Repository Categories Example

Using the RepositoryCategories element to set up an online installer where repositories are grouped.

Repository Categories illustrates how to set up an installer where repositories are grouped into categories.

Configuring the Example Installer

The installer configuration file, config.xml, in the config directory specifies the text and default values used in the installer:

  • The <Name> element specifies the application name that is added to the page name and introduction text.
  • The <Version> element specifies the application version number.
  • The <Title> element specifies the installer name displayed on the title bar.
  • The <Publisher> element specifies the publisher of the software (as shown in the Windows Control Panel, for example).
  • The <StartMenuDir> element specifies the name of the default program group for the product in the Windows Start menu.
  • The <TargetDir> element specifies that the default target directory is located in the IfwExamples directory in the home directory of the current user (because the predefined variable@HomeDir@ is used as a part of the value). For more information, see Predefined Variables.
  • The <RepositoryCategories> element shows how to group repositories into categories. <RepositoryCategories> can contain one or several <RemoteRepositories> child elements that specify a connection to repositories. For more information about <RemoteRepositories> see Configuring Repositories.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<Installer>
    <Name>Repository category Installer Example</Name>
    <Version>1.0.0</Version>
    <Title>Repository category Installer Example</Title>
    <Publisher>The Qt Company</Publisher>
    <StartMenuDir>Qt IFW Examples</StartMenuDir>
    <TargetDir>@HomeDir@/IfwExamples/repositoryCategories</TargetDir>
    <RemoteRepositories>
        <Repository>
            <Url>http://localhost/repository</Url>
        </Repository>
    </RemoteRepositories>
    <RepositoryCategories>
        <RepositoryCategoryDisplayname>Releases</RepositoryCategoryDisplayname>
        <RemoteRepositories>
            <DisplayName>Category 1</DisplayName>
            <Tooltip>Contains repository1 and repository2</Tooltip>
            <Repository>
                <Url>http://localhost/repository1</Url>
            </Repository>
            <Repository>
                <Url>http://localhost/repository2</Url>
            </Repository>
        </RemoteRepositories>
        <RemoteRepositories>
            <Preselected>true</Preselected>
            <DisplayName>Category 2</DisplayName>
            <Tooltip>Contains repository3</Tooltip>
            <Repository>
                <Url>http://localhost/repository3</Url>
            </Repository>
        </RemoteRepositories>
    </RepositoryCategories>
</Installer>

Creating the Example Package Information File

The installer package information file, package.xml, in the meta directory specifies the components that are available for installation:

  • The <DisplayName> element specifies the human-readable name of the component.
  • The <Description> element specifies the human-readable description of the component.
  • The <Version> element specifies the version number of the component.
  • The <ReleaseDate> element specifies the date when this component version was released.
  • The <Default> element is set to true to preselect the component in the installer.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<Package>
    <DisplayName>A</DisplayName>
    <Description>Example component A</Description>
    <Version>1.0.2-1</Version>
    <ReleaseDate>2015-01-01</ReleaseDate>
    <Default>true</Default>
</Package>

Generating the Online Repository

This installer contains four packages that each have two components. The Packages directory contains two components that are not grouped categories. They are always visible in tree view in the component selection page. Packages_forcategory1 and packages2_forcategory1 both contain two components, which are visible when Category 1 is fetched. Packages_forcategory2 contains two components that are visible only when Category 2 is fetched.

The packages need to be converted to a file structure that the installer can fetch at runtime. To use the repogen tool to convert the packages, switch to the example source directory on the command line and enter the following command:

  • On Windows:
    ..\..\bin\repogen.exe -p packages repository
..\..\bin\repogen.exe -p packages_forcategory1 repository1
..\..\bin\repogen.exe -p packages2_forcategory1 repository2
..\..\bin\repogen.exe -p packages_forcategory2 repository3
  • On Linux or macOS:
    ../../bin/repogen -p packages repository
../../bin/repogen -p packages_forcategory1 repository1
../../bin/repogen -p packages2_forcategory1 repository2
../../bin/repogen -p packages_forcategory2 repository3

The generated repository, repository1, repository2 and repository3 directories will now contain a full copy of the package data and some additionally generated metadata, such as SHA checksums.

The directories now need to be made available at the URL set in config.xml: http://localhost/repository, http://localhost/repository1, http://localhost/repository2 and http://localhost/repository3. How this is done depends on the platform and web server used. If you do not have a running web server yet, but have Python available, you should be able to start a minimal web server from the command line. Make sure you are in the example directory, and then enter:

python -m SimpleHTTPServer 80

You should now be able to open and explore http://localhost/repository in your web browser.

Note: If you do not have enough permissions to set up a web server locally, you can also specify an absolute file:/// URL as the value of the URL element in config.xml. For example, file:///C:/Qt/QtIFW/examples/repositorycategories/repository would be a valid URL on Windows if repository is located in C:\Qt\QtIFW\examples\repositorycategories.

Generating the Example Installer

To create the example installer, switch to the example source directory on the command line and enter the following command:

  • On Windows:
    ..\..\bin\binarycreator.exe --online-only -c config\config.xml -p packages installer.exe
  • On Linux or macOS:
    ../../bin/binarycreator --online-only -c config/config.xml -p packages installer

You should now be able to run the installer and install from the repository.

Files:

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