11.1 File Installation Concepts

The file installation library includes functions that determine where a file should be installed, identify conflicts with currently installed files, and perform the installation process. These functions enable installation programs to avoid the following problems:

Installing older versions of components over newer versions

Changing the language in a mixed-language system without notification

Installing multiple copies of a library in different directories

Copying files to network directories shared by multiple users

The file installation library also includes functions that enable applications to query a version resource for information about a file and present the information to the user in a clear format. This information includes the file's purpose, author, version number, and so on. (For more information about version resources, see Section 11.3, “Adding Version Information to a File.”)

The file installation library is available for Windows and non-Windows applications. Windows applications should use the dynamic-link library VER.DLL and the header file VER.H. Non-Windows applications should use one of the following static-link libraries: VERS.LIB, VERC.LIB, VERM.LIB, or VERL.LIB. Applications that use the static-link libraries should use the following line before including VER.H:

#define LIB