Here are some rules of thumb for program authors.
Some of them are just best practices/good behaviour, others come from my experiences with rogue software that I migrated from Windows XP to Vista/Windows 7 or had the pleasure to install on some heavily locked down workstations (due to Corporate IT Security):
-
Do not require administrative privileges for normal execution (initial installation and maybe update installation excluded). This depends of course on the type of software, but a text editor shouldn’t need those rights.
-
Do not use hardwired paths, it will just make you and the user miserable when it’s time to move to ‘Windows 56"…
-
Do offer at least a basic command line interface for your program, makes scripting easier.
-
Related to the previous point: Do offer a switch for silent installation and parameter(s) to pre-configure the package (e.g.:
/c=config.ini
). Very helpful for deploying your software with a package management software like “DSM”. -
Do not prepend directory paths or registry keys with your organization name if you’re just a small developer with one well known application; it just makes it harder to find that stuff if it’s hidden under
C:\Program Files\UnknownPublisherName\PopularProgramName
.
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