Pilot Catapult is the first installation kit specifically developed for the needs of the Palm® Computing platform.
A little history may help you understand the product better. Why was Catapult created
Back in 1999 PDAs were still fairly new and Beiks got quite a few calls from angry customers rightfully claiming a ZIP file would never install on their PDA. We made an installation with out favorite InstallShield® only to find out it was introducing around 400% download size increase! Not only that, but we had to actually dedicate a full-time engineer to manage the many builds! He was complaining it was hard, there were errors in the scripting engine requiring us to upgrade to a Pro version for some $XXX.00 and so on and so on.
We have found the hard way that the generic desktop install kits like InstallShield® and WISE® simply did not cut it for our Palm OS applications deployment. They were fat, inefficient and were costing us in money and time, the second being even more important.
How is it better
For a starter, it addresses all above issues:
1. It helps users install applications more easily
2. It greatly helps decrease support calls
3. Its minimal footprint makes it efficient for mobile applications distribution; it does not use MFC or the Palm Install AIDE DLLs
4. It is less powerful than a generic desktop installer, thus being easier to learn and use
5. Despite of the above, it is actually better focused on mobile application deployments
Ultimately, it increases efficiency and productivity while significantly decreasing support and deployment costs.
Where is the catch
If there's any catch - and we never meant for it to be - it would be in the phrase less features section. It can be good or it can be bad, depending on what you really want.
If your installation deployment fits the needs of what we think is the vast majority then Catapult should beat all generic install kits hands down on price/performance. And price includes the time you have to spend with it, don't forget it!
However, if your application needs a feature that was not designed to be met by Catapult then we would be the first to recommend another solution.
Here is an example: if your application uses Java conduits, then do not use Cataput. Java conduits require redistributing and installing Java RTE and Catapult is simply not meant for that. It can be done, but it will not be...efficient.
And also...Beiks has created Catapult because it needed it and uses it ever since. Every new version is usually tested in real life before it gets released to developers.
Features
Integrated shell running on Microsoft Windows? 98/ME/NT/2000/XP operating systems
Simple drag & drop interface allowing installation setup in under five minutes
Produces one compressed, self-extracting executable file for Microsoft Windows 98 or higher
Significantly smaller footprint than Install Shield, Wise and other general-purpose kits; neither Palm AIDE nor MFC DLLs are used, resulting in incredible size savings
Installation of Palm OS files through HotSync® process (Palm Desktop required)
Installation and automatic registration of desktop files including COM servers
Installation and registration of standard and COM conduits as per CDK 4.02a (uses Palm COM suite DLLs)
Component installation (user-selectable modules)
Uninstaller
Installations in different languages (with appropriate language module; N/A in Light versions)
Display of company logo during installation process
Allows custom icon to be assigned to the self-extracting executable
Allows developers to specify required/optional target for Palm OS files among RAM, CARD or CARD, RAM
Allows packaging of Windows Mobile CAB files (for Pocket PC, Windows Smartphone) into a simple, nice self-installing executable (feature only provided as is)
Multiple accounts installation (if more than one are present on the host machine)
Enforces End User License Agreement (EULA) signing if requested by the developer
Provides Quick Help access during installation (ability for the users to request more information about the product before product installation)
Automatic program group and customizable shortcuts generation
Command-line builds (Pro versions only)
Detailed documentation
All minor product updates (bug fixes, minor enhancements) are free to registered customers; major upgrades are commercial, but no more than once per calendar year. See the past releases history.
