Creating an installer for a Java app

Question

I need an advice here.

I need to create an installer for a Java application. After googling around a bit, I landed at these pages. After analyzing a little, I decided to go with IzPack. I found this nice blog post using which I was able to create a decent installer stub.

However I am now stuck with the further development. I need to customize my installer in several ways, and I am sure they're possible with IzPack, but I cannot figure out the ways to do it. The IzPack mailing list and its stackoverflow tag has a very low activity, and the documentation is very poor.

So I ditched IzPack, and started writing my own installer manually. After writing only two frames, I am realizing this will take much more time and might not be feasible.

Do you know of any other installer generator that has a better documentation and community support? Or do you know any good resources and links on IzPack where I can have my questions answered? Or do you suggest I stick with the custom installer approach? Please help.

Answer 1

Look to Java Web Start. It is cross-platform and has good support (on SO), as well as good support from the manufacturer (Sun/Oracle). I don't know if it fits the other requirements of this installation, but might know more when you specify those requirements.

Answer 2

You can try with install4j, it have a good documentation and commercial support ...

Another valid alternative to create a multi platform installer could be BitRock Installer (InstallBuilder) .

Answer 3

If you are running on windows, take a look at iexpress

To try it out press alt and simply type iexpress and press enter