Editing The Perl Lazarus Workshop (section)

== Inno Setup: placing the work into the user's hands ==

The final major tool in the workshop is [https://jrsoftware.org/isinfo.php Inno Setup].

A Windows executable can sometimes be distributed as a portable file, but ordinary Windows users commonly expect an installer. The installer can:

* place program files in an appropriate directory;
* create a Start menu entry;
* create an optional desktop shortcut;
* register an uninstaller;
* preserve or update configuration;
* install additional resources;
* record version information;
* and provide a familiar route for upgrades and removal.

Inno Setup has existed since 1997 and provides a mature scriptable installer system for Windows.<ref>[https://jrsoftware.org/isinfo.php JRSoftware, “What is Inno Setup?”]</ref>

It also offers a good example of a tool which empowers apprentices, hobbyists, nonprofits, and small developers while reasonably asking commercial users to support the human labor behind it.

The Inno Setup authors request that commercial users purchase a commercial license.<ref>[https://jrsoftware.org/isorder.php JRSoftware, “Inno Setup Commercial Licenses”]</ref> The request should be respected.

A Perl craftsman who expects users to compensate his own labor should not treat the labor of toolmakers as though it appeared without cost or obligation.

The license is not merely an administrative detail. It is part of a just relationship among craftsmen.

Inno Setup lowers the barrier to professional Windows distribution. It allows a small developer to offer an installation experience which might otherwise require a substantial commercial packaging product or a large amount of custom engineering. When that tool contributes to commercial income, purchasing the requested license is an orderly acknowledgment of the value received.

The installer itself must also respect the user.

It should not request administrative privileges without need. It should not overwrite user-created data carelessly. It should not make removal intentionally difficult. It should not hide unrelated software in the package. It should explain what it is installing and preserve what the user has created.

The installer is not wrapping placed around the “real application.”

For the user, installation is the beginning of the application.