Console Installers
Console-mode installers allow your end-users a nongraphical user interface structured to allow interaction through text only. InstallAnywhere does not automatically provide console alternatives for panels you have added to your installer. You must provide consoles for each panel that you have included.
Console mode is intended to add support for nongraphical environments such as those common on so-called headless UNIX systems. It is not intended for, and does not support, running on Windows systems, although it can be connected to a Windows host via an SSH or TELNET session.
In general, InstallAnywhere console actions provide parity with panels provided in the graphical modes. In the next exercise, we'll discuss building console installers and use some of the consoles to reproduce one of our earlier installers.
Console mode mimics the default GUI steps provided by InstallAnywhere and uses standard input and output. The biggest advantage to Console mode is that UNIX developers no longer need X-windows (X11) to run their installers.
Console mode allows text to be output to the console line-by-line. It does not allow for any formatting, clearing of the screen, or positioning of the cursor.
+---------------------------------------------------------+ | CHOOSE ALIAS, LINK, SHORTCUT FOLDER | | | | Where would you like to create application shortcuts? | | | | 1) In the Start Menu | | 2) On the Desktop | | 3) Don't create shortcuts | |---------------------------------------------------------| | Please make a selection [1, 2, or 3], and then | | press ENTER. | |---------------------------------------------------------|
To trigger a console installer from the command line, type the following command:
installername –i console