Re: informix Personal edition. installation questions!! pls. help, anyone.

Kevin wrote in message ... >During the startup of your installing application check for the proper >networking setup by looking at the registry, if the keys are there continue >your installation if the keys are not there give the abort the installation >and have the customer install the networking software from the windows CD >with Microsoft assisting, make the customer aware that the networking >software is from Microsoft and that for support they should call Microsoft. >Provide the Microsoft's support number and provide a detailed list of >exactly what components your software requires. My customers give shit abourt me using a database that needs dialup adaptor. that's my problem not theirs. They tell me go use another database. >One of your stated requirements should be that the computer has the >networking software installed, if it is not installed it should not be your >job to install it. Yes, I know the pain of "We must provide" from the >marketing people but if you don't draw the line then your support costs eats >your profit and believe me, once you have taken the responsibility of >installing MS Networking your customer will call you for support on MS >issues. The solution is to use a database that does not need MS networking. Interbase local for instance. They have good deals for VAR/OEM, but You have to get an individual deal. The official rates suck. My sugguestion to anyone having to think about their own time, and their support staff's time, Is to use (at least check out) interbase local instead. When using it, you can (in your own program) just set the database to a filename, then interbase local server and interbase client will use localapi (which does not need any network support) to talk to each other. In this respect, informix personal edition sucks! in my opinion. I've gotten a VAR software installation manual from interbase, showing how to ship interbase with my program. Informix have not even been thinking about this. They have no manual, and no one there knows that the problem even exists. (until i ran into the problem, that is). Informix is still thinking that wherever there is a PC there is a technichian, eager to use 1/2 hour to install Your software. Informix is not ready for that market (VAR/OEM windows programs embedded database, cd distribution for non professional end users). It has taken us two man weeks to get it to work, having to create a custom installation program, and stumbling upon the problems as they were found one after one during test. Bottom line : Informix personal edition does not install and run on a plain windows 95 installation. It needs the user to have installed either a modem or a network adaptor, or needs another program that You must provide to install these things if not there allready. Same applies to NT, for that matter, though a standalone NT w/o network adaptor is quite rare. It wuld take us less than two days to get the same installation going with interbase local. (this is my estimate - but at least interbase has provided the VAR/OEM dealer with a manual showing one what to do in a automated install process and how to do it). This is just to warn others considering using informix personal editon. Wait a few versions, then check it out again. It's not throughouly tested regarding installation on multiple windows platforms. It cannot be installed unattended, like on a cdrom shipped to 40.000 customers who would'nt know the difference betw. a network adaptor and a modem. Users who could never find their own way out of a Commandline window. Not unless You wrap your own program around it, and ensures that windows is with a tcpip stack before launcing the informix installation. Afterwards, Your program must alter setenv.bat / cmd to make informix run in your own language. Remember to add the gls support files - they are not on the PE cd from informix. Remeber do this, Remeber do that.. I'm tired of this now. >Dennis Fantoni wrote in message <35e7fa91.0@news4.image.dk>... >>Have anyone tried to create an *automated* install procedure for a program, >>utilizing personal edition, that installs on NT and Windows 95 with and >>without network adaptors , modems and network?. >> >>If anyone have succeeded in this, please reply how you did it. >> >>We have implemented solutions to most of our problems, but one biggo >problem >>remains : >> >>Unsolved Problem : >> >> >>1) personal edition crashes when started up on a W95, if W95 has been >>installed out of the box, with no network, no modem. (no nice dialog >telling >>you what to do, only some panic, then a gpf / illegal instruction or a >>freeze).