| 2.1 Please describe the proposed Specification: |
| This is a proposal to develop a set of Java APIs that would enable cross
platform installation and de-installation of applications. The functionality
desired would allow installation of Java applications as well as platform-specific
applications. The desired user experience should provide for a GUI-based
approach and a command-line capability and support both attended and unattended
software installation.
The specification will provide a set
of Java APIs to support the installation, de-installation, and non-intereference
of applications. It is expected that non-Java, platform specific
executables can be installed as well as Java applications.
Our intent is to provide a royalty-free install
API capable of installing applications and data on multiple platforms.
|
| 2.2 What is the target Java platform? |
| While it is expected that all Java platforms
can use this installation capability, the J2SETM and J2EETM platforms
are the primary targets for this JSR. |
| 2.3 What need of the Java community will be addressed by the
proposed specification? |
This API will address the need within the Java
community for a set of APIs to address the installation and removal of
applications, both Java-based as well as platform-specific, in a consistent
manner that preserves the integrity of the platform and any other applications
installed on the platform. The intent is to provide the capability
for developers to provide a single Java executable that can perform at
a minimum the following functions:
-
collect system information such as installation location,
platform type, disk resources, etc.,
-
determine adequacy of resources such as disk space,
system revision levels, etc.,
-
obtain installation preferences and license information
from user,
-
identify any system conflicts that may arise between
applications to be installed and existing system (e.g. port usage conflicts
or shared library dependencies),
-
install appropriate executables on system and perform
any post install tasks needed for proper application operation.
|
| 2.4 Why isn't this need met by existing specifications? |
| No existing specifications address this need. |
| 2.5 Please give a short description of the underlying technology
or technologies: |
| We expect to leverage existing work by Sun Microsytems,
IBM and InstallShield using the WebStart 3.0 APIs to provide a Wizard-like
functionality for handling the machine-user dialog. Additional effort
is needed to address the issues of non-interference with other applications
currently installed, and to ensure subsequent application installation
is aware of the requirements of previously installed applications. |
| 2.6 Is there a proposed package name for the API Specification? |
| Not at this time. |
| 2.7 Does the proposed specification have any dependencies on
specific operating systems, CPUs, or I/O devices that you know of? |
| While the proposed specification may enable the
installation of platform-specific applications, the specifications will
not have any such dependencies. |
| 2.8 Are there any security issues that cannot be addressed by
the current security model? |
| No. |
| 2.9 Are there any internationalization or localization issues? |
| Standard Java internationalization methods will
be sufficient for this API. The API will include panels that provide user
instruction and request user interaction. These blocks of text should be
included with the API, so localized resource bundles will likely be part
of the reference implementation. |
| 2.10 Are there any existing specifications that might be rendered
obsolete, deprecated, or in need of revision as a result of this work? |
| No. |
