Advanced Revelation 2.0 Installation Script Processor
Published By | Date | Version | Knowledge Level | Keywords |
---|---|---|---|---|
Revelation Technologies | 01 FEB 1990 | 2.X | EXPERT | INSTALLATION, SCRIPT, PROCESSOR |
The Advanced Revelation Installation process has been redesigned to improve flexibility, speed of installation, and ease of use. In addition, you can customize the installation process easily, and ÎpiggybackÙ the installation of your applications onto the initial installation process.
Script File
The installation process is initialized and controlled by the INSTALL.EXE program. This program displays the installation menu, displays the window that prompts for source and destination paths, and controls the execution of installation commands.
So that the installation process can be customized, the INSTALL.EXE reads and uses an installation ÎscriptÙ. The script consists of batch-file-like commands to prompt for disks, display custom messages, and execute operating system-level commands. To customize the installation process, you can alter the script file or add your own commands to it.
The installation script file is much like an operating system (such as DOS) batch file, with a few enhancements. It can be created with nearly any text editor. It must be named INSTALL.SCR and must be on the same disk as INSTALL.EXE. The script itself may be up to 100 lines in length.
The format of the script file is:
Line | Description |
---|---|
1 | Free space. This is the total free space (in bytes) required on the destination drive for installation. The installation process checks for this quantity of free space and aborts if there is not enough space available. |
2 | Title. This is the text that appears on the screen when a user begins the installation process. |
3-100 | Installation commands. |
Installation Commands
Installation commands (lines 3-100) are commands much like operating system batch file commands. Maximum line length is 132 characters. Lines cannot begin with blanks.
In addition to operating system commands, you can include control information in the installation commands. Control information can be of two kinds: command prefixes and script symbols.
Command Prefixes
Special command lines in the script are prefixed with a command prefix character. The script file prefix characters are:
Prefix | Meaning |
---|---|
* | Comment. Ignores the rest of the line. |
# | Prompt for disk. Prompts the user for the disk identified by characters immediately following the # character. |
! | Announce. Displays the text that immediately follows the '!' symbol in a window. You can display multi-line messages by delimiting text with a pipe character (|). The maximum is three lines (two pipes). |
^ | Logout message. The text following the '^' character displays on the screen after a successful installation. |
Symbols
The install processor recognizes two symbols in processing operating system instructions. Occurrences of these symbols are expanded into the source and target drive and path specifications that the user has entered at the initial installation window.
Symbol | Expansion |
---|---|
@SRC@ | Source drive and path as entered by the user. |
@DST@ | Destination drive and path as entered by the user. |
Numbering Disks
Each diskette of the installation must have a disk identification stamp contained in a file named DISKNO. The identification stamp must match the identifier in the script specified with the # command prefix. The DISKNO file, like the script file, may be created with nearly any text editor.
Sample Installation Script
Figure 1 illustrates a complete installation script that uses all facilities of the installation script language. In the example, the command 'FILE1 -r' is the part of the Advanced Revelation installation process that 'unpacks' files that have been previously compressed. This facility is not provided by Revelation Technologies for use with your applications, but you can add your similar command of your own.
Examples
Figure 1
5500000 Advanced Revelation Version 2.0 Installation * Prompt for first installation disk #1 !Installing System Files... * Redirect output to null to preserve screen COPY @SRC@\FILE1.EXE @DST\FILE1.EXE > NULL * Execute self-extracting file, replace mode !Unpacking archive... @DST@\FILE1 -r > NULL ^Installation complete| Type AREV and press ENTER now.