Manufacture of software distribution media packages from...

Data processing: software development – installation – and managem – Software program development tool – Translation of code

Reexamination Certificate

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Details

C709S200000, C709S220000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06324691

ABSTRACT:

This application is related to co-pending application (Attorney Docket No. 10981960-1), titled SOFTWARE INSTALLATION USING ABSTRACT DATA, which was filed on Nov. 12, 1998.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to methods used to manufacture software distribution media packages. It also relates to methods for downloading software from a remote server source via the Internet.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Presently used methods of creating a software distribution package are incapable of building a custom distribution media package which incorporate unknown or updated software components available at remote server sites via the Internet. In fact, existing technology is incapable of creating from an existing distribution media package of a software suite, a custom distribution media package which includes only a subset of selected software components from the suite. It is axiomatic that the only media package available to an end user is one which has an original installation program designed to install an entire suite of software
A further disadvantage of the existing technology is that it does not integrate the Internet into the distribution media building process. This means that software components installed from a user's distribution media, whether it be a set of floppy diskettes or a CD-ROM, disk is probably an obsolete version, when compared with the same software that is available from the software developer/manufacturer via the Internet. Most software companies post new versions of their software and device drivers on the Internet in order to provide their users with greater functionality. Many large companies have Management Information Systems (MIS) support personnel, whose job it is to make the updated software available to the users whom they support. In addition to using updated distribution media, which are released by the software developer/manufacturer at regular intervals, the MIS support personnel also have the option to download more recent versions of supported software from Internet sites. Merely keeping track of updated software availability can be a time-consuming task, particularly if multiple Internet suites must be browsed manually in order to keep multiple software packages updated. Furthermore, in order to utilize updated software resident on servers accessible via the Internet, the following steps must be followed:
1. Each available software component must be downloaded from the remote server in a compressed executable form;
2. The compressed files which make up the software component, as well as the associated setup files must be decompressed;
3. The setup program must then be run in order to install the software on the local computer system; and
4. If multiple end users require the updated software component, the setup steps must be run on each end user system.
What is needed is a more flexible process for creating distribution media. The process should be able not only to generate media containing only a subset of the original software suite, but it should integrate the Internet into the distribution media building process so that new and updated software components can be integrated into the media.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This invention makes possible the generation of customized distribution media package that can include a subset of software components from a larger suite of components. The customized distribution media package can include new or updated software components retrieved from a remote server via the Internet, or just a subset of the original software suite, no matter how old the original software distribution media is. The new distribution media generation process is flexible, in that it can include software components which were unknown at the time the original distribution media package was manufactured. Any software development company using this technology can deploy new and updated software to its customers by performing a virtual an updatable in-box software roll, which can be updated over the Internet even after the product has shipped. This will eliminate the need for end-user MIS personnel to perform several download, extract, and setup steps because the media packager handles the downloading and integrating of the new software into a new distribution media package which the MIS personnel need run only once to load all of the new software. Once the new distribution media package has been verified, MIS personnel can add a switch to the installation program that will install the software on an end user's machine without requiring any user interaction. This allows MIS personnel to put the setup program in a log-in script that will be executed for each user as that user connects his client machine to the company network, thereby greatly automating the software component installation and upgrade process.
The present invention is made possible by a new abstract data software installation process, which is the subject of the heretofore-identified, related patent application. A summary of that new installation process is in order. Rather than using the prior art script-based installation process, in which the entire installation process procedure is encapsulated in a single script, the installation process is fragmented so that the installation or uninstallation of individual components of a software suite is controlled by multiple independent files, rather than by a single script file. Each software component has associated therewith a unique component-specific data file which is independent of and external to the installer-processing engine, the suite installation process flow, and the other software components. Each component-specific data file contains not only the installation criteria that is used to determine whether or not a software component is installable on a particular computer system, and how to optimize installation of the component on a particular system, but also the command sequences which must be executed for installation and unexecuted during uninstallation. The flow of the installation/uninstallation process, on the other hand, is controlled by a separate process-control file which is read and executed by the install/uninstall processing engine. Fragmentation of the installation process in this manner isolates the intelligence required to install and uninstall a specific software component, thereby separating installation flow information from component installation information. Since the installation of individual software components is no longer tied to the installation process flow, the installer-developer can change the installation flow without affecting information related to individual software components. Likewise, the characteristics of individual software components can be modified without risking corruption of the install/uninstall process flow. Gone is the need to recompile or rebuild an installation package because the information required to perform an install or uninstall is stored in separate data files, outside of the core install/uninstall processing engine. A component data file may reside at any accessible location, which makes integrated installation from on a remote server accessible over the Internet feasible. Component data files that were not in existence at the time the original software distribution package was created can be supplied with new or updated software components via the Internet so that those components can be integrated into an existing software suite at installation run time.
The new installation process has been developed using Object Orientated Analysis and Design (OOAD) in a C++ programming language environment. Both the component-specific data files and the process-control files are represented as objects. The component-specific data files are represented as persistent objects. The term persistent refers to a unique type of C++ object that may be saved as a file on a mass storage device. When called upon at a later time, even by another computer system, the saved object is cable of restoring itself, including all related child me

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