W3C has acknowledged receipt of a Solution Installation Schema as a W3C Member Submission from IBM and Novell. InstallShield Software and Zero G Software are co-authors of the submission.

The two-part submission includes Installable Unit Deployment Descriptor Specification Version 1.0 and Installable Unit Package Format Specification Version 1.0.

The purpose of the specification is "to define the schema of an XML document describing the characteristics of an installable unit (IU) of software that are relevant for its deployment, configuration and maintenance. The XML schema is referred to as the Installable Unit Deployment Descriptor or IUDD schema."

According to the IUDD document abstract, IUDDs are intended to "describe the aggregation of installable units at all levels of the software stack, including middleware products aggregated together into a platform; and user solutions composed of application-level artifacts which run on such a platform. The XML schema is flexible enough to support the definition of atomic units of software (Smallest Installable Units) as well as complex, multi-platform, heterogeneous solutions. A solution is any combination of products, components or application artifacts addressing a particular user requirement. The top-level aggregation is the root installable unit. In addition to the installable units that comprise a solution, the IUDD also describes the logical topology of targets onto which the solution can be deployed."

IUDD information may be used by common tools and services "to reduce the human interactions required for the integration of multiple units of software into an aggregated solution; building packages that ensure a consistent deployment experience; checking that dependencies are satisfied before creating or updating a software instance; rapid deployment and configuration with reduced costs; checking the integrity of relationships that an IU instance is expected to maintain with other IU instances during its life cycle."

The Package Format Specification describes an Installable Unit Package Format (IUPF) "used in the solution installation architecture compatible with existing standard or de facto standard formats. The design pattern allows the solution installation architecture to encapsulate and use the existing install technologies for the various hosting environments."

An installable unit is "a logical component that can be selected for installation. An installable unit package (or packaged installable unit) contains files to be installed, files that implement change management operations, and a set of manifest files which include a deployment descriptor that describes the install characteristics of the installable unit, and a media descriptor that describes the binding (or physical locations) of the files."

"Packages in the common format need to be installed in local or distributed environments. Different package types are defined for a single Zip file, fixed-sized removable media, and network location. Other formats may be accommodated in the future. Installable unit packages can be used with packages in existing (de facto or de jure) packaging standards."

The W3C Team Comment on the Solution Installable Schema Submission reports that while W3C has no existing activities to which this technology is directly applicable, "the submission will provide useful input for potential future W3C work in the area of Web Applications."

Bibliographic Information

• Installable Unit Deployment Descriptor Specification Version 1.0. W3C Member Submission 12-July-2004. Authors: Marcello Vitaletti (IBM Autonomic Computing Architecture, Editor), Christine Draper (IBM Autonomic Computing Architecture), Randy George (IBM Tivoli Architecture), Julia McCarthy (IBM SWG Componentization Architecture), Devin Poolman (Zero G Software), Tim Miller (Zero G Software), Art Middlekauff (InstallShield Software Corp), Carlos Montero-Luque (Novell). Version URL: http://www.w3.org/Submission/2004/SUBM-InstallableUnit-DD-20040712/. Latest version URL: http://www.w3.org/Submission/InstallableUnit-DD/. Copyright (c) 2004 InstallShield Software Corporation, International Business Machines, Inc., Novell, Inc. and Zero G Software, Inc., available under the W3C Document License.

• Installable Unit Package Format Specification Version 1.0. W3C Member Submission 12-July-2004. Authors: Heng Chu (IBM Software Strategy, Editor), Christine Draper (IBM Autonomic Computing Architecture), Marcello Vitaletti (IBM Autonomic Computing Architecture), Randy George (IBM Tivoli Architecture), Julia McCarthy (IBM SWG Componentization Architecture), Devin Poolman (Zero G Software), Tim Miller (Zero G Software), Art Middlekauff (InstallShield Software Corp), Carlos Montero-Luque (Novell). Version URL: http://www.w3.org/Submission/2004/SUBM-InstallableUnit-PF-20040712/. Latest version URL: http://www.w3.org/Submission/InstallableUnit-PF/.

From the W3C Team Comment on the Solution Installable Schema Submission

"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..."

Member Submission Request to W3C: Solution Installation Schema Abstract

"The purpose of [the Solution Installation Schema Submission] specification is to define the schema of an XML document describing the characteristics of an installable unit (IU) of software that are relevant for its deployment, configuration and maintenance. The XML schema is referred to as the Installable Unit Deployment Descriptor or IUDD schema.

IUDDs are intended to describe the aggregation of installable units at all levels of the software stack, including middleware products aggregated together into a platform; and user solutions composed of application-level artifacts which run on such a platform. The XML schema is flexible enough to support the definition of atomic units of software (Smallest Installable Units) as well as complex, multi-platform, heterogeneous solutions.

A solution is any combination of products, components or application artifacts addressing a particular user requirement. This includes what would traditionally be referred to as a product offering (e.g. a database product), as well as a solution offering (e.g. a business integration platform comprising multiple integrated products), or a user application (e.g. a set of application artifacts like J2EE applications and database definitions). All the software constituents of a solution can be represented by a single IUDD as a hierarchy of installable unit aggregates. The top-level aggregation is the root installable unit. In addition to the installable units that comprise a solution, the IUDD also describes the logical topology of targets onto which the solution can be deployed.

The submitters and co-authors have collaborated to develop this specification as a basis for the description of software solution packaging for the purposes of deployment and maintenance of software artifacts on platforms. Further, the submitters and co-authors have agreed to make this specification publicly available on royalty free, non-discriminatory licensing terms through this submission (see applicable Intellectual Property Statements below) The benefits of this specification include:

• ability to describe software solution packages for both single and multi-platform heterogeneous environments
• ability to describe software solution packages independent of the software installation technology or supplier
• ability to provide information necessary to permit full lifecycle maintenance of software solutions