Installation Programs (was: CD Burning Software?)

Hello All,

One thing to remember when reading IBM documentation that comes from the
developers is that often they write it from their perspective (i.e.,
building an IBM product).  For instance, the comment in the "CD-ROM
Premastering on iSeries" white paper regarding QINSTAPP being owned by QSYS
is a requirement for IBM software but not a requirement of QINSTAPP per se.
(Although that in itself is peculiar since most IBM software uses RSTLICPGM
rather than LODRUN.)

IIRC QINSTAPP must be owned by a profile that exists on the target system
at the time of the installation and since it is the first user program to
run during a LODRUN installation it is a bit difficult to have it owned by
any profile other than an IBM one.

Being owned by QSYS confers no advantage with authority unless the program
also adopts the owner's authority and that is certainly not a requirement
for QINSTAPP.  Besides, most products request QSECOFR do the installation
to avoid authority issues so adopting authority is moot.

Besides, LODRUN was IMNSHO a kludge (provided in VRM220) to make it easy
for vendors to create installation programs.  Its purpose was to provide a
standard way of installing a product without requiring a vendor to build a
real LPP which already has a standard installation process in RSTLICPGM --
even though you can use LODRUN to invoke RSTLICPGM under the covers.

However, the right way to install a product is to build it as a Licenced
Program Product using the Software Product APIs.  Then you can use
RSTLICPGM to install it.  That is a far more standard way of installing
software than LODRUN.  It also supports renaming libraries, multiple
languages, pre- and post-installation exit programs, provides support for
PTFs, and is far more flexible than LODRUN.  Another advantage is that you
can use IBM's licence management (presuming that it fits your
pricing/marketing model) and your products appear in the list of installed
programs using DSPSFWRSC and WRKLICINF.

IBM provide SystemView SystemManager which builds LPPs.  I believe part of
Management Central does this too.  A number of vendors also offer tools to
build LPPs using the Software Product APIs but I looked at them and most of
them are seriously lacking so I wrote my own.  It might become another
product in its own right but at the moment it is 'internal use only'  (You
can take the programmer out of IBM but you can't take IBM out of the
programmer :)

Regards,
Simon Coulter.

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