Q4OS Forum

Jaerrib

Member

From: Pennsylvania, USA

Registered: 2018-11-18

Posts: 162

Website

Questions regarding custom app installer

I have a several questions regarding the custom application installer:

1. I would like to use a custom icon. I saw a post referencing the Makefile. Would it be as simple as adding a line line this?

   install ../icon_name.svg /opt/program_files/application_name/share/icons/scalable/icon_name.svg/

2. When building the installer, is it possible to pull the files directly from an online source (e.g. Github), or does everything need to be local?

3. Is it possible for the installer itself to pull down files from Github so that the same installer can always be used to get the most recent version of the application?

4. From the standpoint of user friendliness, can the installer add shortcuts to the start menu for the application/document as well as the uninstaller? (To avoid having to use a terminal to remove the application.)

5. Can the installer be set to install an application over top of an already installed version without having to uninstall first?

6. Is there a way for an application installed via .esh to automatically update?

q4osteam

Q4OS Team

Registered: 2015-12-06

Posts: 4,230

Website

Re: Questions regarding custom app installer

add 1.
Yes, you need to place the icon into the proper place. You can use a fixed, or themeable icons.
The path for fixed icon could be for example "/opt/program_files/q4os-user-manual/icons/", the themeable icons need to be in "/usr/share/icons/<icon_theme_name>/..." directory. The example line for the Makefile could look like this:

install files/icon_name.svg /opt/program_files/q4os-user-manual/icons/

You can easily check the installer content after compilation, copy it into some work directory and run "xqtrsetups" and "xqtrdebs" commands to unpack the installer and .deb.

add 2.
You would need to create a script for building a temporary filesystem first, and next compile installer from this filesystem. You can use "wget" command in the script to pull an online content.

add 3.
No, it's not directly possible. You would need to have a custom online repository.

add 4.
Yes, you only need to add a uninstaller shortcut into the "/usr/share/applications/" system directory. You can add as much shortcuts as needed and include them into the start menu.

add 5.
No, such capability isn't included in the installer so far. It's planned for the future.

add 6.
Yes, you need to integrate an update mechanism into the application. The most recommended way is to establish a custom APT repository, however you could use some more easy way, for example a periodic bash script that downloads a and updates application files.

You are welcome to ask any additional info and help, just post here as needed.

Jaerrib

Member

From: Pennsylvania, USA

Registered: 2018-11-18

Posts: 162

Website

Re: Questions regarding custom app installer

Thanks for answering my questions. I'll have to play around with the things and see what I can do with it.