Patent ID: 6675382
Filing Date: 2004-01-06
Classification: G06F,Y10S

Abstract:
A method to package and distribute software over the Internet, said method comprising:creating a single-file entity software package, said single-file entity software package being a single-file entity formatted to comprise multiple files, said single-file entity software package comprising a payload file and a control file, said payload file comprising one or more software files, said control file comprising control information pertaining to said software files and dependencies of said software files; parsing said control file for said control information pertaining to said one or more software files contained in said payload file of said single-file entity software package; installing said payload file by manipulating said one or more software files in said single-file entity software package according to said control information; and removing a software package according to said control information, wherein; said removing said software package according to said control information comprises: determining if there exist any pre-removal actions to be performed; if any pre-removal actions are to be performed, performing said pre-removal actions according to said control information; examining said control information for dependency constraints; and prohibiting removal of software files that violate said dependency constraints.