Method and apparatus for packaging and streaming installation software

• US 7,735,057 B2
• Filed: 08/21/2003
• Issued: 06/08/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 05/16/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: CA, Inc. (d/b/a CA Technologies) (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Symantec Corporation (NortonLifeLock Inc.)
• Inventors: Halperin, Yaron, Holzman, Danny, Rachman, Ophir, Ben Zeev, Gilad A., Malka, Gabriel, Raz, Uri, McCarten, Ryan M.
• Primary Examiner(s): WANG, RONGFA PHILIP
• Application Number:
  US10/646,416
• Publication Number:
  US 20040230971A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,483 Days
• Field of Search: 717/100, 717174-177
• US Class Current: 717/100
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/656 while running
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/658 Incremental updates; Differential updates
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/44505 Configuring for program initiating, e.g. using registry, configuration files
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/44521 Dynamic linking or loading; Link editing at or after load time, e.g. Java class loading

Abstract

A software application streamed from a host system to a target system comprises the installation or configuration logic for another software application. In certain embodiments, the installation logic conforms to a well-known installation standard. The described technique allows the use and/or execution of installation logic or other related objects when these objects do not exist in their entirety on the target system. The application installation that results from this process may configure the subsequent application to be delivered only in part (in streamed mode) or in its entirety.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

a computer system converting an installation package usable to install a software application on a target processing system from a first format to a second format, wherein the first format does not permit streaming of the installation package, wherein the second format permits streaming of the installation package, and wherein said converting includes replacing a first actual file in the installation package with a first dummy file and replacing a second actual file in the installation package with a second dummy file, wherein the first and second dummy files are subsequently replaceable at the target processing system with the first and second actual files, respectively, and wherein each of the first and second dummy files includes a respective header, and wherein remaining portions of the first and second dummy files are made up of null content; and

the computer system streaming the converted installation package to the target processing system over a network, wherein said streaming causes the converted installation package to configure the target processing system for execution of the software application.

2. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the converted installation package is usable in a streaming mode to create user-specific information on the target processing system, wherein the user-specific information is subsequently usable by the software application when the software application is executed on the target processing system.

3. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the first and second dummy files are the same size as the first and second actual files, respectively, wherein the first dummy file includes an identifier indicative of the first actual file, and wherein the second dummy file includes an identifier indicative of the second actual file.

4. The method as recited in claim 1 further comprising:

the computer system transmitting portions of the converted installation package to the target processing system, wherein said transmitting causes the target processing system to execute the converted installation package on the target processing system using only portions of the converted installation package that have been transmitted.

5. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the first and second formats are compatible with a standardized installation format.

6. The method as recited in claim 5, wherein the standardized installation format is an MSI format.

7. A method comprising:

a client computer system receiving, over a network, an installation package, wherein the installation is usable to install a software application on the client computer system, and wherein the installation package includes one or more dummy files, each of which corresponds to one or more actual files that are not included in the installation package, wherein each of the one or more dummy files includes a header, wherein a remaining portion of each of the one or more dummy files includes content not present in its corresponding one or more actual files;

the client computer system subsequently receiving, over the network, a first of the one or more actual files, wherein the first actual file corresponds to a first of the one or more dummy files;

the client computer system replacing the first dummy file in the installation package with the first actual file; and

the client computer system using the installation package and the first actual file to configure the client computer system to install the software application.

8. The method as recited in claim 7, wherein each of the one or more dummy files has the same size as its corresponding actual file.

9. The method as recited in claim 7,

wherein the installation package is compatible with a standardized installation format.

10. The method as recited in claim 9, wherein the standardized installation format is an MSI format.

11. A method comprising:

a computer system converting an installation package usable to install a software application on a target processing system from a first format to a second format, wherein the first format is compatible with a standardized installation format and does not permit streaming of the installation package, wherein the second format is compatible with the standardized installation format and permits streaming of the installation package, wherein said converting includes replacing each of one or more actual files in the installation package with a dummy file that is the same size as its corresponding actual file; and

the computer system streaming the converted installation package to the target processing system, wherein said streaming causes the target processing system to be configured to execute the software application.

