PERFORMING UNATTENDED SOFTWARE INSTALLATION

• US 20140259009A1
• Filed: 10/31/2013
• Published: 09/11/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/06/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Bhattiprolu, Sukadev, Jujjuri, Venkateswararao, Myneni, Haren, Naineni, Malahal R, Pulavarty, Badari, Seetharaman, Chandra, Sharoff, Narasimha N
• Granted Patent: US 9,588,752 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 717/174
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/61 Installation

Abstract

Methods may perform unattended software installation. The method may include receiving a user'"'"'s selection of one or more software installation files, and reading at least a portion of the one or more user-selected software installation files. The method may additionally include extracting, from the read one or more software installation files, questions that a user will be asked to answer during execution of the one or more user-selected software installation files, and compiling the extracted questions. The method may further include prompting a user to provide answers to the compiled questions, and receiving answers to one or more questions of the compiled questions prior to execution of the one or more user-selected software installation files. The method may additionally include storing the received answers, and providing the stored answers when requested during execution of the one or more user-selected software installation files.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

receiving, by an electronic apparatus, a user'"'"'s selection of one or more software installation files;

reading, by the electronic apparatus, at least a portion of the one or more user-selected software installation files;

extracting, by the electronic apparatus and from the read one or more software installation files, questions that a user will be asked to answer during execution of the one or more user-selected software installation files;

compiling, by the electronic apparatus, the extracted questions;

prompting, by the electronic apparatus, a user to provide answers to the compiled questions;

receiving, by the electronic apparatus, answers to one or more questions of the compiled questions prior to execution of the one or more user-selected software installation files;

storing, by the electronic apparatus, the received answers; and

providing, by the electronic apparatus, the stored answers when requested during execution of the one or more user-selected software installation files.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving a user'"'"'s selection of one or more software installation files, reading at least a portion of the one or more user-selected software installation files, extracting questions that a user will be asked to answer during execution of the one or more user-selected software installation files, and compiling the extracted questions includes:

receiving, by a file server of the electronic apparatus, a user'"'"'s selection of one or more software installation files from a client of the electronic apparatus;

reading, by the file server, at least a portion of the one or more user-selected software installation files;

extracting, by the file server and from the read one or more software installation files, questions that a user will be asked to answer during execution of the one or more user-selected software installation files;

compiling, by the file server, the extracted questions; and

sending, by the file server, the compiled questions to the client.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein prompting a user to provide answers to the compiled questions, receiving answers to one or more questions of the compiled questions prior to execution of the one or more user-selected software installation files, storing the received answers, and providing the stored answers when requested during execution of the one or more user-selected software installation files includes:

receiving, by the client, the compiled questions from the file server;

prompting, by the client, a user to provide answers to the compiled questions;

receiving, by the client, answers to one or more questions of the compiled questions prior to execution of the one or more user-selected software installation files;

storing, by the client, the received answers;

downloading, by the client, the one or more user-selected software installation files from the file server; and

providing, by the client, the stored answers when requested during execution of the one or more user-selected software installation files.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein reading, by the electronic apparatus, the one or more user-selected software installation files includes:

reading, by the electronic apparatus, a portion of the one or more user-selected software installation files, and

reading, by the electronic apparatus and subsequent to storing the received answers, the remainder of the one or more user-selected software installation files.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein compiling, by the electronic apparatus, the extracted questions includes identifying, by the electronic apparatus, a first set of questions of the extracted questions that are dependent on answers to a second set of questions of the extracted questions, and wherein prompting, by the electronic apparatus, a user to provide answers to the compiled questions includes prompting, by the electronic apparatus, a user to provide answers to the second set of questions prior to being prompted for the answers to the first set of questions.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein compiling, by the electronic apparatus, the extracted questions includes selecting, by the electronic apparatus, at least one question from the first set of questions based on the answers to the second set of questions.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein prompting, by the electronic apparatus, a user to provide answers to the compiled questions includes prompting, by the electronic apparatus, a user to provide at least one answer to the at least one question.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein prompting, by the electronic apparatus, a user to provide at least one answer to the at least one question includes prompting, by the electronic apparatus, a user to provide answers to questions other than the at least one question from the first set of questions based on the at least one answer.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein compiling, by the electronic apparatus, the extracted questions, includes:

identifying, by the electronic apparatus, redundant questions from the extracted questions; and

excluding, by the electronic apparatus, the identified redundant questions from the compiled questions.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein providing, by the electronic apparatus, the stored answers when requested during execution of the one or more software installation files includes providing, by the electronic apparatus, the stored answers for the excluded redundant questions when requested during execution of the one or more software installation files.