Creating an installer for Linux application [closed]

Question

I'm developing a small cross-platform application and I need some advice on how to install it in Linux. I am using InnoSetup in Windows and an application bundle in OSX but I have no idea how to get my app installed in Linux, are there any opensource installer creators for Linux?

Thanks.

Answer 1

If possible, opt for not requiring an installer but using a simple extract-and-run approach. This will allow the user to put the file(s) anywhere they want and run it.

But, you do have other options, such as:

1. Using autoconf,
2. Using CMake,
3. Using a Java installer like IZPack
4. etc

Answer 2

The standard all mighty universally available installer on *nix systems (and not only) is Autotools.

# the user will install like so: ./configure --with-stuff make # if package is from source make install 

You can also provide distribution specific installers like a RPM on RedHat or CentOS or deb for Debian, Ubuntu, although once you have the Makefile spitted by Autotools, making these is a breeze.

# the user will install like so: yum install your-package-1.0.rpm # on redhat or apt-get install your-package-1.0.deb # on debian 

Autotools also known as "the GNU build system" is a little scary on the first sight, and the new user is puzzled when meeting things like the ancient m4 macro system & co. but nota bene this is the way most people do it and is pretty easy once you get the hang of it.

Learning resources