12. The method as recited in claim 11, wherein the converted installation package is usable in a streaming mode to create user-specific information on the target processing system, wherein the user-specific information is subsequently used by the software application when the software application is executed on the target processing system.

13. The method as recited in claim 11, wherein each of the one or more dummy files includes a header, wherein a remaining portion of each of the one or more dummy files includes content not present in its corresponding actual file.

14. A method comprising:

a computer system classifying each of a plurality of files in a first installation package according to a file type of that file, wherein the first installation package is usable to install a software application on a target system;

the computer system creating a dummy file for each of the plurality of files classified as having a first file type, wherein each dummy file includes a header and a remaining portion of the dummy file includes content that has been nullified, and wherein each dummy file is subsequently replaceable by the file for which that dummy file was created; and

the computer system creating a second installation package including the dummy files, wherein the second installation package is streamable to the target system.

15. The method as recited in claim 14, wherein the second installation package conforms to an installation standard.

16. The method as recited in claim 14, wherein each dummy file is the same size as the file for which that dummy file was created.

17. The method as recited in claim 16, wherein each dummy file includes an identifier indicative of the file for which that dummy file was created.

18. The method as recited in claim 14, wherein the first and second installation packages are compatible with a standardized format.

19. The method as recited in claim 18, wherein the standardized format is an MSI format.

20. A method of creating an installation package to be streamed to a target system to configure the target system for execution of a software application in a streaming mode, the method comprising:

a computer system extracting, from an installation package including a plurality of files including a set of archive files, wherein the installation package is usable to install the software application, and wherein the installation package is in a form not formatted for streaming;

the computer system creating a list of all of the files in the installation package;

the computer system creating a list of streamlets for all of the files in the installation package;

the computer system classifying each of the files in the installation package as belonging to either a first type or a second type, the first type representing all of the files in the installation package which are normally installed on a system for purposes of installing the software application, the second type representing all of the files in the installation package which are not of the first type;

the computer system, for each file of the first type which is not an archive file, creating a dummy file of the same size with a special header and nullifying all of the other files of the first type;

the computer system creating a dummy archive file for any files of the first type which are contained in an archive file;

the computer system creating a dummy installation image including each said dummy file, each said dummy archive file, and each said file of the second type; and

the computer system creating the streaming installation package to include the dummy installation image, application information and a database, wherein the database contains the software application and indicates a segmenting of the application into streamlets, and wherein the application information represents only the files of the second type in the dummy installation image.

21. The method as recited in claim 20, wherein the installation package is in a standardized format.

22. The method as recited in claim 21, wherein the standardized format is an MSI format.

23. An apparatus comprising:

means for converting an installation package usable to install a software application on a target processing system from a first format to a second format, wherein the first format is compatible with a standardized installation format and does not permit streaming of the installation package, and wherein the second format is compatible with the standardized installation format and permits streaming of the installation package, wherein converting the installation program includes replacing a first actual file in the installation package with a first dummy file and replacing a second actual file in the installation package with a second dummy file, wherein the first and second dummy files are subsequently replaceable with the first and second actual files, respectively, wherein the first and second dummy files each include a respective header, wherein a remaining portion of the first dummy file includes content not present in the first actual file; and

wherein a remaining portion of the second dummy file includes content not present in the second actual file; and

means for streaming the converted installation to the target processing system, wherein said streaming causes the target processing system to be configured to execute the software application.

24. The apparatus as recited in claim 23, wherein the converted installation package is usable in a streaming mode to create user-specific information on the target processing system, wherein the user-specific information is subsequently used by the software application when the software application is executed on the target processing system.

25. The apparatus as recited in claim 23, wherein the first and second dummy files are the same size as the first and second actual files.

26. The method as recited in claim 23, wherein the standardized installation format is an MSI format.