Patent Application
20050289537
Various devices are now available that have processing and storage capabilities that are analogous to that of a conventional computer, such as a personal computer (PC). For example, handheld devices, such as personal digital assistants (PDAs) and mobile telephones, as well as terminal computers have computing capabilities and functionalities similar to those of PCs. Such devices often use operating systems that comprise smaller-scale versions of those used on PCs. For example, several devices use the Windows CE™ operating system, which may be described as a scaled-down version of the Windows™ operating system used on many PCs.
There are various methods available for installing software on computing devices such as those described above. For example, the various software to be installed can be packaged within a self-extracting file that installs the device operating system as well as the various programs that are packaged with the operating system. In the case of the Windows CE™ operating environment, the software can be packaged within an NK.bin file that includes an image of the operating system and that is used during the initial boot to initialize the operating system and define the environment in which it executes.
Although all of the software that is to be installed on the computing device can be contained within the self-extracting file, it may be desirable in some situations to segregate some of that software so that it exists outside of the self-extracting file and, once installed, outside of the operating system. For instance, if all of that software is contained within the self-extracting file, no programs that are installed through the extraction process can be deleted, for example to create space for other programs that the user may wish to install.
In cases in which software is to be installed on a computing device is not contained within a self-extracting file, it may be desirable to wrap that software within a separate compressed file. More specifically, it may be desirable to wrap the software within a compressed file of a well-known format given that third-party developers will be more likely to develop software for the computing device when a well-known format is available for installing software on the device. One such well- known format is the .CAB (or “cabinet”) format, which is a proprietary file format of the Microsoft Corporation.
Despite the advantages that are available by providing software to be installed within a separate compressed file, hurdles may still exist to installation of that software. For example, in the case of a proprietary file format, a special program of the creator of the proprietary file format may be required to install the software. For instance, WCELOAD.EXE of the Microsoft Corporation may be required to install files wrapped within a .CAB file on a computing device that uses the Windows CE™ operating system. In such a situation, the files within the .CAB file may only be installed if and when the user (or other installer) activates the .CAB file by, for instance, double-clicking on an associated icon within the Windows CE™ operating system.
While such manual activation may not be difficult to perform, more desirable would be an automated installation process. This is particularly the case in situations in which the software is to be installed on, say, hundreds of computing devices, for example if an administrator is installing a program on all of the devices of a particular concern. In addition, if installation could be achieved outside of the operating system, alternative installation mechanisms, such as network-based installation, could be utilized.
In one embodiment, a method and system for installing software on a computing device includes determining during booting of the computing device whether a compressed file containing software to be installed has been stored on the computing device and, if so, calling a file installation tool that is configured to open the compressed file and install the contents of the file on the computing device.
The disclosed system and method can be better understood with reference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings are not necessarily to scale.
Disclosed is a system and method for installing software. More particularly, disclosed are a system and method for at least partially automating the installation of software contained within a compressed file. In one embodiment, a compressed file that comprises software that is to be installed on a computing device is stored in a predetermined directory of the computing device file system. During the boot process, a software installation manager scans the predetermined directory to determine whether it contains such a compressed file. If so, the software installation manager calls an appropriate installation tool that is configured to open the compressed file and install the software that it contains. Operating in this manner, the software installation manager automates the installation of the various software contained within the compressed file, and permits installation to be performed outside of the computing device operating system.
Referring now to the drawings, in which like numerals indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views,
By way of example, the computing device 100 comprises a terminal computer of the type that includes no mass-storage drives such as a hard drive or a compact disc (CD) drive, but may include other nonvolatile memory, such as one or more flash-based devices. In such a case, the computing device 100 may be used as a mechanism or means for accessing other computing devices, such as local or remote servers. Although a terminal computer has been specifically identified as a possible embodiment, the computing device 100 can comprise another computing device on which software that is contained within a compressed file is to be installed. Other examples include handheld computing devices, such as personal digital assistants, mobile telephones, and the like.
As is shown in
Turning to
The computing device processor 300 can include a central processing unit (CPU) or an auxiliary processor among several processors associated with the computing device 100. The memory 302 includes, for example, a combination of one or more volatile memory elements (e.g., random access memory (RAM)) and one or more nonvolatile memory elements (e.g., flash device).
Stored in memory 302 is a basic input-output system (BIOS) 308 that comprises the code that controls low-level operation of the computing device 100 and communications with I/O devices that are connected to the computing device 100 (e.g., keyboard mouse, etc.). The memory 302 further includes a bootstrap mechanism 310 that is called by the BIOS 308 to control the computing device boot process.
Also contained in memory 302 is an operating system 312 that provides scheduling, input-output control, file and data management, memory management, and communication control, and that controls general operation of the computing device 100 from the perspective of the user. As is shown in
During the initial boot processes, the bootstrap mechanism 310 reads the self-extraction file 314, copies it to RAM, and execution then jumps to an offset of the image defined by the self-extraction file. When execution transitions to the image within RAM, the operating system 312 self-extracts to define a factory default state by creating a file system 316 and a registry 318, installing various drivers 320, and installing any programs that comprise part of the default state including a file installation tool 322. By way of example, the registry 318 comprises a persistent registry, such as a hive-based registry, which comprises a collection of files that are stored within nonvolatile memory, such as a flash device. The nature of the file installation tool 322 depends upon the nature of the files that it is configured to install. In cases in which the compressed files to be installed are .CAB files, the file installation tool 322 may comprise WCELOAD.EXE from the Microsoft Corporation.
