers, or other software, onto a computer. Some installers are specifically made
to install the files they contain; other installers are general-purpose and work by reading the
contents of the software package to be installed.
The differences between a package management system and an installer are:
This box:

view
talk
edit

Criterion Package manager Installer

Shipped with Usually, the operating system Each computer program

It is entirely at the discretion of the

Location of
installer. It could be a file within the
installation One central installation database
app's folder, or among the operating
information
system's files and folders. At best, they
may register themselves with an
 uninstallers list without exposing
installation information.

Scope of Potentially all packages on the Only the product with which it was
maintenance system bundled

Developed by One package manager vendor Multiple installer vendors

There could be as many formats as the

Package format A handful of well-known formats
number of apps

Can be consumed as long as

the package manager supports
it. Either newer versions of the
Package format
package manager keep
compatibility
supporting it or the user does
not upgrade the package
manager.
The installer is always compatible with
its archive format, if it uses any.
However, installers, like all computer
programs, may be affected by software
rot.

Bootstrapper[edit]
During the installation of computer programs it is sometimes necessary to update the installer
or package manager itself. To make this possible, a technique called bootstrapping is used.
The common pattern for this is to use small executable files which update the installer and
starts the real installation after the update. This small executable is called bootstrapper.
Sometimes the bootstrapper installs other prerequisites for the software during the
bootstrapping process too.

Common types[edit]
Main article: List of installation software

Cross-platform installer builders produce installers that run on Windows, macOS and Linux. An
example is InstallAnywhere by Flexera Software.
Windows NT family includes an installation API and an associated service called Windows
Installer. Microsoft provides a bare minimum of tools required to create installers using
Windows Installer in the freely available Windows SDK. Third party tools may supporting create
installers using this API to speed the process. Examples include InstallShield (Flexera
Software) and WiX (Outercurve Foundation). Installation authoring tools that do not rely on
Windows Installer include Wise Installation Studio (Wise Solutions, Inc.), Installer
VISE(MindVision Software), Visual
Installer (SamLogic), NSIS, Clickteam, InnoSetup and InstallSimple.
macOS includes Installer, a native package manager. macOS also includes a separate
software updating application, Software Update but only supports Apple and system software.
Included in the dock as of 10.6.6, the Mac App Store shares many attributes with the
successful App Store for iOS devices, such as a similar app approval process, the use of Apple
ID for purchases, and automatic installation and updating. Although this is Apple's preferred
delivery method for macOS,[3] previously purchased licenses can not be transferred to the Mac
App Store for downloading or automatic updating. Commercial applications for macOS may
also use a third-party installer, such as Mac version of Installer VISE (MindVision Software) or
InstallerMaker (StuffIt).

System installer[edit]
A system installer is the software that is used to set up and install an operating system onto a
device. Examples of system installers on Linux
are Ubiquity and Wubi for Ubuntu, Anaconda for CentOS and Fedora, Debian-
Installer for Debian-based versions of Linux, and YaST for SUSE-based projects. Another
example is found in the Haiku operating system, which uses a utility called Haiku Installer to
install itself onto a device after booting from a live CD or live USB.