System and method of multiple-stage installation of a suite of applications

• US 6,698,018 B1
• Filed: 05/10/2000
• Issued: 02/24/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 05/10/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Zimniewicz, Jeff A., Johnson, Crista E., Helgeson, Ryan, Marino, Phillip J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen-Ba, Antony
• Application Number:
  US09/567,732
• Time in Patent Office: 1,385 Days
• Field of Search: 717/168-178, 717/122, 707/203
• US Class Current: 717/175
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/61 Installation

Abstract

A multiple stage installation system for the installation and setup of a suite of applications segregates and organizes the preparation, installation, clean up, optimization, etc. into functional groupings that define the multiple stages of the installation process. These functional groupings include actions to be performed on behalf of and to any and all of the applications to be installed. While different stages may be defined, the system preferably includes a pre-install phase, an install phase, and a post-install phase during which different functional activities are performed. An optimization phase may also be included to allow optimization of applications that have already been installed. In a preferred embodiment, the applications to be installed implement a COM interface that contains a method for each stage supported. The core installation system determines the installation order for the applications, acquires the COM interface from the application, and for each install stage, calls the appropriate method on that interface. Each application'"'"'s method for a given stage is called before any methods of any applications for the next stage.

Claims

1. A method of installing a suite of applications, comprising:

identifying a plurality of installation phases;

acquiring install actions for each of said plurality of installation phases for each of the applications in the suite that are to be installed; and

performing all of said install actions for each of the applications in the suite that are to be installed for each of said plurality of installation phases before performing any of said install actions for any of said applications in the suite for a subsequent installation phase.

2. A method of installing a suite of applications, comprising:

identifying a plurality of installation phases;

acquiring install actions for each of said plurality of installation phases for each of the applications in the suite that are to be installed;

performing all of said install actions for each of the applications in the suite that are to be installed for each of said plurality of installation phases before performing any of said install actions for any of said applications in the suite for a subsequent installation phase;

wherein said step of identifying a plurality of installation phases comprises the steps of;

defining a pre-install phase;

defining an install phase; and

defining a post-install phase.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein said step of performing all of said install actions comprises the steps of:

performing all of said install actions for said pre-install phase for all of the applications in the suite that are to be installed;

then

performing all of said install actions for said install phase for all of the applications in the suite that are to be installed; and

then

performing all of said install actions for said post-install phase for all of the applications in the suite that are to be installed.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein said step of performing all of said install actions for said pre-install phase comprises the step of gathering all user input necessary for installation of the applications.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein said step of performing all of said install actions for said pre-install phase comprises the steps of:

creating a file queue of files required for proper installation of the applications to be installed; and

determining availability of all of said files required for proper installation of the applications to be installed.

6. The method of claim 3, wherein said step of performing all of said install actions for said pre-install phase comprises the step of identifying dependencies between applications to be installed that may affect installation.

7. The method of claim 3, wherein said step of performing all of said install actions for said pre-install phase comprises the steps of:

determining a version number of all components required by the applications to be installed;

identifying instances of different version numbers of a particular component required by different applications to be installed; and

marking the highest version of the particular component read-only.

8. The method of claim 3, wherein said step of performing all of said install actions for said install phase comprises the step of installing all of the applications to be installed without interruption.

9. The method of claim 3, wherein said step of performing all of said install actions for said post-install phase comprises the steps of cleaning up temporary data and running an optimization wizard.

10. The method of claim 2, wherein said step of identifying a plurality of installation phases further comprises the step of identifying an optimization phase.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein said step of performing all of said install actions comprises the steps of:

performing all of said install actions for said pre-install phase for all of the applications in the suite that are to be installed;

then

performing all of said install actions for said install phase for all of the applications in the suite that are to be installed;

then

performing all of said install actions for said post-install phase for all of the applications in the suite that are to be installed; and

then

performing all of said install actions for said optimization phase for all of the applications in the suite.

12. A computer-readable medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions to perform the steps of:

acquiring install actions for a plurality of installation phases for each of a plurality of applications in a suite that are to be installed; and

performing all of said install actions for each of the applications in the suite that are to be installed for each of said plurality of installation phases before performing any of said install actions for any of said applications in the suite for a subsequent installation phase.

13. A computer-readable medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions to perform the steps of:

acquiring install actions for a plurality of installation phases for each of a plurality of applications in a suite that are to be installed;

performing all of said install actions for each of the applications in the suite that are to be installed for each of said plurality of installation phases before performing any of said install actions for any of said applications in the suite for a subsequent installation phase;

wherein said step of acquiring install actions for a plurality of installation phases comprises the steps of;

acquiring install actions for a pre-install phase;

acquiring install actions for an install phase; and

acquiring install actions for a post-install phase.

14. The computer-readable medium of claim 13, wherein said step of performing all of said install actions comprises the steps of:

performing all of said install actions for said pre-install phase for all of the applications in the suite that are to be installed;

then

performing all of said install actions for said install phase for all of the applications in the suite that are to be installed; and

then

performing all of said install actions for said post-install phase for all of the applications in the suite that are to be installed.