Also included in the operating system 302 is a software installation manager 324. As is described in greater detail below, the software installation manager 324 at least partially automates the installation of software contained in compressed files. In some embodiments, the software installation manager 324 scans certain predetermined directories of the file system 316 to determine if those directories contain compressed files and, if so, calls the file installation tool 322, which is configured to open the compressed files and install their contents. Those contents may comprise user applications 326.
Various programs (i.e., logic) have been described above. It is to be understood that those programs can be stored on any computer-readable medium for use by or in connection with any computer-related system or method. In the context of this document, a computer-readable medium is an electronic, magnetic, optical, or other physical device or means that can contain or store a computer program for use by or in connection with a computer-related system or method. The programs can be embodied in any computer-readable medium for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device, such as a computer-based system, processor-containing system, or other system that can fetch the instructions from the instruction execution system, apparatus, or device and execute the instructions.
As is described in the foregoing, it may desirable to wrap software to be installed on a computing device within a compressed file. However, certain tools associated with a particular operating system may be required to open that file and install the software it contains if the file is of a proprietary format. In such cases, a user may need to initiate the installation process from the operating system by, for example, double-clicking on an associated icon within the operating system. Given the attendant disadvantages of such manual activation of the installation process within the operating system, it would be beneficial to have a mechanism that at least partially automates the installation process and enables installation outside of the operating system.
Beginning with block 402 of
With reference to decision element 406, if there are no such files, flow for the session (i.e., boot session) is terminated. If, on the other hand, there is such a file, flow continues to block 408 at which the appropriate file installation tool is called. Typically, that tool forms part of the operating system and is specifically configured to act on a particular proprietary compressed file type. Once the file installation tool is called, the tool unpacks the file and installs the software contents of that file, as indicated in block 410. At this point, flow returns to block 404 at which it is determined whether there are any other compressed files to be installed. If so, flow continues in the manner described above until no such files remain and, therefore, all such files have been installed.
Once initiated, the software installation manager 324 scans one or more predetermined directories for compressed files of the type that contain software that is to be installed on the computing device, as indicated in block 500. By way of example, the software installation manager 324 scans a “Hard Disk” directory that pertains to a nonvolatile storage device, such as a flash device, as a whole. By way of further example, the compressed files for which the software installation manager 324 scans are .CAB files configured for use on a Windows platform, such as Windows CE™.
With reference to decision element 502, if there are no compressed files in the directory or directories, flow continues on to decision element 518 of
If power down is not to be disabled, flow continues to decision block 508 described below. If, on the other hand, power down is to be disabled, flow continues to block 506 at which the software installation manager 324 disables the power button of the computing device (e.g., button 108,
Referring next to block 508, the software installation manager 324 copies the identified compressed file to the RAM file system and, as indicated in block 510, deletes the file from the persistent file system (i.e., stored in nonvolatile memory). In this manner, the software installation manager 324 “moves” the compressed file from nonvolatile to volatile memory and, in so doing, frees space on the nonvolatile storage device (e.g., flash device).
At this point, the software installation manager 324 runs the file installation tool 322 that is specifically configured to open the compressed file and install its contents, as indicated in block 512. In cases in which the compressed file is a .CAB file, the file installation tool 322 may comprise, for example, WCELOAD.EXE. Once run, the file installation tool 322, irrespective of its particular configuration, opens the compressed file and installs the software contained within that file into the locations specified by the compressed file. Such installation may comprise, for instance, the installation of various user applications. In such a case, installation may result in the storage of executable files in the persistent file system and the addition of entries to the operating system registry.
Flow next continues to block 514 of
At this point, flow returns to block 500 of
With reference next to block 522, the software installation manager 324 determines whether there are any programs (e.g., .EXE files or .DLL files) that have been installed that must be located in the RAM file system, for example within the “Windows Directory.” This determination is made because some programs are specifically configured for operation within the RAM file system and, therefore, may not function correctly when they are not contained within that file system (e.g., if they only reside in the persistent file system, such as within a “Programs” directory of that persistent file system). Notably, this determination is made for each boot given that the RAM file system is erased each time the computing device is powered down. By way of example, the determination is made by evaluating the path specified for the given program(s). For instance, if the path for a program contains the “RAMCopy” identifier as in:
Referring to decision block 524, if there are no such programs, flow for the software installation session is terminated. If, however, there are one or more such programs, the contents of those programs are copied to the RAM file system, as indicated in block 526.
From the foregoing, it can be appreciated that the software installation manager 324 at least partially automates the installation of software on a computing device by automatically scanning for compressed files that contain software to be installed and automatically running an appropriate file installation tool when such files are discovered. Such functionality removes the need for the user to manually initiate installation of software contained within such a file. Furthermore, such functionality greatly simplifies installation of software on multiple computing devices. For example, if given software is to be installed on many different computing devices at the same time, an administrator can simply download an appropriate compressed file to each of the various computing devices (e.g., using a batch file or a shared directory) so that the software is automatically installed on each device when the devices boot.
In addition, the software installation manager 324 further enables installation of software outside of the operating system, thereby increasing installation options for the user. For example, a user may employ a network-based installation process, such as a pre-boot execution environment (PXE) based installation process, to install the desired software.
In view of the above, a method 600 for installing software on a computing device can be described as is indicated in
