Preparing a UNIX component for installation

The following procedure helps you create a script and a cabinet file so that you can prepare the UNIX component for your IEAK package. For an example, see UNIX component and script sample.

1. Prepare or download the component you want to install.

Compress the program if needed. Formats such as .tar and .gz can be used.

2. Create a script to install your program. For the IEAK, the script must begin with #!/bin/sh. The following is an example that specifies the target location and decompresses the executable file.

   If you are familar with writing setup programs, you can add setup functionality to your compiled program instead of writing a script.

   Your script can use the following default parameters; no custom parameters can be specified:

   Argument 1 ($1) is the location of the installation.
   Argument 2 ($2) [install_dir]/[target] is the target destination of the component (the place where you want the cabinet files to be located).
   Argument 3 ($3) An integer that represents whether silent mode is used [0=standard installation/1=silent installation]. It is not used in the example below, but you can use it in your setup script.
   
   

   The current directory (default directory) when the script is run is the user's home directory. This is important, because the files are extracted to the root directory of the installation.

   A script must contain the characters #! and the path to the script interpreter on the first line. If Internet Explorer Setup encounters #! on the first line of the script, it processes the file by using dos2unix, which converts line-terminating characters (from the Windows and MS-DOS platforms) to the UNIX equivalent. Without this process, a script created on a personal computer will not be able to run.





#!/bin/sh
cd $2	# Go to the location of the zip file.
mkdir <directory name>	# Create an installation directory.
mv <compressed component> <directory name>	# Move the zip file into that directory.
cd <directory name>	# Switch to that directory.
gunzip <compressed component>	# Unzip the component.
chmod +x <uncompressed component>	# Assign "execute" or other needed permissions to this file, so it can be run as a program.
cd $1/bin	# Switch to the Internet Explorer bin directory.
ln -s ../<directory name>/<uncompressed component executable>	# Create a link to the executable program.

3. Test this script on the UNIX platform.
4. Move the script and compressed component to the Windows 95 or Windows NT 4.0 computer where you plan to run the IEAK wizard.
5. Create a cabinet file consisting of your program and script. You can use a tool such as Cabarc.exe, which is located in \Program Files\IEAK\Tools\. The following is a simple example, but you can also include wildcards, such as ? and *:

"cabarc n <program name.cab> <compressed component> + <script name>"

6. Start the IEAK wizard, and complete the steps for the UNIX platform until you reach the "Specify Custom Active Setup Components" screen in the wizard.
7. Type the following information:

Component
The friendly name of the component you plan to install.

Location
The location of the cabinet file on your Windows 95 or Windows NT 4.0 computer.

Program
The name of the installation script <script name>. No additional parameters can be specified.

Size
The installed size of your component (on a UNIX workstation). You can obtain this value from a UNIX workstation on which the component is installed.


8. Complete the steps in the IEAK wizard. When you reach the UNIX Mapping screen in the wizard, you may need to create an association for your component.

When you install your customized IEAK package, it decompresses the cabinet file, runs the script, and installs your component before it customizes the browser. After the setup script has run, it is deleted automatically.