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Posted to dev@tomcat.apache.org by Christopher Schultz <ch...@christopherschultz.net> on 2018/10/12 18:04:22 UTC
Installed - NSIS vs MSI
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All,
Does anyone know why we are continuing to use Nullsoft's installer[1]
to build Tomcat installers for Windows? It looks like Microsoft's
MSI[2] is supported down to Windows 7, which is the latest supported
version of their own OSs. Is "backward-compatibility" the only reason
to stick with NSIS for now? Or in the past?
I'm asking because Mark and I were talking about building a release on
Macos, and he said it wasn't possible because something in NSIS
doesn't play well with Wine[3] (the non-emulator for Windows on
non-Windows platforms). Well, if NSIS doesn't play well with Wine,
maybe we should take a look at MSI packages instead.
Thanks,
- -chris
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nullsoft_Scriptable_Install_System
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Installer
[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wine_(software)
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Re: Installed - NSIS vs MSI
Posted by Rémy Maucherat <re...@apache.org>.
On Fri, Oct 12, 2018 at 8:35 PM Mark Thomas <ma...@apache.org> wrote:
> On 12/10/18 19:04, Christopher Schultz wrote:
> > All,
> >
> > Does anyone know why we are continuing to use Nullsoft's installer[1]
> > to build Tomcat installers for Windows? It looks like Microsoft's
> > MSI[2] is supported down to Windows 7, which is the latest supported
> > version of their own OSs. Is "backward-compatibility" the only reason
> > to stick with NSIS for now? Or in the past?
>
> Looks like the decision goes back a while and platform compatibility /
> availability was a factor in it being mentioned:
> http://markmail.org/message/oggtvsra5g2xmr23
>
> Once it was mentioned then the fact it was free, easy, small and fast
> were all factors:
> https://tomcat.markmail.org/thread/7p5qfabouhlm6yp2
>
> Looks like Remy created the first version so I'm sure he has better
> insights as it was before my time and I am only going by the archives.
>
I don't have anything else to add to what is in the commit log. NSIS was
opensource, easy, small, I could add some custom dialogs too (although that
was harder), and that was how it was selected. And also I liked winamp then
(this was not mentioned in the commit log, sorry ...).
+1 to replace it if there's a volunteer.
Rémy
Note: if someone wants the history before early 2006, note that I redid the
Tomcat repository for 6.0 (before then, it was ... mavenized into modules,
but we were of course using Ant and bad IDEs, so it was rather painful) and
you have to look into the archives here:
http://svn.apache.org/viewvc/tomcat/archive/
> Keep in mind that the NSIS installer used to play nicely with Wine and
> may do so again. It might also be the case that a config change is all
> that is required.
>
> > I'm asking because Mark and I were talking about building a release on
> > Macos, and he said it wasn't possible because something in NSIS
> > doesn't play well with Wine[3] (the non-emulator for Windows on
> > non-Windows platforms). Well, if NSIS doesn't play well with Wine,
> > maybe we should take a look at MSI packages instead.
>
> I haven't tested this in about 12 months. The NSIS/Wine issue may have
> been fixed in the meantime.
>
> It is certainly worth looking. Maybe look at some of the more
> 'interesting' features as they are likely to be the hardest to port:
> - determining 32 or 64 bit JVM
> - signed installer and uninstaller
>
> Mark
>
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>
Re: Installed - NSIS vs MSI
Posted by Mark Thomas <ma...@apache.org>.
On 12/10/18 19:04, Christopher Schultz wrote:
> All,
>
> Does anyone know why we are continuing to use Nullsoft's installer[1]
> to build Tomcat installers for Windows? It looks like Microsoft's
> MSI[2] is supported down to Windows 7, which is the latest supported
> version of their own OSs. Is "backward-compatibility" the only reason
> to stick with NSIS for now? Or in the past?
Looks like the decision goes back a while and platform compatibility /
availability was a factor in it being mentioned:
http://markmail.org/message/oggtvsra5g2xmr23
Once it was mentioned then the fact it was free, easy, small and fast
were all factors:
https://tomcat.markmail.org/thread/7p5qfabouhlm6yp2
Looks like Remy created the first version so I'm sure he has better
insights as it was before my time and I am only going by the archives.
Keep in mind that the NSIS installer used to play nicely with Wine and
may do so again. It might also be the case that a config change is all
that is required.
> I'm asking because Mark and I were talking about building a release on
> Macos, and he said it wasn't possible because something in NSIS
> doesn't play well with Wine[3] (the non-emulator for Windows on
> non-Windows platforms). Well, if NSIS doesn't play well with Wine,
> maybe we should take a look at MSI packages instead.
I haven't tested this in about 12 months. The NSIS/Wine issue may have
been fixed in the meantime.
It is certainly worth looking. Maybe look at some of the more
'interesting' features as they are likely to be the hardest to port:
- determining 32 or 64 bit JVM
- signed installer and uninstaller
Mark
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