W3C | Submissions

Team Comment on the Solution Installable Schema Submission

W3C is pleased to receive the Solution Installable Schema submission from IBM, Novell.

The Solution Installable Schema comes in two parts: the Installable Unit Deployment Descriptor Specification and the Installable Unit Package Format Specification.

Concepts

The Installable Unit Deployment Descriptor (IUDD) specifies a document format for describing the characteristics of an installation, such deployment, configuration and maintenance. This could range from simple updates of software packages as in a Mobile handset, to the complex set of steps required to install a software component in an Enterprise-level system, which may include the software solution itself as well as business rules and database system components. It is not necessary that the system dependencies and installation units are local to a single machine; The IUDD can describe the installation of units in a distributed environment. A IUDD can also be considered to be an aggregation of separate installation units, including a description of the complex dependencies that bind each installation.

The submission includes an XML schema for the definition of IUDD documents.

The Installable Unit Package Format (IUPF) specifies a packaging solution for installation of components. The format is platform independent, and leaves the task of installation up to external installation technology. Packages in this format can be installed in both local and distributed environments.

An important part of the IUPF is the IUDD, described above, which can specify complex dependencies between the units contained in a package.

Related background: In 1997 W3C received the Open Software Description Specification submission from Marimba Incorporated and Microsoft Corporation, which provided a vocabulary used for describing software packages and their dependencies for heterogeneous clients.

Connections to Existing W3C Activities and Next Steps

There are no existing W3C Activities to which this technology is directly applicable. However, this submission will provide useful input for potential future W3C work in the area of Web Applications.


Dean Jackson.

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