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It is probably not the name of these installers. By online installer I mean the little executable we download and execute, which download the true software I are going to install.
There are so many of them, such as in Chrome installation, Visual Studio Express, etc.
What are the purpose of these online installer? I think they are quite inconvenient.
onemach
Posted 2012-01-22T13:48:03.607
Reputation: 2 575
73
Reasons vary.
They allow you to download only what you actually want to install. If you have options during the installation, or the program is available in both 32 bit or 64 bit variants, or variants based on the OS version you're running, you don't download more than you actually install. Other distributors might make you choose the correct variant before you download the program at all; and some users might not be capable of selecting the correct option.
Some programs come bundled with dependencies, like runtimes or frameworks (I have seen Visual C++ Runtime, .NET, DirectX; Java could also be possible). Online installers restrict download and installation of those to machines that don't already have them (thanks @billc.cn).
Additionally, it allows the software makers to make sure you always install only up to date versions instead of one you downloaded a year ago. Some Downloads folder contents are downright scary.
It might even be that they save some bandwidth, since more users might be downloading the installer than are actually installing the program.
They are also a possible way to inform the software makers about every actual installation, as opposed to installer downloads.
Daniel Beck
Posted 2012-01-22T13:48:03.607
Reputation: 98 421
2Not forgetting a mass deployment scenario, where it comes in handy too. – slhck – 2012-01-22T13:59:17.427
17@slhck How so? I'd have thought getting the one true installer (TM) and not having to download the same thing 50 gazillion times should be easier on the mass deployment. – Daniel Beck – 2012-01-22T14:03:14.607
I think he's saying that yes, it would be good for mass deployment – Simon Sheehan – 2012-01-22T14:06:25.773
7Also I've seen installers that use P2P to speed up the download. Some dependencies like .Net Framework and VC runtime have a large installation base already and they could easily be bigger than the software itself, so better left them as online downloads. – billc.cn – 2012-01-22T15:14:33.530
9Beside all valid reasons above, let's not forget some download sites use them to easily add spy-ware like bundles. – Dorus – 2012-01-22T17:38:14.840
1Well, take the lazy small office IT department as an example. You only need to store one installer and can install whenever you want. At least where I worked that was easier than mass deploying out of date installers. – slhck – 2012-01-22T18:55:49.157
@slhck Makes sense (kind of like Ninite). Depends on what else is available though — for OS X, I'd always get the Combo Updaters or system independent updates, instead of the system-dependent, minimal size updates available via Software Update. – Daniel Beck – 2012-01-22T19:00:02.647
@Dorus Get software directly from the developer. Problem solved, at least for software that is still made available by the devs. – Daniel Beck – 2012-01-23T11:24:50.530
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For Blizzard products, the downloader optionally uses bittorrent behind the scenes.
Also, some browsers don't support restarting downloads, so this can make large downloads possible on old computers.
dhasenan
Posted 2012-01-22T13:48:03.607
Reputation: 310
12
Using an online installer downloads the installation files, from the installer. This means you get the absolute latest version possible, from the provider of the installer.
With an offline installer, it might not be updated as frequently, so your version could be slightly behind.
An example, Chrome. Instead of constantly having to update the installer, they can just push new content to a web server, and the same installer can handle it indefinitely.
Simon Sheehan
Posted 2012-01-22T13:48:03.607
Reputation: 8 641
11
kinokijuf
Posted 2012-01-22T13:48:03.607
Reputation: 7 734
start="3">
1
It also saves you diskspace. The add/remove programs feature works by caching the installer file. It doesn't matter a lot with small applications; but would you rather cache the several MB online installer for something like the .net framework, or the several hundred MB offline installer?
Dan is Fiddling by Firelight
Posted 2012-01-22T13:48:03.607
Reputation: 2 677
This is wrong. -Padding- – Eroen – 2012-03-08T13:01:00.617
@Eroen No it's not. MS might've stripped msi/msp files of internal binaries at one point in the past; but they've either stopped doing it or software vendors have found a way to disable the feature for their installers. I currently have 10GB in C:\Windows\Installer, including 11 installers >100MB and 13 more between 50 and 100MB in size. – Dan is Fiddling by Firelight – 2012-03-08T13:31:58.987
0
I always assumed this was done from a UX perspective: if the network connection cuts out, then some browsers will not be able to resume the download, and some users will not be motivated enough to find out what happened and manually restart the process.
On the other hand, with an online installer, the developers can be sure that the download system is robust and won't have this problem. This can potentially lead to less cognitive load on users, depending on the browser, and a higher rate of successful installations.
Radon Rosborough
Posted 2012-01-22T13:48:03.607
Reputation: 323
18Firefox uses an offline installer, the last time I checked. – orlp – 2012-01-22T15:09:15.450
How many online installers handle intermittent connectivity, or a laptop going to sleep? – Jay Bazuzi – 2012-01-22T18:35:01.940
At least latest (2010 and up) Microsoft ones do. – wizzard0 – 2012-01-23T03:37:04.943
13Whatever their purpose, they intensely annoy me. When I click on "download" I want the program, not a program that downloads the program for me. Adobe Flash, I'm looking at you. – tombull89 – 2012-01-23T10:26:33.667
3For the record, if you want an "offline installer" for something that is typically an "online installer." Try searching for a "redistributable." These are packages designed for those who will be running the installer on many computers. – user606723 – 2012-01-23T15:22:42.993