WebInstall - number of files

[NewsArchive]

One of my WebInstalls is up to 1361 files. Some very very small..

Is there any way combine source files into fewer webinstaller files?

Paul MacFarlane

[NewsArchive]

Paul,

> One of my WebInstalls is up to 1361 files. Some very very small..
>
> Is there any way combine source files into fewer webinstaller files?

No. If you compile a true Web Install then the "cluster files" are what
makes the difference. It only downloads what is required!

Friedrich

[NewsArchive]

Cluster files? What determines that? OS?

Paul MacFarlane

[NewsArchive]

Hi Paul,

>
> Cluster files? What determines that? OS?
>

The Web Installation technology compiles your project into one small setup
executable (.exe) and several binary data files (.0000x), called cluster
files. The setup executable contains all the server connection information.
When the setup executable is launched, it connects to the appropriate Web
site, checks the system configuration to determine what it needs, then
starts downloading (required) files. After it has finished downloading the
files, it starts the installation process.

Friedrich

[NewsArchive]

Okay - I get that, but.....

"checks the system configuration to determine what it needs"

Does this mean that it won't re-download a runtime DLL if it hasn't been
changed?

Is there a way to control the cluster files?

For example....

I'd like to group files into these clusters so that big chunks can be
skipped...

Clarion Runtimes (rarely change)
3rd party runtimes (occassionally)
My App exe & DLL (always)
Other Support files (Depends)

Also, with 1300 clusters the FTP distribution process is now really slow....
FTP renaming, etc. now takes 10 times what it did.
My clusters seem to have exploded from 200 or so to 1300...

Paul MacFarlane

[NewsArchive]

Friedrich,

I just did a distribution. The size has not really changed by more that
a few MB....

I am running SB 7.7

with a previous version (not sure which) my product was 37mb and 310
clusters.
my current release is 41mb and 1319 clusters....

old time to upload was less than 10 minutes

my current release just took over 50 minutes. A significant part of the
time was "renaming"....
and I have to assume that is directly related to the number of cluster
files....



Paul

[NewsArchive]

Paul,

> I just did a distribution. The size has not really changed by more that a
> few MB....
>
> I am running SB 7.7
>
> with a previous version (not sure which) my product was 37mb and 310
> clusters.
> my current release is 41mb and 1319 clusters....
>
> old time to upload was less than 10 minutes
>
> my current release just took over 50 minutes. A significant part of the
> time was "renaming"....
> and I have to assume that is directly related to the number of cluster
> files....

Absolutely nothing changed in the FTP upload process (powered by Windows
WinINet) so there must be "something" at your side that changed. Another
1,000 new files can make a big speed difference.

If your previous version was 37mb and 310 clusters and your current release
is 41mb and 1319 clusters means that you have added 1009 new files. So this
might slow-down the FTP upload process (but this is completely out of the
control of SB).

What you can try to do is to use an external multi-threaded FTP program
(there are tons of freeware or low-cost apps available) that can upload
multiple-files simultaneously. BTW, I am using "FTP Voyager" but there are
other alternatives.

Friedrich

[NewsArchive]

Paul,

> Okay - I get that, but.....
>
> "checks the system configuration to determine what it needs"
>
> Does this mean that it won't re-download a runtime DLL if it hasn't been
> changed?

Correct. If you set a "Check File" File Replacement Condition then you have
full control over the replacement process. For example, if only "1" out of
"1319" files changed/added then Web Install will only download and install
"1" file.

> Is there a way to control the cluster files?
>
> For example....
>
> I'd like to group files into these clusters so that big chunks can be
> skipped...
>
> Clarion Runtimes (rarely change)
> 3rd party runtimes (occassionally)
> My App exe & DLL (always)
> Other Support files (Depends)

Yes. You have several different options. You can use "Features" (e.g.
create a "Clarion Runtimes" Feature and add all the DLLs to this Feature)
or a combination of "Features" and "Setup Types". And of course, you can
use "If..." Statements. See attached screenshot -- Web Install will only
download and install "FileA.exe" if the variable value "%TEST% is "1". Or
see the Paul2.png screenshot -- Web Install will only download/install the
file if there is a newer version of C60RUNX.DLL available.

> Also, with 1300 clusters the FTP distribution process is now really
> slow....
> FTP renaming, etc. now takes 10 times what it did.
> My clusters seem to have exploded from 200 or so to 1300...

The best way to speed up the upload process is to use an external
multi-threaded FTP program. Some programs allow to upload multiple-files
simultaneously to your FTP server.

Friedrich

[NewsArchive]

Thanks Friedrich....

Q: Does grouping files into Features change the way files are clustered?
or is it always 1 cluster file per install file.....

Paul MacFarlane

[NewsArchive]

Hi Paul,

> Thanks Friedrich....
>
> Q: Does grouping files into Features change the way files are clustered?
> or is it always 1 cluster file per install file.....

It is always 1 cluster file per install file.

Friedrich

[NewsArchive]

okay - I wish there was something that could change that.

I have a bunch of files that are 3 to 25k....

Okay - so here is a suggestion. Have an option to automatically
zip/unzip wildcard file selections....

It's just a checkbox <g>

X - Compress into a single Cluster

Paul MacFarlane

[NewsArchive]

Hi Paul,

> okay - I wish there was something that could change that.
>
> I have a bunch of files that are 3 to 25k....
>
> Okay - so here is a suggestion. Have an option to automatically zip/unzip
> wildcard file selections....
>
> It's just a checkbox <g>
>
> X - Compress into a single Cluster

Hmmm, why do you need a Web Install at all if you would like to compress all
the files into a single cluster. From the technical point-of-view, it's not
possible to do this.

But as I understand it, your install is only a very small 41MB. So why do
you need a Web Install in this case?

BTW, you can already use the ZIP/UNZIP feature (including wildcards). Just
put your files into a ZIP ("#zip files..." compiler directive or WinZip,
etc.). Then upload the ZIP file to your server. During the Web Install,
just download your ZIP ("Download File (HTTP)...") and UNZIP it ("Unzip
File(s)..." script function).

Friedrich

[NewsArchive]

I use WebInstall because I am trying to reduce installation time, etc.
and, at this time of year we have updates almost daily...

I don't want users downloading the installer and saving multiple versions.

The stuff I would ZIP into fewer clusters are form data files - a bunch
of little parts....
1300 files -> in 6 folders ->40mb that zips to 11mb

I could Zip them by year because only the current year changes - 2mb zipped

Is there an example of the Zip/Unzip/download process?

Paul MacFarlane

[NewsArchive]

Hi Paul,

> I could Zip them by year because only the current year changes - 2mb
> zipped
>
> Is there an example of the Zip/Unzip/download process?

Similar to the attached screenshots. As an example, this will download
"runtimefiles.zip" from the web site to the temporary Windows folder and
then unzip it to the installation folder.

Friedrich

[NewsArchive]

Excellent - thank you....

Paul MacFarlane