InstallAware Using Lazarus IDE

[Dan3468298]

https://www.installaware.com/news-installaware-multi-platform-contest.htm

Mentions the company is using Lazarus IDE to make the cross platform wizard-led install product. 

[marcov]

Cool!

[lucamar]

For some queer reason this made me fiercely proud, though I have nothing at all to do with Lazarus or FPC other than being an enthusiastic and satisfied "customer":

The maturity of both these platforms [Lazarus and FPC] are enabling our successes in bringing the very best InstallAware has to offer to Linux and macOS today, and an ever-growing number of native platforms tomorrow.

[PascalDragon]

Definitely, lucamar. This is great news for FPC/Lazarus!

[VTwin]

Nice!

[msintle]

Would anybody like to look into making Lazarus's cross-platform native code setups using InstallAware?

A single project would compile into Windows, Linux (aarch64 and AMD64), and macOS (Intel and Apple Silicon) targets.

[Thaddy]

Such old code should be abandoned.
Some old code s good.
This comes not even close.

[VisualLab]

Such old code should be abandoned.
Some old code s good.
This comes not even close.

Does this mean that InstallAware is old code? And should it be abandoned? And is it bad?

Because there is a lot of old software (e.g. Linux, Windows, etc.) and no one wants to abandon it. With this opinion about quality, a lot probably depends on the person (and often they can even provide some reasonable arguments to support this opinion).

So can you let us in on the secret?

[Thaddy]

It never passed any scrutanize. Bad software from 40 years ago is still bad software.

[VisualLab]

It never passed any scrutanize. Bad software from 40 years ago is still bad software.

Hmmm... that's quite a cryptic answer. Counting back 40 years from now, it's 1984. There was no version of Windows available back then. The first version of Windows appeared in 1985. But the actual usable version was 3.0 (1990). From what I remember, InstallAware appeared around 2000 (or later). That's a maximum of 25 years ago. Maybe you meant InstallShield? It is older than InstallAware.

However, I have never used InstallAware (I have used InnoSetup and ISTool). Your answer intrigued me. Can you find out more? What's so flawed about it?

[msintle]

Guy can't even spell censorship right, puts up a Ukraine flag, and attempts to censor an idea based on literal nonsense

[VisualLab]

...puts up a Ukraine flag...

This is already "entering politics". Everyone has the right to have their own views (unless they are cannibals). I really like discussions about politics (and the economy, because they are intertwined). And that's why I try hard to avoid it on tech forums. Because once I start, it's hard for me to stop myself from continuing the discussion. Although I was tempted to write at least one sentence about Russia's robbery attack on Ukraine (the Russian authorities "have it like this" that since the times of Ivan the Terrible, they attack some of their closer or more distant neighbors from time to time, and the oprichnina is still in power today).

I wrote about problems with Windows because it is closely related to IT.

[marcov]

Would anybody like to look into making Lazarus's cross-platform native code setups using InstallAware?

A single project would compile into Windows, Linux (aarch64 and AMD64), and macOS (Intel and Apple Silicon) targets.

Most installer work is OS specific, and, in the case of FPC/lazarus even the file lists to install are, since there are *nix and windows specific packages, and similarly due to Lazarus' widgetsets.

You can try, but I don't really expect that much from it, nor that it will match the current inno setups.

[dbannon]

It never passed any scrutiny. Bad software from 40 years ago is still bad software.

From their own website, https://www.installaware.com/company-overview.htm :

InstallAware Software, founded in 2003 by InstallShield alumni, is a software development company......... and is a Borland Technology Partner.

So, 40 years is a bit of a stretch. And I included the end of that paragraph just for fun !

Davo

[msintle]

Would anybody like to look into making Lazarus's cross-platform native code setups using InstallAware?

A single project would compile into Windows, Linux (aarch64 and AMD64), and macOS (Intel and Apple Silicon) targets.

Most installer work is OS specific, and, in the case of FPC/lazarus even the file lists to install are, since there are *nix and windows specific packages, and similarly due to Lazarus' widgetsets.

You can try, but I don't really expect that much from it, nor that it will match the current inno setups.

It's about measuring up.

A good user of InstallAware would use compiler variables to create conditional parts of the installation script that are platform (and even CPU architecture) specific, while retaining an overall consistent look and feel for the entire setup (regardless of platform).

Right now it's plain impossible to install official Lazarus releases on most Linux environments, unless you're using FPCUPDLX. Again, it is exactly the same for Apple Silicon native macOS installations - for which there's no PKG installer available, period. FPCUPDLX is a heroic effort, but has a track record of backing itself into corners it cannot get itself out of (I've been seeing error 512 and/or outright hangs of the compilation process on virtually every Linux system I've tried it on, when using FPC 3.3.1 and Trunk/Stable Lazarus).

I honestly can't see the harm in having a consistent installation process, with official support for AMD64 and aarch64 targets on both Linux and macOS. It'll only serve to make Lazarus more accessible for greater adoption. With Delphi just at #11 on this year's Tiobe index, the timing is really perfect for an upgrade of the installation (and by implication, the user experience).

Am I the only one in thinking this investment would pay off dividends over time? Instead of maintaining multiple - and disparate - PKG, DEB, RPM installation scripts, there'd be just one setup project and one conditionally compiled setup script. That sounds like three times the less work to me. Help me understand how this is a bad thing?