Patent ID: 7530065
Filing Date: 2009-05-05
Classification: G06F

Abstract:
1. A method for installing a software package, the method comprising: retrieving authentication information from an installation descriptor file describing installation information of the software package, the software package having one or more components and each component having zero or more sub-components, the one or more components including a component having a first sub-component and a second sub-component, the authentication information including a verification setting for the component, the authentication information including a first authentication setting for the first sub-component, the authentication information including a second authentication setting for the second sub-component, the first authentication setting having a first plurality of keys, and the second authentication setting having a second plurality of keys including a pre-install key and a post-install key, the pre-install key to ensure a prerequisite for installing the software package is satisfied and the post-install key to determine whether a portion of the software package has already been installed; verifying an existing component corresponding to the component according to the verification setting, wherein the existing component has already been installed; selecting one of the first plurality of keys if the verification of the existing component is successful; authenticating a first image of a first existing sub-component corresponding to the first sub-component using the selected key, wherein the first existing subcomponent has already been installed; authenticating a second image of a second existing sub-component corresponding the second sub-component using more than one of the second plurality of keys including the pre-install key and the post-install key, wherein the authentication of the second image includes a first authentication and a second authentication, the first authentication being based on the pre-install key for ensuring the second existing sub-component satisfying the prerequisite for installing the software package, the second authentication being based on the post-install key for determining the second existing sub-component as the portion of the software package already installed, wherein the second existing sub-component has already been installed and wherein the authentication of the first image and the authentication of the second image being independent of each other; indicating whether there is a need to install the first sub-component according to the authentication of the first image; and determining whether to install the first sub-component according to the authentication of the second image if the need to install the first sub-component is determined, wherein the first sub-component is installed if the first authentication fails and the second authentication succeeds.