Dependencies

InstallAnywhere 2024 R2

Dependencies are components that are needed by the application that is being installed, but are not actually installed by the application’s installer. This is useful if your application relies on other components like an application server or a database that may be installed by other applications. At uninstallation time, the uninstaller uninstalls the component even though it did not install it—unless another installed application still needs it.

The installer searches the product registry to check if a component with the component ID of the specified dependency is installed. You can also optionally specify a version number or key file location to make the search more specific. You can control when the installer searches for dependencies explicitly by using the Evaluate Dependencies action.

The search sets a series of InstallAnywhere variables based on its findings. The Matched Key File location variable contains where the dependency is installed. You can use the Dependency State Variable to see if the search was successful. If the dependency check passes, the Dependency State Variable is an empty string. If the dependency check fails, the Dependency State Variable contains the Dependency Failed Message.

For more information about dependencies, review the Sample Dependencies Template that comes with InstallAnywhere. It is a sample project that helps illustrate how dependencies work, and what variables are set.