[fpc-pascal] creating a standalone executable (eg: application installation file)

[Graeme Geldenhuys]

Hi,

I have seen a few Linux application that have standalone executables
that are installation programs. Once run, it installs the application
in the appropriate directory location, can run as root or normal user
and creates a desktop and Application menu icon. Similar to Windows's
setup.exe idea. An example of such a Linux application is
'installpixel32' from the Pixel32 project, or Kylix 3 installation.

* How does one create such a standalone application?
* How do you include the application executable and other resources
(text, image, sound files etc) inside such an installation executable?


I'm trying to create (mainly for our company, but probably open-source
in the end) such a standalone setup creation for our projects. This
way it will be Linux distro independent. I also don't want to go the
route of projects like AutoPackage that first requires a setup runtime
to be installed. I want a installation file like what Pixel32 did. One
installation executable without any installation runtime etc. and
after the installation, I can simply click on 'uninstall' or run
'setup -u' and a graphical uninstaller is launched.

I'm going to look at Loki Games's setup program to see if I can port
it to fpGUI Toolkit, or at least get some ideas of how to create such
a setup application. Basically I'm trying to create a "InstallShield
Lite" but for Linux. :-)  The nice thing of Loki Games is that it run
run as a console installation or a GUI installation - again, no idea
how they managed that, but it was possible (Kylix 3 installation did
that).

Anybody have pointers or internet links I can read up on the subject?

-- 
Regards,
  - Graeme -


_______________________________________________
fpGUI - a cross-platform Free Pascal GUI toolkit
http://opensoft.homeip.net/fpgui/