Edgewize
13th June 2001 03:39 UTC

I will be spinning off a new 'e' series of the NSIS installer, starting tomorrow with 1.44e.

Source will not be available until next week because I need that long to make it readable again. It works now, but its god-aweful ugly. And don't worry, I'll send it to Justin ASAP.

Following is the README file for the release:
---

Changes in 1.44e:

- New command: ReadEnvStr
Reads an environment variable into $0-$9, $INSTDIR, etc. Examples:
. "ReadEnvString $0 PATH" puts the search path into $0
. "ReadEnvString $9 COMSPEC" puts the path to COMMAND.COM in $9

- New command: AdjustDiskSpace
Adds to or resets the section's disk space requrement. Examples:
. "AdjustDiskSpace set 20" resets space requirements to 20kb
. "AdjustDiskSpace add 100" increases requirements by 100kb
. "AdjustDiskSpace 100" ('add' is assumed)

- New command: ProgressText
Overrides the text label above the progress bar. Examples:
. "ProgressText set 'Checking registry'" is rather obvious
. "ProgressText auto" restores the default NSIS messages
. "ProgressText 'Removing temp files'" ('set' is assumed)

- Changes to command: Section
New /HIDDEN flag is just like having an empty section name or having the name begin with a "-". The section does not show up on the Components screen and is always installed. Example:
. "Section /HIDDEN 'this will not be seen'"

New /UNCHECKED flag means that the section will be visible on the Components screen but not originally checked. This has no effect if InstallTypes are being used. This also does not work on hidden sections, for obvious reasons. Example:
. "Section /UNCHECKED 'Create Desktop Icon'"

- Changes to command: CopyFiles
The third argument (size in kb of copied data) is no longer required. The new AdjustDiskSpace command is recommended instead. Example:
. "AdjustDiskSpace add 56"
. "CopyFiles 'C:\WINDOWS\notepad.exe' $INSTDIR"

- Other changes:
User choices are now saved when the Back button is used to return to the component selection screen.

NOTE: All changes are backwards compatible. No script should change behavior in the least when built with 1.44e. IF THIS IS NOT THE CASE, EMAIL ME IMMEDIATELY at wiked_edge@yahoo.com

[Edited by Edgewize on 06-12-2001 at 10:59 PM]

Gonzotek
13th June 2001 03:57 UTC

:)


Is the 'e' for "Edgewize", "Enhanced", or "Eeeeek!!!!" ?

Really, thanks for all your time on this, I know I'll be using some of those new commands.

I'll try to run my scripts through it and maybe some funky things too and let you know how it goes.

-=Gonzotek=-

Edgewize
13th June 2001 04:05 UTC

Is it for Extra? Enhanced? Edgewize? Everything you'll Ever need? Environmentally friendly?

... beats me :)

petersa
13th June 2001 10:13 UTC

Thanks, Edgewize! I know I'll be using at elast three of those...who was the genius that came up with those ideas?! :)

Edgewize
13th June 2001 11:59 UTC

This is all stuff that's been asked for on the forums, so I guess you guys are the geniuses :D

Bor
13th June 2001 17:40 UTC

color
Not all, i asked for that InstallColors would also affect, the licensetext+background, and the section field, and the directory edit box.

mcgarrah
13th June 2001 19:03 UTC

Dang man, give the guy a few more days...

BTW: Where do you grab the code/patches?

Bor
13th June 2001 19:27 UTC

woot
Of course he can have a few more days, just being irritating.

Koen van de Sande
13th June 2001 20:39 UTC

There's no fun if you don't have anything to complain about :D

Edgewize
13th June 2001 23:31 UTC

If complaining is fun, here's something else to keep yourselves amused :)

I'm pushing back the release until:
1) source code is clean enough to be included, and
2) the EXE header is within 1k of the original size

Probably Friday.

spanky
14th June 2001 07:59 UTC

I believe the "e" stands for "Extra Flavour"
Mmmmm tastey!

Aarif
15th June 2001 20:25 UTC

Sorry, I haven't checked for awhile, and I missed your posting on the 3rd about what features were wanted. I think it would give a more polished look if the "License Agreement" screen allowed Rich Text. Basically, you would specify an RTF file to place in there, and it would do the rest.

Whaddya think?

Aarif

Edgewize
16th June 2001 06:31 UTC

Version 1.44e released: http://edgewize.cjb.net/

The next release will have NONE of the following:
- NO named parameters
- NO way to change text-box and drop-box color
- NO RTF or HTML license files

Instead, you'll get:
- Better compression ratios for installers
- Multi-file and disk-spanning installer support

1.44e was strictly a new-feature release.
The next version will be only *internal* changes.

Koen van de Sande
16th June 2001 13:38 UTC

Better compression? Tell me more! Did you integrate a new algo, or did you improve the Zlib one?

Edgewize
16th June 2001 22:43 UTC

I'm not sure if I will stay with zlib or switch to bzip2 - both are excellent, but bzip2 (while slower) has a higher maximum compression ratio.

I also plan to reogranize the datablock to group files with the same extensions - and then compress them in one pass, without stopping at the file boundaries. There may also be "smart" EXE handling, but that depends on whether or not it makes a large difference.

spaetz
17th June 2001 19:55 UTC

Nice to see you following the Justin strategy of minimalism. That is *the* reason why I use NSIS (besides being free, of course).

Keep up the good work

Koen van de Sande
18th June 2001 18:36 UTC

I think it's the eventual installer size that matters - I don't mind if creating the installer is slow. You have to watch of course how fast the decompressor is - and how 'heavy' it is on the base installer size.

SNYder
1st July 2001 04:17 UTC

are you one of the people actually working on nsis with nullsoft? I mean official?

either way... I like what you did with nsis. Very good job. But why did you put your name in the installer instead of Nullsoft? Isn't that a bit selfish? After compiling it says Edgewize 1.44e instead of Nullsoft 1.44e. I understand you added a few things, but it's not like you CREATED the program.

If I am am way off, then flame me now. ::shrugs::

Edgewize
1st July 2001 13:48 UTC

Yes I changed it to Edgewize NSIS 1.44e, but not for selfish reasons (at least I don't think so...)

I wanted some way to see how many people were using it, so I changed the version string. I didn't realize at the time that it was so obvous on the UI. I still don't think it's a very big deal, since anyone with Visual C++ or a hex editor can erase it completely or change it back in under 2 minutes.

But my apologies for stealing credit from Justin and the Nullsoft crew, of which I am not a member :(

Repzilon
1st July 2001 20:50 UTC

Solid archiving ?
It sounds like RAR/WinRAR solid archiving compression method. It mainly uses the extension (but it is configurable) to group files. Great idea. I save a lot of space with that option on when I compress into RAR format. But watch out for damages. It can break many more files.

Also, remove options /HIDDEN and /UNCHECKED from Section instruction. They are useless, since we can already do that in a backward compatible way.

Edgewize
1st July 2001 21:34 UTC

I'm pulling out of my next e-series release, because keeping compatibility with NSIS is starting to become a real issue.

Instead, I am glad to announce development of a NSIS derivative, code-named UltraPimp :) No details yet, since release may be way off in the future (family, vacations, college prep, etc).

petersa
2nd July 2001 10:03 UTC

Don't remove /UNCHECKED!