On 18 Oct 2001, at 13:01, David R. Robinson wrote:

> > >Somehow when I installed Delphi 3, it wrote a gds32.dll from 1996,
> > >the FB installer refused to overwrite this file, causing the above
> > >error. Does the installer check the version number?
>
> Wise (and just about all installers) work based on the assumption that
> the version of a file is what is used to determine if a file should be
> overwritten or not. If the file version of the file your are
> installing is older than the existing version, you shouldn't replace
> it. So, what's happening is that the FB gds32.dll file is version
> 1.0.0.338 which the installer thinks is older than 4.x, 5.x or 6.x, so
> it doesn't replace it. Depending on what the decision for the hack as
> Ann referrs to was, I'll try to figure out something to avoid the
> problem for the next build (which could be aborting the installer if
> GDS32.DLL already exists).

Abort the install? Isn't that a little harsh? As a
consultant/contractor/computer guy, I would like to have the option
of including the install file in my setup, and then my install simply
runs that program to make sure that the client is installed
correctly, without having to reinvent the wheel. If it simply aborts, I
can't do that. Could you document the process untaken by the
installer so that it could be merged into another install process.

Here are a few other options, they are all correct actions, it
depends on what the Wise Installer is capable of. It should be
documented as to which one you decide to use, there may also be
others, feel free to use any of these, or come up with another.

1) Rename the existing gds32.dll to gds32_dll.old and write the
new one. If this isn't what the user wants, the user can simple
delete the FB one, and rename the old one back.

2) Change gds32.dll so it reflects the same version number as the
Borland one, with a different build number. Since it now checks as
V6 it should not be a problem. The version resource would have
other information that reflects the true version number.

3) Give the installing person a pop-up that asks if they want to
overwrite it or not. Could be combined with 1and/or 5 or 6..

4) Add an install option, that asks if the user wants to skip the
version check for gds32.dll, during the install. Could be combined
with 1and/or 5 or 6.

5) Store the new gds32.dll as gds32_dll.fb and let the user rename
it themselves.

6) Create a directory called \windows\system\fbbackup move the
old gds32.dll to this directory and write the new one in the correct
place.

Paul

>
> > Yes it does. The problem is that InterBase is V6.x while the
> > equivalent Firebird is V1.x, which makes the installer (and the
> > installer writer) unhappy.
>
> LOL. I just like things to be simple. :)
>
> > We've introduced a hack which should work and should keep
> > other installers from replacing our gds32.dll.
>
> BTW, what was the final decision on this? I don't think I ever heard
> what the final decision was.
>
> David R.
>
>
>
> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
> ib-support-unsubscribe@egroups.com
>
>
>
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to
> http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
>
>
>

Paul Schmidt
Tricat Technologies
paul@...
www.tricattechnologies.com