Feature Installer

A software package from IBM intended to simplify the installation, configuration and de-installation of software onto the OS/2 operating system. Quite advanced for its day it initially offered graphical and CLI user interface support with the graphical support later moved into a browser based plug-in, allowing the developer to offer installs via a web page. The existence of CLI interface and support for scripting meant that the installer could be used on headless systems and fully automated.

After 2000 IBM started to used InstallShield internally for all software delivery

Supported Languages

Version	Languages
	BG	CS	DA	DE	EL	EN	ES	FI	FR	HU	IW	IT	JA	KO	NL	NO	PL	PT	RU	SE	SL	TH	TR	ZH
1.25	BG	CZ	DK	DE	GR	US	ES	FI	FR	HU	IL	IT	JP	KR	NL	NO	PL	BR PT	RU	SE	SL	TH	TR	CN TW

OS/2 Feature Installer interfaces

• Plugin (NPFI.DLL) for Web-Browser
• Command line interface (CLIFI)
• Workplace Shell objects

Versions

• 1.21 - used by: IBM Visual Age for Java 1.0, IBM C/C++ Compiler for OS/2 3.6
• 1.22 - used by: IBM VisualAge for Java 2.0
• 1.23 - used by: IBM VisualAge C++ 4.0, IBM C/C++ Compiler for OS/2 3.6.5
• 1.24 (Jun 1999) -
• 1.25 - used by: IBM VisualAge Smalltalk 6, the last few Java 1.1.8 updates and Java 1.3

Prerequisites

• Netscape Navigator version 2.02 or higher if you want to use the graphical installer.

Links

It appears that all download sites for the Feature Installer have disappeared off the net.

Publications

• The IBM Redbook SG24-2010 The OS/2 Warp 4 CID Software Distribution Guide has a chapter on how to use the Feature Installer for distributing software.
• The older version of that document: SG24-4295 OS/2 Installation Techniques: The CID Guide has a similar chapter.